COR-20 or COR-15 Reviews/Updates/Tips

[Sleepydoc]

When I compared my Varios6 and COR 20 they had very similar power usage at the same flows. It was a pretty rough comparison, though. I don’t have a true flow meter, so I simply adjusted them so they kept the level on my Beananimal overflow the same and measured the power at the wall with a kill-a-watt. One thing to watch out for is that the power displayed for the COR pump on the Apex dashboard is the power at the pump, not the total power which includes the power consumed by the pumps, the control unit and the DC power brick.

I have to wonder if many of these pumps don’t use the same internal motor block. The external housing and volute can still have a significant impact on efficiency and heat dissipation, and as I mentioned above, the controller unit plays into the total power consumption as well.

Does anyone know if anyone has done a power-flow comparison of these pumps using an actual flow meter? I’d be interested in seeing how much difference there is between the pumps.

 

[sp0di]

I picked one up for a cor20 for a 72 gallon tank, yup - overkill. But I plan to move to a larger tank in the future ;).

I'm running thru bio-balls currently (lead down the wrong path by the LFS) which will also be changing out VERY soon. Right now I cannot run over 5% or my overflow goes nuts and by-passes my filter media, for the most part. It drops down to 1% when feed A is selected, just to keep the pump primed and not to blow a crap ton of air back into the tank.

I moved from a General Purpose pond pump (LFS again, thanks!) to this, and I gotta say the noise level from this pump is ZERO. I now just hear the trickling of the water going thru the filter. My return is 3/4 due to bulk head limitation.

Current stats:
13W
1605 RPM
47% Temp
5% Flow

 

[lbacha]

I picked one up for a cor20 for a 72 gallon tank, yup - overkill. But I plan to move to a larger tank in the future ;).

I'm running thru bio-balls currently (lead down the wrong path by the LFS) which will also be changing out VERY soon. Right now I cannot run over 5% or my overflow goes nuts and by-passes my filter media, for the most part. It drops down to 1% when feed A is selected, just to keep the pump primed and not to blow a crap ton of air back into the tank.

I moved from a General Purpose pond pump (LFS again, thanks!) to this, and I gotta say the noise level from this pump is ZERO. I now just hear the trickling of the water going thru the filter. My return is 3/4 due to bulk head limitation.

Current stats:
13W
1605 RPM
47% Temp
5% Flow

One thing you may consider is setting the IQ level. I like this feature as my cor15 is overkill on my tank as well. I set max to be the flow level that is just below overflowing my tank. This way if I ever accidentally increase the flow past my current setting the pump still won't overflow the tank.

 

[pelphrey]

I was part of the NSI group, I've been running a COR20 since August of last year. The pumps are awesome and I've had no issues with either one. I say either one because neptune sent out a replacement pump and wanted the test pump back.

 

[Devaji]

anyone have any more feedback on these pumps?
I have been having bad look with RT pumps the last 2.5 years now 1st a lifegurad then an Eheim.

I like the idea of the Apex control ability and monitoring. but guessing the COR 15 would be so small for a 36" 90 gal? looks like at 4' of head its would only push 700GPH.

also some ppl report that there is a flow deduction over time with these anyone experience this?

 

[Mark Gray]

anyone have any more feedback on these pumps?
I have been having bad look with RT pumps the last 2.5 years now 1st a lifegurad then an Eheim.

I like the idea of the Apex control ability and monitoring. but guessing the COR 15 would be so small for a 36" 90 gal? looks like at 4' of head its would only push 700GPH.

also some ppl report that there is a flow deduction over time with these anyone experience this?

I will be starting a 90 I hope by tonight or tomorrow I have 2 Cor 15's

 

[MJNTWise]

Bump....Thinking about getting 2 cor 20s. Are they still running strong?
Thanks
Matt

 

[Sleepydoc]

I posted an update to my original review: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/neptune-cor-20-first-impressions.351968/page-2#post-4770258

In short, mine still works fine, but I started to see a drop in flow (15%) after 3-4 months. I disassembled the pump and cleaned it and it's back to its original flow. Not a big deal, but a 15% drop over 3 months seems high. I'm watching to see how it fares over the next 3 months.

 

[CDavmd]

Need some advice. I'm plumbing my Cor-20 to feed my manifold which is 1 inch PVC. I also have a 1 inch flow meter in line. I have two options- I can use a 1-1/4 to 1 inch bushing on the outlet of the Cor-20 union and then proceed with 1 inch PVC pipe or alternatively use a 6 inch segment of 1-1/4 PVC pipe with a reducing coupler to 1-inch pipe. I might be splitting hairs but do you think having a short initial segment of 1-1/4 pipe will provide any advantage?
Thanks

 

[truetricia]

Question to the COR users:

I'm planning my tank build for when I get back from deployment. Display will either be a 90g (36") or 120g (48") depending on some space restrictions in my condo. I have a return pump from a previous 120g build that I'm pretty sure was a Jabao DC pump. When I plump the new setup, I want to have redundant return pumps. Therefore, I'm looking at a second pump for the future, probably the COR-15.

With the new EB832 that tracks energy usage and the ability to add a flow monitor, is the COR line worth the investment? Or can you get the same results with a different pump using the other APEX products? What other benefits does the COR pump provide?

 

[Mark Gray]

Question to the COR users:

I'm planning my tank build for when I get back from deployment. Display will either be a 90g (36") or 120g (48") depending on some space restrictions in my condo. I have a return pump from a previous 120g build that I'm pretty sure was a Jabao DC pump. When I plump the new setup, I want to have redundant return pumps. Therefore, I'm looking at a second pump for the future, probably the COR-15.

With the new EB832 that tracks energy usage and the ability to add a flow monitor, is the COR line worth the investment? Or can you get the same results with a different pump using the other APEX products? What other benefits does the COR pump provide?

I have a 90 gallon I have 2 Cor 15's on it. I travel some and so I figured if one went out the other would run the tank till I could get it fixed. I really like these pumps, I can't hear them run. I like the east to set up flow patterns I can set up. In the day I have them running at 80% but at night I slow them down to 40%. I also have the flow monitors on them

 

[pelphrey]

Question to the COR users:

I'm planning my tank build for when I get back from deployment. Display will either be a 90g (36") or 120g (48") depending on some space restrictions in my condo. I have a return pump from a previous 120g build that I'm pretty sure was a Jabao DC pump. When I plump the new setup, I want to have redundant return pumps. Therefore, I'm looking at a second pump for the future, probably the COR-15.

With the new EB832 that tracks energy usage and the ability to add a flow monitor, is the COR line worth the investment? Or can you get the same results with a different pump using the other APEX products? What other benefits does the COR pump provide?

I literally setup the pump, did the calibration and haven't touch it since then. Will the EB832 do power monitoring over 1 link? I don't know that answer, otherwise you'd have to have the pump plugged into an outlet. Which apex doesn't recommend. The embedded statistics of the COR pumps is a nice feature, I just don't do anything fancy with it.

 

[ontop27]

I have the cor15 on a 57 gallon. Love it. Super quiet. Runs cool, but reason i picked it was because i can plug it into the apex without taking up an outlet.

 

[Sleepydoc]

I have a Varios 6 and a COR 20 and it's pretty much a toss up between them, IMO. The COR is obviously better integrated with the Apex and a bit easier to set up. My understanding with the COR 15 is that it cannot be used on its own, which is a big drawback, IMO. If something happens with your Apex, you would need to get a new pump to keep your system running. The COR 20 has its own power supply, so that's not a concern there.

One potentially significant advantage with the COR is that you don't need to use a 120V outlet on your EB832. Now, the DC24 outlets have a total 100W (pretty sure on this number) capacity, so if you are running another accessory off the DC 24 then you may not have enough capacity to run the pump. If you are running a non-apex pump, like the Varios, you can also plug it directly into the wall and control it via the 0-10V input, too, but you won't have power monitoring capability.

 

[Burrito]

i have a cor 20 pumped to my 100g tank and i never tested it not plumbed but it seems the pumps is very quiet but i have it plumbed 1.25" for about 8" and then reduce it down to .75" and there is a very audible hum coming from the reducer area. should i just redo the plumbing 3/4th all the way. im having to run 100% right now. 3 elbows and about 2 feet of plumbing

 

[justingraham]

i have a cor 20 pumped to my 100g tank and i never tested it not plumbed but it seems the pumps is very quiet but i have it plumbed 1.25" for about 8" and then reduce it down to .75" and there is a very audible hum coming from the reducer area. should i just redo the plumbing 3/4th all the way. im having to run 100% right now. 3 elbows and about 2 feet of plumbing

Mine Hums as well I opened up a thread about it and people just told me I don’t know how to plumb it properly (sum of the thread) which is bologna it’s just something I have det with I can hear it no one else in my house can hear it

 

[Sleepydoc]

Mine Hums as well I opened up a thread about it and people just told me I don’t know how to plumb it properly (sum of the thread) which is bologna it’s just something I have det with I can hear it no one else in my house can hear it

I used to have a Fluval SP4 for a while. It was a quiet pump but had a bit of a vibration to its I found that the vibrations would transmit through the hard PVC pipes and essentially use the wooden stand as a sounding board where the pipes touched the stand. Putting a piece of rubber between the pipe and the stand significantly reduced and virtually eliminated the problem. I wonder if the same is happening with you?

 

[justingraham]

I used to have a Fluval SP4 for a while. It was a quiet pump but had a bit of a vibration to its I found that the vibrations would transmit through the hard PVC pipes and essentially use the wooden stand as a sounding board where the pipes touched the stand. Putting a piece of rubber between the pipe and the stand significantly reduced and virtually eliminated the problem. I wonder if the same is happening with you?

Thank u but this is the reason I just gave up
When I plug my old vectra m1 in no sound when I plug the cor in same piping same everything I have a Hum it’s not touching anything thank you tho I appreciate the input but it’s like the guy said in the one post it’s when it goes from 1 1/4 to 3/4 it hums

 

[User1]

Pair of Cor 15's here. No issues. One for return other for skimmer. This way if something happens to the return I can take the skimmer offline and swap them out in minutes. Other than that both seem to hold up well. I've cleaned them both out at about the 2 month mark. not sure how long they can go without any cleaning but we'll see. Only issue I have, minor grip, is that when you reassemble them the o-ring is a bit of pain in the rear to put back on.

 

[truetricia]

i have a cor 20 pumped to my 100g tank and i never tested it not plumbed but it seems the pumps is very quiet but i have it plumbed 1.25" for about 8" and then reduce it down to .75" and there is a very audible hum coming from the reducer area. should i just redo the plumbing 3/4th all the way. im having to run 100% right now. 3 elbows and about 2 feet of plumbing

Try switching out the last bit of hard PVC going into the COR for flexible tubing. The hard PVC tubing will transfer vibrations through it while the tubing will help to absorb it instead.