I Hate My Vortechs

[zoohoot]

OK tell me I am crazy, but I am very unhappy with my Vortechs. I have two MP60s and two MP40s on my ~300 gallon mixed reef. I am having recurring problems with them having "stall errors." I have tried all the normal solutions: full factory reset, cleaning wet side, etc. But it still just seems to happen randomly. To compound the issue, since Mobius is not web accessible I don't get any type of notice of the issue. I just have to check them every morning to see if they are still working.

I am seriously considering switching to RedSea Reefwaves. They are not as powerful and I would likely need more of them, but I had them on a previous smaller tank and never had issues. Plus the Red Sea app is web controllable.

What do y'all think?

 

[JeffB418]

go to hydros wave engine and Reef Octo Pulse 4's, you can run 4 of them off 1 wave engine, 1 power brick, web app controlled and schedulable. and Octo Pulses are bulletproof ive found

 

[exnisstech]

Not sure what could be your problem. I have six MP40s and two MP10s that have been running for 8+ years and the only time i have ever had one stall was when I added some dwarf cirith snails.

 

[Downfall]

go to hydros wave engine and Reef Octo Pulse 4's, you can run 4 of them off 1 wave engine, 1 power brick, web app controlled and schedulable. and Octo Pulses are bulletproof ive found

This is exactly what I did and I couldn't be happier.

 

[tzabor10]

I love them. Work like a dream. Routine maintenance is a must. Molykote 111 is essential.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I predict that whenever the patent runs out, and knock-offs (with the power cord outside the tank) become abundant, people will by the $120 models and take the chance that they can replace them twice more, for the price of one MP-40.

 

[JeffB418]

This is exactly what I did and I couldn't be happier.

yeah i have 6 octo pulses that i havent cleaned since day 1 (going on 3+ years) that still work flawlessly. at this point I want to see how long they will keep going

 

[Downfall]

yeah i have 6 octo pulses that i havent cleaned since day 1 (going on 3+ years) that still work flawlessly. at this point I want to see how long they will keep going

I honestly believe that! I cleaned mine after one year because I felt like 'its time'; but honestly they ran perfect before and after the cleaning. Only difference i noticed was less Coraline algae, lol

 

[zoohoot]

I love them. Work like a dream. Routine maintenance is a must. Molykote 111 is essential.

Where are you applying the molykote?

 

[tzabor10]

Where are you applying the molykote?

On the white disc Without periodic re greasing, they tend to wear down. Also, get the nemguards worth every penny

 

[CBonito]

I've had Neros for 2 years and they've been great. The only time they stop is when a piece of sand somehow gets up there. How I dont know, but a couple gooches with some tweezers and it's free and running fine again.

They never just randomly stall with no reason. And if they lock up from something, the controller knows and shuts it off so it doesn't burn out or anything. They're a lot less expensive than vortechs too.

 

[areefer01]

I predict that whenever the patent runs out, and knock-offs (with the power cord outside the tank) become abundant, people will by the $120 models and take the chance that they can replace them twice more, for the price of one MP-40.

Patent or not there are already knock offs that hobbyist are purchasing. Just do a search here.

 

[areefer01]

yeah i have 6 octo pulses that i havent cleaned since day 1 (going on 3+ years) that still work flawlessly. at this point I want to see how long they will keep going

Just because you are not cleaning them doesn't mean they don't need it or are not running efficiently. While not the same thing cars need maintenance be it oil change, filter changes, tire rotation, or whatever. If one doesn't own a car other things need routine maintenance.

BTW the UI for the wave engine is very frustrating to use. Been there, done that. Kudo's to CV support though as they are attentive to tickets and I always had a great response.

See what I did there? Slight nag but also gave honest credit. Go me :)

 

[Uncle99]

OK tell me I am crazy, but I am very unhappy with my Vortechs. I have two MP60s and two MP40s on my ~300 gallon mixed reef. I am having recurring problems with them having "stall errors." I have tried all the normal solutions: full factory reset, cleaning wet side, etc. But it still just seems to happen randomly. To compound the issue, since Mobius is not web accessible I don't get any type of notice of the issue. I just have to check them every morning to see if they are still working.

I am seriously considering switching to RedSea Reefwaves. They are not as powerful and I would likely need more of them, but I had them on a previous smaller tank and never had issues. Plus the Red Sea app is web controllable.

What do y'all think?

I just use the Jebao stuff, they have an equivalent for any brand name.

I ve have 16 of their various pumps beyond 5 years.

No issues and priced at around half to 2/3rds of the brand name stuff.

So, the $350 brand name gyre I get the Jebao for $125. So even if it broke ( non has yet) then I can still get another 2 for the price of 1 brand name.

 

[rtparty]

There is Tunze and then everyone else well below

I had non stop issues with Vortechs the last 7-8 years and gave up on them.

I wouldn't use anything from Red Sea for any reason. They don't deserve a dollar from any of us until they acknowledge and fix their leaking tanks.

 

[areefer01]

There is Tunze and then everyone else well below

New to Tunze here. Very happy with their response time to questions as I find the hub to be frustrating to no end. Learning curve on my part but I also know it is new. Energy efficient yet effective.

Product wise outside of Abyzz I'm not aware of a company who has a similar warranty and focuses on longevity. Well, LifeReef, but those are about it in my opinion.

 

[reely989]

I’m running a couple of Tunze 6255 or whatever the biggest ones are on my 300 gallon and they are great. If you swap to gyres be prepared for a lot of maintenance. They move water but I think they are a pain in the butt.

 

[areefer01]

I’m running a couple of Tunze 6255 or whatever the biggest ones are on my 300 gallon and they are great. If you swap to gyres be prepared for a lot of maintenance. They move water but I think they are a pain in the butt.

As a owner of Gyres from Maxspect, AI, and Icecap I can support this 100%. I have taken mine offline but will say cleaning is required.

One thing that can make life easier is if the brand includes spare cages and blades. Makes maintenance tasks so much easier if you can shut it off, remove in place, swap blades, cages, replace, and turn back on. Also if one wants to use the reverse flow you need to swap blades and cages anyway.

Cleaner tanks can go longer between maintenance than higher nutrients or film based displays in my experience. So ones mileage may vary.