what mode do you run your Vortech in?

[StashuDave]

MP10 and I run Lagoon Mode and use the night mode in my basically LPS Reef. I tried the pulse, that was why I really got it, but the LPS just didn't like being slapped around, and the ramp up and down hum drove my wife nuts!
Dave

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

pulse would be for making waves, right Dave?

 

[sg1838]

Well, currently I have my new 90g system running two MP40ws in anti-sync reef-crest mode with sleep mode turned on. Mine are certainly quiet enough that I don't think anybody minds them running like this. I thought that the sleep mode might be BETTER for everybody in the tank, but maybe that's not the case, and I should turn it off. I'm also intrigued by the lagoon mode comments as well. I'll have to check that out too.

This brings up another question - where do you all have your Vortechs positioned? Mine are on the sides of my 90g tank, basically in the center (slightly offset from one another). Any recommendations regarding this? Hopefully you just won't say put them on the back facing towards the front of the tank because I currently don't have enough room between the wall and tank to be able to do so.

I figured I should put them mid to high placement as putting them too low would stir up too much of the sand bed. I also thought that putting them centered front to back on the sides would get the most flow throughout the tank. But, that may not be true since this is a closed system, and most of my live rock is towards the back of the tank.

Can't wait to hear your responses...

Jason

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

*although each factor should be linked*
the particular mode one run's a Vortech in, placement of the unit(s) and goal of each end user is probably going to vary greatly. We should strive to re-create a desirable (water flow) environment for our (different!) reef animals and not get caught up in manufacturer terminology or what other's are doing.
Long story short- what might be good for one aquarium might not be good for another.
I happen to have a system that is probably quite different than most others: a peninsula aquarium with shallow water reef crest type corals at one end and reef slope corals at the other end. The Vortechs aren't the biggest movers of water in my aquarium- my penductor capped returns are. (I'm going to guess that most people using Vortechs are relying on them for the bulk of water movement in their aquarium.)

In any case a gyre is usually desired and placing one Vortech at each end of a 90 gallon aquarium might be the best way to accomplish this. Anti synch will allow you to reverse the gyre. Based on my limited experience you might not want to place each Vortech in the dead center of each end of your 90.
In the short time I've had experimenting with my Vortech it appears that (in my particular case) placing the top of the Vortech unit aprox. 6" below the surface gives the most desirable results. I have it positioned to move water just under the main gyre created by the penductor on the opposite side of the aquarium.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I'd like to add this:
what initially attracted a lot of people to the Vortech was it's wave making capabilities. Back and forth water motion is something that doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't believe my particular reef animals like it, either.
Back and forth motion without a main gyre isn't desirable IMO.
Even Tunze will recommend you don't run a wave box without running a Stream pump (or other simillar type water generating device).

 

[jaybfresh]

sg1838, when you try out lagoon mode make sure you disable the anti-sync mode. The reason being, in anti-sync mode the slave pump runs at (100% - main pump power). In reefcrest this works well because there is such a large variation. In lagoon mode, the main pump might run something like 90% - 75% most of the time, meaning the slave pump will only put out 10%-25%

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

jmo/jme

jmo/jme

running two Vortechs (or other sources of water moving devices) and taking into account if there was no other significant source of water movement in a 90 gallon aquarium that was placed one long side against a wall
you would place the pumps at opposing ends of the aquarium near the back corners and run them in what would amount to be "anti synch". In other words, flow would reverse from left/right clockwise to counterclockwise.
Since you need time for a gyre to develop this would equate to running two Vortechs in long pulse anti synch.
Another option (as I see it) would be to have the Vortechs in the center of the aquarium at opposite ends of the aquarium and run long pulse anti synch in order to get a up/down clockwise to counterclockwise type gyre.

It would also be helpful to have a 3rd Vortech (or other flow generating device) turning on/off intermittently in order to occasionally cause turbulence.

 

[sg1838]

Well, I'm certainly not meaning to hijack this thread, but while we're on the topic, I figured I may as well post a picture of my new tank to show the current location of the Vortech MP40ws:

The one on the left is the master, and the one on the right is the slave. The one on the left is offset 1" forward from center, and 7" below the water level. The one on the right is offset 2" forward from center, and 7 1/2" below the water level. From my return pump, you can see that I have 2 lines - one a standard nozzle, and one with an eductor, pointed down and towards the front of the tank, towards the side with the slave pump (the long end of the tank from the overflow).

The MP40ws are currently set up to run in Reef Crest Mode, with the slave in Anti-Sync mode. They are currently both set to be at 100% of potential flow. Night-mode is currently also enabled.

I think I am going to switch to Lagoon mode, with the slave still in Anti-Sync mode. From the sounds of it, I should also move both pumps towards the bank of the tank, up about an inch, and turn night mode off. Does this sound reasonable?

I know it may be hard to say, but I'm looking for a best guess at this point. When I installed them, I put them in place thinking that I would most likely move them. I just didn't know where I was going to move them to.

Thanks for any and all feedback.

Jason

 

[Alex T.]

I run two MP40W's on my 150 (72x18x27) SPS clam reef. I used to run Blue Mode (short pulse for waves) but noticed that this was mostly for show. There was just a gentle rocking left and right. However, where I really noticed a difference with regard to serious water motion was by synching both pumps on Pink (long pulse mode) at full blast for 10 seconds and slow for 10 seconds. I also have sleep mode activated 10 minutes after lights out. This is when I choose to target feed whatever coral supplement I'm into this month. I've found that my sps have really responded well to this regimen, and I'm pretty sure this has been a key in keeping my anthias colorful, fat and happy. Because I run bare bottom, water motion's paramount to me, so the day before a water change I'll put the short pulse mode on and create a synched wave that humps in the middle. My reason for doing this is that I've found it neatly relocates all detritus on either end of the tank where it can be easily siphoned away. I feel that as long as these pumps aren't slamming directly into a coral, they should be turned up all the way in an sps dominated reef.

After a recent snorkeling trip I noticed the rythmic pounding that the reefs take. The transfer of energy is incredible. As budget allows, and corals continue to grow, I'll be putting 2 more on this tank. To me, water motion seems to be a little more important to corals than the "right lighting". God I love these pumps!!!!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Jason- looking at your aquarium I wouldn't drive the outputs into the rock stack. You'd be better off moving the Vortechs towards the front corners rather than the back corners.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

How critical is it to get the gyre reversed? In looking at the manual, it appears as if the longest pulse you can get is 60 seconds. Is this long enough to reverse it and get the water moving?

I've got mine placed on either side of the tank, one towards the front and lower, the other towards the rear and higher up. They're currently running in lagoon mode (thought I'd give that a try!), but the clockwise vertical and horizontal gyres aren't reversing at all.

I may leave them like this until after the holidays, then position them such that I can attempt a "reversible gyre".

Good stuff!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I don't think getting the gyre reversed is critical. I can't accomplish that in my present reef aquarium. I was able to get a reverse gyre a couple of years ago by using a Tsunami wavemaker and multiple MJ1200 powerheads.

 

[mdntrdr]

Following along.

I just ordered two for my 220G. am curious to placement.

 

[cardiffgiant]

This has turned into a really great discussion. I tried to get some thoughts on the main forum shortly after I picked up my mp40w and only got a few replies.

I presently keep my single mp40w toward the front 3rd of my tank, about a 3rd of the way up from the bottom. My reasons for this are:
-I like the additional flow around the sand bed (the special grade doesn't move a great deal), and already have adequate surface agitation from my returns.
-Any further back and I start blasting my rock stack.
-Any further up and gets hard to keep my light fixture from rattling (though I'm sure that I could fix that with a little adhesive and styrofoam insulation)

I have my two tunze 6025's on the back wall on the other side. One faces forward at an angle and the other faces toward the other mp40w at an angle.

It would be interesting to try another mp40w on the other side with reef crest anti sync, and then an mp10 on the back center on a timer set to random.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

it's simple to request what mode you're running a Vortech in.

There's several reasons it's difficult to have a meaningful discussion about actual placement of powerheads online but a couple of major ones are:
1) aquariums are different
2) aquarists objectives are different
3) it's difficult to see water flow patterns unless you're actually physically looking at the aquarium being discussed

the best thing to do is to realize what you want/need to accomplish with water flow and go about it without getting caught up in what others do.

for example: I had no idea what mode I selected on my Vortech until after the fact. I just kept scrolling through modes without loking at the menu and watching what was going on in my aquarium. After choosing a mode I started moving the MP40 around until I found what appears to be a 'sweet spot'.
Then I looked what mode it was and checked online to see what others were using.
Incidentally, the 'sweet spot' where my Vortech is stuck is where I used to run a MagDrive DIY powerhead. I think it was a Mag 7. In any case, the Vortech appears to be more effective in this spot than the Mag was. Quieter too.

 

[Tonynlo]

Sorry for the old thread bump, I was searching for opinions on Vortech settings and came across this thread. I figure if I am going to resurrect a thread, I'd rather have it be from the URS forums.

I'm running 2 MP40W's in anti sync on the shortest version of long pulse mode. They are currently centered on each side of a 48" 90 gallon tank.

Now, my question is - I am looking at upgrading to ES. Since this thread was created, has anybody upgraded, and have you changed your flow? I have read great things about the nutrient transport mode but not sure if that is a big enough selling point to justify the upgrade.

 

[SkiFletch]

Also curious if anyone changed their minds. I'm just getting into my VorTech and am using the Lagoon mode I think. Whichever one is less "fast" with it's ramping mostly based on my SCUBA experience. While flow on the natural reef isn't laminar, it's not as crazy turbulent as the Vortech's "fast" mode creates. I find it to be more of a slowly shifting surge in the wild and Lagoon mode gets much closer to that IMO

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I was running lagoon while running a Tunze Stream.

I sold the Stream and positioned my MP40 in it's place. It now runs on the longest pulse possible (one minute) max to min flow. I wish the duration of each cycle could be longer.