[karnivor]

Hi all,

I'm not totally happy with the type of flow my Polario is givving me, mainly due to positioning and the fact that its faulty.

I'm looking to ditch the polario and get it back for repair but i'm seriously considering giving one or two Vortech MP40's a go. They are rather expensive and beyond what I really want to pay for a couple of pumps but if they are as good as the price suggests, they would suite my tank in terms of positioning.

For those who dont know, I have a 5X2X2 sps system, to give you some idea of what i'm trying to run. I also have a closed loop, which I wouldnt mind turning off as its expensive to run for what it does.

Comments please.

[Norvern Rob]

2 MP40's in that sized tank would give you all the flow you need. The spread of flow is very impressive as well, so even the tank is stuffed full of corals you shouldn't have problems with dead spots.

I currently have 1 MP40 (Gen 1 so doesn't have the wave functions) in my 52"x40"x30" tank, set at around 90% power and the flow is really good - it's mounted at the top front right of the tank and still moved the sand from the bottom back left corner - that's a distance of 92" away and 24" down. There's also an undertow created along the bottom which is pushing back towards the Vortech. I'll be adding another at some point, but as you've said they're not exactly the cheapest of pumps!

The flow is much more spread than Tunze powerheads, i'd be quite happy placing corals 12" away and directly in front of it - a Tunze would batter anything that close. They also look much neater as there are no wires in the tank and only the prop section.

The 2 downsides are cost and reliability issues (mainly noise). Mine is quiet, though the dryside does make a slight buzzing noise. ITC's customer service is excellent though, so if you did get a dodgy one you would have no issues getting it swapped out/repaired.

Here's a pic of mine in the tank, they do look nice and tidy. You can see where the sand has been pushed away on the left, i've ended up putting a rubble zone at the back left to keep the sand in place.



To put the tank size into perspective a bit more:

[dab]

karnivor, on Nov 30 2009, 11:26 AM, said:

Hi all,

I'm not totally happy with the type of flow my Polario is givving me, mainly due to positioning and the fact that its faulty.

I'm looking to ditch the polario and get it back for repair but i'm seriously considering giving one or two Vortech MP40's a go. They are rather expensive and beyond what I really want to pay for a couple of pumps but if they are as good as the price suggests, they would suite my tank in terms of positioning.

For those who dont know, I have a 5X2X2 sps system, to give you some idea of what i'm trying to run. I also have a closed loop, which I wouldnt mind turning off as its expensive to run for what it does.

Comments please.

hi, ive also got a 5x2x2,im running 2 mp40s,sps tank,there a great bit of kit and relabilaty has been great,the water movent is great,the only issue i have is i find them a bit noisey[whurring]hth

[Dave.I]

The issues above made me get a tunze 6055 and the new USB 7096 multicontroller.Very good bit of kit,quiet,reliable and all the other good things that tunze stand for.Im going to be getting another soon. The multicontroller is the nuts and cheaper than the older model!

[ChrisR]

I've sort of got 2 of them. Only ones working at the minute as the other is fecked - well it works but what a bleeding racket that comes from the Wetside, scared the vibrations would shatter the tank its that bad , the problem being a faulty bearing that looks like its ovaled so the wetside prop dont turn true - where as the other pump is almost silent!! Yes the customer service is great but its the wait for replacement parts to come from the States is a nightmare, i've been waiting nearly 5 months for my new wetside to turn up.

But as Rob says great wide flow out of these beasties would recommend them even with the small problem ive had.

Chris

[karnivor]

Thanks for the replies guys. It seems to pretty well reflect what has been said on Reefpark, in that they are good but reliabilty may be an issue.

Dave, did you actually swap from Vortechs or did you make your decision based on other peoples opinons?
If you swapped, how do they compare?

The price of Vortech's and Streams of a similar flow seem roughly the same, but i'd prefer the Vortech's for the wider flow pattern.

[Norvern Rob]

ChrisR, on Nov 30 2009, 05:39 PM, said:

I've sort of got 2 of them. Only ones working at the minute as the other is fecked - well it works but what a bleeding racket that comes from the Wetside, scared the vibrations would shatter the tank its that bad , the problem being a faulty bearing that looks like its ovaled so the wetside prop dont turn true - where as the other pump is almost silent!! Yes the customer service is great but its the wait for replacement parts to come from the States is a nightmare, i've been waiting nearly 5 months for my new wetside to turn up.

But as Rob says great wide flow out of these beasties would recommend them even with the small problem ive had.

Chris

Waiting 5 months for a wetside? I bought a spare full wetside from First Stop Aquatics about 4 weeks ago and they had plenty in stock. (I bought it as my Gen 1 had the metal magnet and I'd rather have the newer plastic coated one)

[ChrisR]

Norvern Rob, on Dec 1 2009, 11:39 AM, said:

Waiting 5 months for a wetside? I bought a spare full wetside from First Stop Aquatics about 4 weeks ago and they had plenty in stock. (I bought it as my Gen 1 had the metal magnet and I'd rather have the newer plastic coated one)

Yes im not away to pay out more cash when my original Vortech Gen 2 is still in warranty... stupid buying another wetside IMO.

[jed]

I have two of these and i have to say they are the best circulation pumps i have used,the flow from one pump is great, the under tow that you get is something you don't get with other pumps ,i put one in a 7x2x2 to try out and was shocked at what it can do,they are able to move alot more water than streams and all over the tank,less heat transfer, low wattage and don't need cleaning as often, the programs reef crest and lagoon modes are really good at randomizing the flow but will reduce the overall flow rate,and you can even get waves from one pump on the pulse modes if desired.
Price is in line with controllable streams but one mp40 will do a better overall job imo than one stream.
I've had no issue's with mine,they were a little noisy to start with,and i was offered replacements if i took them into my LFS,never bothered and they have quietened down and i can't hear them now,my mate had issues with his dropping of the tank,he sent it back twice each time it was repaired and sent back within 3 days,and now runs fine.

[karnivor]

ChrisR, on Dec 1 2009, 12:36 PM, said:

Yes im not away to pay out more cash when my original Vortech Gen 2 is still in warranty... stupid buying another wetside IMO.

Who are you trying to get the wetside from? the U.S or UK distributor.

[karnivor]

jed, on Dec 1 2009, 01:03 PM, said:

I have two of these and i have to say they are the best circulation pumps i have used,the flow from one pump is great, the under tow that you get is something you don't get with other pumps ,i put one in a 7x2x2 to try out and was shocked at what it can do,they are able to move alot more water than streams and all over the tank,less heat transfer, low wattage and don't need cleaning as often, the programs reef crest and lagoon modes are really good at randomizing the flow but will reduce the overall flow rate,and you can even get waves from one pump on the pulse modes if desired.
Price is in line with controllable streams but one mp40 will do a better overall job imo than one stream.
I've had no issue's with mine,they were a little noisy to start with,and i was offered replacements if i took them into my LFS,never bothered and they have quietened down and i can't hear them now,my mate had issues with his dropping of the tank,he sent it back twice each time it was repaired and sent back within 3 days,and now runs fine.

On the strength of all the comments, I have ordered 2 MP40's today.
Thanks guys.

[Dave.I]

I went on other peoples comments Tony.

Let us know what you think of them!

[ChrisR]

karnivor, on Dec 1 2009, 01:19 PM, said:

Who are you trying to get the wetside from? the U.S or UK distributor.

UK

[karnivor]

ChrisR, on Dec 1 2009, 02:26 PM, said:

UK

ooh, bummer.
I'm not sure i'd be quite so patient. I'd have been screaming my rights at em well before now.

[ChrisR]

Well ive got the replacement coming should be with me this week, the service from Steve at Reefdreams has been excellent - he sent me numerous spares to try and fix the problem, and i dont see how getting annoyed is going to solve anything, plus i've got a few spare Tunze Nanostreams as a back up for things like this.

[jed]

If you have any problems with them you should get in touch with Jez on the ITC forum on UR. he is the rep for vortech in the u.k and will sort any probs out directly.

[Norvern Rob]

ChrisR, on Dec 1 2009, 12:36 PM, said:

Yes im not away to pay out more cash when my original Vortech Gen 2 is still in warranty... stupid buying another wetside IMO.

I never said buy one - just that they are in the country and available, so i'm not sure why you've been waiting 5 months. If you look at the ITC forum on UR plenty of people have had new wetsides, and as they're the distributors I can't understand why some shops haven't had any for so long? That's unless they're importing them directly and not going through ITC?

[ChrisR]

Oh well, maybe i dont moan enough then, was dealing direct with Steve and was happy with his service so didnt see the need to bypass him Not that it bothers me as its all sorted now, and was willing to wait anyway as i had back ups in place anyway.

[Dave.I]

Any update?

[karnivor]

Dave.I, on Dec 5 2009, 08:02 AM, said:

Any update?

Nope. I'm not expecting them to turn up until the end of next week. They are waiting for fresh stocks.