Gyre/Pump Recommendations

[Arcu2]

Looking for some recommendations for flow pumps on my infinia 150.4. It’s a 4 foot tank. I’m planning to have it be mainly Lps/softie with a few Sps. Initially I bought a icecap 2k so that it would work with my hydros wave engine but my glass is too thick and it does not hold secure enough to the glass. Im looking to still use something that’ll work with it. I just don’t know which to choose. A maxspect xf350, icecap 4k or some octo pulse.


Here’s a pic of my scape for reference

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

As A Hydros fan, I would lean to the 4k or the Pulse. Personally, all gyres of any brand are not my favorite. They require much more maintenance than traditional flow pumps and they seem to go through a lot of bushings and replacement parts. I would lean towards and Octo Pulse. There are also extra strong outer magnets you can add to your pulse if the standard magnet isn't enough.

Reef Octopus OCTO Pulse Extra Strong Outer Magnet Mount

The new Reef Octopus OCTO Pulse 4-PM Flow Pump moves up to 4,500 gph and consumes no more than 10 watts of power in the process.

www.marineandreef.com

 

[Blu-J]

What did you end up going with? I bought octo 2's but i have a feeling they are not going to be enough. I have the same tank.

 

[Arcu2]

What did you end up going with? I bought octo 2's but i have a feeling they are not going to be enough. I have the same tank.

I went with 2 4k ice caps with using the wave engine. I have a varios 4 on it as well to save a ton of space and have no power bricks laying around. Even with the 2 gyres I feel like I still need one more pump to get the dead spots in the back area by the overflow it seems to be the spot where all the detritus builds up. My tank is bare bottom.

 

[Blu-J]

I went with 2 4k ice caps with using the wave engine. I have a varios 4 on it as well to save a ton of space and have no power bricks laying around. Even with the 2 gyres I feel like I still need one more pump to get the dead spots in the back area by the overflow it seems to be the spot where all the detritus builds up. My tank is bare bottom.

What percentage do you have the ice caps at?

I will probably return the octo 4's and use one of the 2's on the back of the tank.

I bought a varios 4 as well for the return pump but am starting to think thats too small. are you running reactors off of your return as well?

 

[vanguard]

I've had the maxspect 350's for a few months. I'll do some pros and cons:

Pros:

• The move a LOT of water. I'd say the compare to MP60s
• BRS supports them and they do a great job. One of mine made kind of a tapping sound so I opened a support case. They didn't even reply to the case, they just shipped me a new one.
• The phone app and controller have a nice display that show you what the pump is doing.

Cons:

• One made a slight tapping sound that I couldn't get to the bottom of
• I've made a change on the phone app, hit apply, got the "settings updated" message, but it didn't actually update. You need to confirm by looking at the controller.
• Gyres need to be cleaned a lot. After two weeks they flow less. Since I run them at 40% I tend to just make them run at 60% to get the flow while dirty. I'll change it back after a cleaning.

I hope that helps

 

[Blu-J]

I've had the maxspect 350's for a few months. I'll do some pros and cons:

Pros:

• The move a LOT of water. I'd say the compare to MP60s
• BRS supports them and they do a great job. One of mine made kind of a tapping sound so I opened a support case. They didn't even reply to the case, they just shipped me a new one.
• The phone app and controller have a nice display that show you what the pump is doing.

Cons:

• One made a slight tapping sound that I couldn't get to the bottom of
• I've made a change on the phone app, hit apply, got the "settings updated" message, but it didn't actually update. You need to confirm by looking at the controller.
• Gyres need to be cleaned a lot. After two weeks they flow less. Since I run them at 40% I tend to just make them run at 60% to get the flow while dirty. I'll change it back after a cleaning.

I hope that helps

yes, very much so, I dont mind the cleaning I just have the ability to return what i originally bought so I want to make sure im doing the right thing. this is my first tank that's this deep, the 330 gyer can direct flow in any way and with the wave engine it should make for some nice flow.

How do you clean them? Citric acid or manually?

 

[vanguard]

How do you clean them? Citric acid or manually?

I've done both. I also stick a toothbrush in the intake part while it's running to extend time between actual cleaning.

In my experience, normal cleaning is for performance and citric acid is for both performance and cosmetics.

 

[Blu-J]

in your opinion would you say that the performance of a gyer out weights the performance of a regualr powerhead because of how wide it is and how you can direct the flow?

 

[vanguard]

in your opinion would you say that the performance of a gyer out weights the performance of a regualr powerhead because of how wide it is and how you can direct the flow?

As a general rule of thumb powerheads make a cone of flow. Some are a wide cone, some are narrow, but they are all cones. The gyre is more like a narrow wedge of flow.

Aside from the increased maintenance of a gyre, which is better depends on the shape of flow that you're looking for.

 

[areefer01]

How do you clean them? Citric acid or manually?

Citric acid. Soak them. Then follow up with light scrubbing with a brush. Soft brush.

As far as gleaning more or less - they are no different than any other power head in ones system. Algae and build up happens and it doesn't know the difference between type A or B. Pump/power head type, of course, makes the world of difference in cleaning time.

Gyres - I have the Ice Cap 4k, MaxSpect XF280, also the new XF3xx cloud, and even the Orbit 4. Evolved over time. If you can having spares makes life easier. In fact some come with spare cages and blades. So what you do is hot swap.

• Turn pumps off
• Remove one
• Remove cage, blade
• Replace with spare cage, blade
• Face in proper direction
• Replace in aquarium
• Turn on
• Take dirty cage, blade, soak in 1 gallon rodi 1 cup of citric acid for a few hours
• Brush
• Rinse
• Dry
• Put away for next time

Maybe 5 to 10 minutes of work. 20 minutes if you include the cleaning time. I actually do similar with my return pumps. Turn off, replace, break down, soak, rinse, reassemble, store. Made life so much easier and having spares are nice should one go kaput.

 

[Blu-J]

As a general rule of thumb powerheads make a cone of flow. Some are a wide cone, some are narrow, but they are all cones. The gyre is more like a narrow wedge of flow.

Aside from the increased maintenance of a gyre, which is better depends on the shape of flow that you're looking for.

Thanks! Very good info. I think I’m going to stick with the octo pulses for a little and see how they go!