IceCap Gyre 2k

[jorahx]

Do you know if/or when replacement parts, such as any o-rings, caps, ect..., are readily available for order as well @corey01? Been waiting, drum rolling, for months, for this product. Let me know if you think this would be to much for a 20g long.

They make a gyre 1k also. Which might suite your 20g long.

 

[curtisbenm]

That's the one I'm speaking of. Think they skipped the 2k and made it a 1k. Like trying to organize my Star Wars DVD collection

 

[rockstarta78]

Following this thread. Interested to see the reviews.

 

[corey01]

insta thoughts. and I do mean instant as I have had it for 30 ish mins playing with it in the tank.
first off oddly it wasnt shipped by marine depot It was shipped by coralvue so that's...interesting. seems packed well came in a nice form fit box with everything snugly in its place so that's nice.
picking it up it feels....well it feels kinda cheap. its very light almost too light. even the controller for as large as it is feels like a big empty box. the unit isn't very heavy at all most of its weight seems to be in the back as the magnet mount. of which I have a picture included. this magnet kinda worries me. it literally looks like a loose magnet. and it is not coated in any kind of anti corrosion material I can see. can someone with a 3k chime in and let me know if its the same on the 3k? I would feel a little better. the magnet sits inside a very soft rubber housing that slips over the 1k to secure it to tank. and I do mean soft. I understand its probably like that to reduce any kind of noise transfer but the rubber seems so soft the pump is drooping over its own weight which remember isnt much, causing it to lean forward in the tank. kinda hard to see but it is there. although I am not sure this would be a problem as you can simply pull the cord taught and it should hold. someone was asking about parts. they have considerately included a bag of spare wear parts along with the unit. I took a photo of these if anyone is interested.
the pump when assembled came on at default of 50% power. I will tell you now I am not sure I would use it over this in my tank. started blowing everything around like crazy. I reduced it to 30% and that seemed a bit better but almost too low. I will play with it some more. maybe see if there is a way to bounce between 30-40% my dimensions are 24” x 20” x 12” someone mentioned a 20G tank. based on initial experience I would say it would work just fine.
the big Issue for me at the moment is its intrusive. I didn't think it would be but you can see its throwing a shadow over some of my corals already. my calipers put it @ 2.76 inches from the glass to the end of the pump. I think there is a strong chance I will find some reef safe filament and 3D print a new mount to sit the pump more flush back against the glass. there's a way to do spoilers I think but im not sure ATM how.

 

[macnets]

insta thoughts. and I do mean instant as I have had it for 30 ish mins playing with it in the tank.
first off oddly it wasnt shipped by marine depot It was shipped by coralvue so that's...interesting. seems packed well came in a nice form fit box with everything snugly in its place so that's nice.
picking it up it feels....well it feels kinda cheap. its very light almost too light. even the controller for as large as it is feels like a big empty box. the unit isn't very heavy at all most of its weight seems to be in the back as the magnet mount. of which I have a picture included. this magnet kinda worries me. it literally looks like a loose magnet. and it is not coated in any kind of anti corrosion material I can see. can someone with a 3k chime in and let me know if its the same on the 3k? I would feel a little better. the magnet sits inside a very soft rubber housing that slips over the 1k to secure it to tank. and I do mean soft. I understand its probably like that to reduce any kind of noise transfer but the rubber seems so soft the pump is drooping over its own weight which remember isnt much, causing it to lean forward in the tank. kinda hard to see but it is there. although I am not sure this would be a problem as you can simply pull the cord taught and it should hold. someone was asking about parts. they have considerately included a bag of spare wear parts along with the unit. I took a photo of these if anyone is interested.
the pump when assembled came on at default of 50% power. I will tell you now I am not sure I would use it over this in my tank. started blowing everything around like crazy. I reduced it to 30% and that seemed a bit better but almost too low. I will play with it some more. maybe see if there is a way to bounce between 30-40% my dimensions are 24” x 20” x 12” someone mentioned a 20G tank. based on initial experience I would say it would work just fine.
the big Issue for me at the moment is its intrusive. I didn't think it would be but you can see its throwing a shadow over some of my corals already. my calipers put it @ 2.76 inches from the glass to the end of the pump. I think there is a strong chance I will find some reef safe filament and 3D print a new mount to sit the pump more flush back against the glass. there's a way to do spoilers I think but im not sure ATM how.

How loud is the pump?

 

[corey01]

The kid is playing games in the living room so I can tell you more accurately later. But at 40% I cannot hear it over ambient

 

[TroyHoot]

On the magnet. It looks like the same material as the 3k. The magnet on the 3k is exposed to water. Been in my tank almost a year with zero issues on the magnet. I havent read of any issues with it either.

Also WOW, they send you alot of extra bits. The 3k only comes with maybe 1/3 of those extras, if that much.

With the 3k, if it gets air trapped in it then it whines some. If it gets time to clean it then it whines some. Mine took 3-4 weeks to break in. Before that the whine was kinda loud in my quiet room. Now I dont hear it unless it needs attention. I run mine at 40% random mode. So its speed changing all the time.

 

[corey01]

On the magnet. It looks like the same material as the 3k. The magnet on the 3k is exposed to water. Been in my tank almost a year with zero issues on the magnet. I havent read of any issues with it either.

Also WOW, they send you alot of extra bits. The 3k only comes with maybe 1/3 of those extras, if that much.

With the 3k, if it gets air trapped in it then it whines some. If it gets time to clean it then it whines some. Mine took 3-4 weeks to break in. Before that the whine was kinda loud in my quiet room. Now I dont hear it unless it needs attention. I run mine at 40% random mode. So its speed changing all the time.

thanks for mentioning the magnet is the same. makes me feel a little bit better about putting it in the tank. im glad they supplied all the extras. honestly thats my biggest fault with these pumps is the need for the replacement parts. and coming from coralvue 7 dollar shipping for 3 dollars worth of new bushings dosent sit very well with me and my wallet. just last week I spent 60 dollars on replacement parts for my maxspect gyre. and those parts will either last until the pump Dies of natural causes, or it might find itself a new home lol.
I have settled on random mode topping out around 40% power. which is a tad much but it shouldn't stay at top speed for long so we will see how it goes.
what I would like is to put it in alternating gyre mode. but from what I can see there is no random setting for it. it will just switch from top forward speed you set to top reverse speed that you set.
I would like to see the pump moving in random speeds in a back and forth motion. but I havent figured that out yet.
the manual makes note of having many variable in all the modes to control. but dosent seem to instruct on how to access them within the modes.
under random it very clearly states you can set a min and a max. but when programming it the only option it lets you adjust is max.
setting 20%-40% to me would be more helpful than 10-40% and im sure others with larger tanks would see the benefit of that as well.

Also to note. im pretty sure the 3k has a slot on the controller to update firmware as it is released? or maybe thats the new maxspect models.
this controller does not have that option. so it would seem the software as is, is what we get and that's it.
another point to note. and it might just be me being picky. the viewing angle on the controller is terrible. you have to be dead on eye level to see anything on the display.
which granted I am not looking at it often but it means being mounted on my cabinet door I have to crouch down/sit on the floor to do any adjusting to it. its not a simple glancing down and hitting some buttons.

more info to come as it comes to me.

 

[NY_Caveman]

thanks for mentioning the magnet is the same. makes me feel a little bit better about putting it in the tank. im glad they supplied all the extras. honestly thats my biggest fault with these pumps is the need for the replacement parts. and coming from coralvue 7 dollar shipping for 3 dollars worth of new bushings dosent sit very well with me and my wallet. just last week I spent 60 dollars on replacement parts for my maxspect gyre. and those parts will either last until the pump Dies of natural causes, or it might find itself a new home lol.
I have settled on random mode topping out around 40% power. which is a tad much but it shouldn't stay at top speed for long so we will see how it goes.
what I would like is to put it in alternating gyre mode. but from what I can see there is no random setting for it. it will just switch from top forward speed you set to top reverse speed that you set.
I would like to see the pump moving in random speeds in a back and forth motion. but I havent figured that out yet.
the manual makes note of having many variable in all the modes to control. but dosent seem to instruct on how to access them within the modes.
under random it very clearly states you can set a min and a max. but when programming it the only option it lets you adjust is max.
setting 20%-40% to me would be more helpful than 10-40% and im sure others with larger tanks would see the benefit of that as well.

Also to note. im pretty sure the 3k has a slot on the controller to update firmware as it is released? or maybe thats the new maxspect models.
this controller does not have that option. so it would seem the software as is, is what we get and that's it.
another point to note. and it might just be me being picky. the viewing angle on the controller is terrible. you have to be dead on eye level to see anything on the display.
which granted I am not looking at it often but it means being mounted on my cabinet door I have to crouch down/sit on the floor to do any adjusting to it. its not a simple glancing down and hitting some buttons.

more info to come as it comes to me.

Thanks for the note on the display. I was considered using Velcro to attach to my stand (only 36” tall) and it seems from what you say it would be helpful to be able to remove it for viewing.

 

[fishbox]

thanks for mentioning the magnet is the same. makes me feel a little bit better about putting it in the tank. im glad they supplied all the extras. honestly thats my biggest fault with these pumps is the need for the replacement parts. and coming from coralvue 7 dollar shipping for 3 dollars worth of new bushings dosent sit very well with me and my wallet. just last week I spent 60 dollars on replacement parts for my maxspect gyre. and those parts will either last until the pump Dies of natural causes, or it might find itself a new home lol.
I have settled on random mode topping out around 40% power. which is a tad much but it shouldn't stay at top speed for long so we will see how it goes.
what I would like is to put it in alternating gyre mode. but from what I can see there is no random setting for it. it will just switch from top forward speed you set to top reverse speed that you set.
I would like to see the pump moving in random speeds in a back and forth motion. but I havent figured that out yet.
the manual makes note of having many variable in all the modes to control. but dosent seem to instruct on how to access them within the modes.
under random it very clearly states you can set a min and a max. but when programming it the only option it lets you adjust is max.
setting 20%-40% to me would be more helpful than 10-40% and im sure others with larger tanks would see the benefit of that as well.

Also to note. im pretty sure the 3k has a slot on the controller to update firmware as it is released? or maybe thats the new maxspect models.
this controller does not have that option. so it would seem the software as is, is what we get and that's it.
another point to note. and it might just be me being picky. the viewing angle on the controller is terrible. you have to be dead on eye level to see anything on the display.
which granted I am not looking at it often but it means being mounted on my cabinet door I have to crouch down/sit on the floor to do any adjusting to it. its not a simple glancing down and hitting some buttons.

more info to come as it comes to me.

I've also had no issues with the magnet being exposed on my 3k and it's been over a year. There was a discussion about the magnet in an other thread. I can't remember exact details but the material was found to be safe and non corrosive.

 

[fishbox]

Also, yes the 3k has a slot for firmware updates but to my knowledge, they have not released any updates. Maybe they decided that they never will and that's why they didn't include the slot on the 1k.

 

[ethridge78]

I still can’t believe it’s only @ 20$ difference between the 3k and the 1k

 

[corey01]

I still can’t believe it’s only @ 20$ difference between the 3k and the 1k

for the 20 dollar difference, I say only buy the 1k if space is an ultra premium or your small tank is a niche case where the 3k on minimum would still be too much. the only reason I didn't get a 3k was due the the black friday special I preordered for 100$I honestly feel that is a tiny bit expensive. but I was still on the fence all the way up to the point where marine depot said oh wait no. its going to be a bit more expensive than anyone thought.
figured id give it a shot.

 

[User1]

With the 3k, if it gets air trapped in it then it whines some.

Just passed by this thread and this caught my eye. You mentioned that it can whine or that you hear it? I have a XF250 Gyre and was hearing a whine and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Really bothered me then I noticed I had the unit maxing at 100% so figured that was it. When I figured connected it and was running I didn't hear it so something changed. I remember doing a power failure test to check the sump level and accidently left on the Gyre. Your post now leads me to believe that air could have also been trapped inside causing it. Interesting. In any case it is using one of the default settings and peaking at 70% which seems fine at the moment but I'm going to keep your post in mind if I hear it again.

Thanks!

 

[fishbox]

Just passed by this thread and this caught my eye. You mentioned that it can whine or that you hear it? I have a XF250 Gyre and was hearing a whine and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Really bothered me then I noticed I had the unit maxing at 100% so figured that was it. When I figured connected it and was running I didn't hear it so something changed. I remember doing a power failure test to check the sump level and accidently left on the Gyre. Your post now leads me to believe that air could have also been trapped inside causing it. Interesting. In any case it is using one of the default settings and peaking at 70% which seems fine at the moment but I'm going to keep your post in mind if I hear it again.

Thanks!

I noticed that the whine would happen right after removing the unit for cleaning but would go away after a day. At 1st I thought it just needed to rebuild a slime coat or something but then I noticed that if the pump went into reverse flow mode or if I turned the unit off for feeding that it would release a few bubbles then get quiet. So at least in my case, the whine comes from trapped air.

 

[MarineDepot]

 

[ethridge78]

I have the 3k and love it never had a problem and I have owned it since it came out like the idea of the 1k but 20 cheaper can’t pull the trigger it just doesn’t make since for me

 

[Jfourn83]

I just put my 1k into my 20 gallon nuvo today. I have it on random flow maxing out at 100%. I already have better polyp extension then i had with my jabeo

 

[rockstarta78]

Is 1k or 3k a better choice for a 40g breeder mixed reef?

 

[corey01]

for the price difference of $20 get the 3k. you will be better set for the future if you decide to move it to another tank.
I have said before the 1k only makes sense if you are limited on space or are dealing with a very small tank.

also to note. the 1k has an updated controller. it might be worth emailing coralvue or a retailer asking if there are any plans for the new controller style being moved to the 3k model in the near future.