I don't currently have a tank, but I'm leaning towards the marineland 93g cube. I have a question about powerheads. I want something that is controllable. I love the aesthetic of the Ecotechs, but am a little concerned about the fixed directionality of it. For that reason, I am leaning towards a couple Tunze 6095s. Am I wrong in assuming that because I have 360 degree control of the powerhead it will be better in a smaller cube shaped tank?
Tunze or Ecotech
- Thread starter cba191
- Start date
rwb500
Active member
for that tank, there is nowhere to put a vortech where it wont be in the middle of a prime viewing pane. for this reason alone i would get tunzes if i were you. two 6095's would be awesome. I am going to buy one for my 75g (in addition to one or two 6025's that i already have).
the new wide flow of the 6095's eliminates the only downside (IMO) that tunze powerheads ever had.
the new wide flow of the 6095's eliminates the only downside (IMO) that tunze powerheads ever had.
scarface70706
New member
i recommend ecotech. best pump hands down. both ecotech and tunze are great products the only reason why i went ecotech then tunze is the upgradability and custom flow with the controller. and you can have a vortech on your tank; just stick it on the back wall. theres a reason why the vortechs dont have directional features... they dont need it. your water will move every where trust me. imo tunze has more dead spots then ecotech. i have a single mp40 on my 90 gallon tank and thats all i need.
phk36
Member
I have a 60x32x24 in the works. I wanted the mp 40 so I can put them on the back wall and also did not want to see the wire. I have read posts about them making noise so when I picked up my apex I also picked up the tunze wire . I was at a local fish store and got up to a few at 100% on and pulse they were not loud at all . I still do not know what to get. There is something about the mp 40 that facinating .
I agree. The fact that there is no wire in the tank is very cool. And the tech (simple as it may be) is very fascinating.
I think the thing that might be the determining for me though is the warranty. To me, it suggests that Tunze has a little more confidence in their product.
That's the kind of thing that I like to here. It's just that the cube shaped tanks would seem to create a lot of problems that traditional tanks don't have.
scarface70706
New member
yea idk why people are talking about how ecotech has loud pumps because they arnt. lol unless you have really sensitive ears then yes they are loud. if your really trying to hear for the sounds then yes you will hear them. but with everything running all the sounds drown out the MP's.
the wire and motor sitting on the out side of the tank also help with keeping the heat out of your tank. and on another note the vortechs have the smallest foot print in their water movement class. and lastly they are very appealing compared to their competitors.
ps: just keep in mind when buying your pumps which product gives you the most room to grow.
the wire and motor sitting on the out side of the tank also help with keeping the heat out of your tank. and on another note the vortechs have the smallest foot print in their water movement class. and lastly they are very appealing compared to their competitors.
ps: just keep in mind when buying your pumps which product gives you the most room to grow.
scarface70706
New member
heres some unbiased reviews of the vortechs. hope this helps.
theres a few more on him channel if you want to learn more about the equipment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyZJR5Xs4eU&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bij_GAL_gic&feature=plcp
theres a few more on him channel if you want to learn more about the equipment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyZJR5Xs4eU&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bij_GAL_gic&feature=plcp
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r-balljunkie
Registered Reefer
went from vortechs for last 3 years, to two tunze 6095's. best thing ive done for my sanity. my tank is in the same room as my tv.
the 6095's are great pumps, tons of flow options too.
vortechs are great if you arent sensitive to excess noise. my tank design is very low noise (eheim return, tweaked piping, aquabee skimmer pump).
if you have a barricuda return pump that overpowers everything else, noise wise.....vortech whine wont bother you at all.
both good pumps.
the 6095's are great pumps, tons of flow options too.
vortechs are great if you arent sensitive to excess noise. my tank design is very low noise (eheim return, tweaked piping, aquabee skimmer pump).
if you have a barricuda return pump that overpowers everything else, noise wise.....vortech whine wont bother you at all.
both good pumps.
I agree. The aesthetics of the ecotechs are the best out there. Having the motor on the dry side would be nice as well. I'm still trying to decide.
James77
Team RC
It is all very subjective, and ambient noise plays a huge role in what you hear. They are far from loud, but can be annoying on a silent tank. But I would find a tank that is already humming, gurgling, and buzzing annoying already, without the Vortechs.
I've tried them three times, and I never had to try to hear them, they were pretty obvious. But my tank and room is silent. It is just good for others that may need the same silence to know. Both are great pump and great service.
Very appealing to you. Not really to me. The smaller footprint in the tank is great for some, to me having a pump on the viewing panes is blah. I have no problem with heat. Tunzes add very little heat.....the entire setup including transformer on the 6105 draws 25 watts, and a fair amount of that is lost to heat in the transformer.
Supersonic hearing is a curse
. I can hear the whine of a lot of some wall transformers, but I can sleep like a ababy with a window air conditioner blasting 2 feet from my head.The noise has nothing at all to do with alignment, having them misaligned makes a horrible sound. The motor just makes noise, some motors more than others. There is nothing blocking the sound, it is the nature of exposed motors....the Tunzes have the advantage of having water help quiet them....at the cost of more footprint. You could hold just the motor in your hand and hear the same noise I refer to. Not loud by any means, I have had desktop computers that were louder, until I replaced the fan
Jeff_NJ
New member
I've done the MP10's and MP40's. The Ecosmart drivers are very nice and functional but they also had their quirks and drove me crazy. Most notably was every time I did a water change, I had to unplug one of the drivers which would erase the night mode setting each and every time. Also, the noise was enough to drive me nuts. I can still hear the short-pulse 'melody in my head and I sold them almost a year back. Lastly, you cannot aim them. I like the ability to fine tune the direction of my flow.
The pros of vortech are clearly aesthetics and little to no heat transfer.
Tunze pumps are near dead silent, even when programmed to do short pulse! They flow wonderfully (a 6105 flows better than a MP40 IMO) and with the Tunze controller (that can operate 4 pumps) they are nearly as functional as the ecosmart driver.
The cons are it has a significantly larger footprint in the tank and will transfer more heat into the water.
With all of this said, I will continue to use Tunze controllable pumps from here on out. I am very happy with them.
This is based on my personal experience having owned and used all of the equipment discussed for a significant period of time.
The pros of vortech are clearly aesthetics and little to no heat transfer.
Tunze pumps are near dead silent, even when programmed to do short pulse! They flow wonderfully (a 6105 flows better than a MP40 IMO) and with the Tunze controller (that can operate 4 pumps) they are nearly as functional as the ecosmart driver.
The cons are it has a significantly larger footprint in the tank and will transfer more heat into the water.
With all of this said, I will continue to use Tunze controllable pumps from here on out. I am very happy with them.
This is based on my personal experience having owned and used all of the equipment discussed for a significant period of time.
James77
Team RC
The fixed flow of Vortechs is not a huge issue cause of their wide flow. But directional pointing is still nice to have. The nanostreams- the 6095 is one of them- take up very little room comapred to the larger streams. I am able to hie any stream pump on the back wall next to an overflow that alreadys sticks out 3", so it is not much more obscene.
That's a whole new can of worms. I have yet to decide between the apex and the Reefkeeper. :facepalm:
bigloggerhead
New member
This discussion seems to come up quite a lot. And it always seems to be split right down the middle on choice. I had Tunze Nanostreams in my tank and they were absolutely great. Never had a minutes trouble out of them. Quiet and always worked.
That being said, I currently have an MP10 in my tank and absolutely love it. The noise to me is minimal. But noise is one of those things that vary from person to person. I personally can't hear mine over the fans in my canopy. And i absolutely loved the controlability of the Vortech.
In the end, whichever you choose you won't go wrong. They are both quality products. Although, I will say that some have had trouble with some of the first gen Vortechs. Only time will tell if mine will last but so far so good. I would definitely recommend it.
That being said, I currently have an MP10 in my tank and absolutely love it. The noise to me is minimal. But noise is one of those things that vary from person to person. I personally can't hear mine over the fans in my canopy. And i absolutely loved the controlability of the Vortech.
In the end, whichever you choose you won't go wrong. They are both quality products. Although, I will say that some have had trouble with some of the first gen Vortechs. Only time will tell if mine will last but so far so good. I would definitely recommend it.
