Looking for Flow Advice
- Thread starter dbjonesjr
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I bet an Icecap 1k/2k would give you some good flow.
I have a reefbreeders wave maker on my small frag tank and I thought it was pretty sweet when I first hooked it up. Unfortunately it needs to be cleaned pretty regularly, like every couple weeks now, and it doesn’t seem to have the same power it had out of the box. I think you would need several of them on a 65 gallon, and I can’t imagine needing to clean 3 of those every couple weeks. My vortechs on my display are much easier to maintain and last for years and years.
I’m definitley considering VorTech pumps, but there is a cost. I went with Radions for lighting and it would be nice to buy into the ecosystem.
Thanks for the opinion on the pumps, that helps my decision a lot.
Get a Tunze 6055. They are a bit more than the cheap Chinese stuff, but they are decade-long proven reliability. They just run and run without needing anything from you until the grates get clogged up. I have heard that they are easy to integrate with Apex, but I would not know.
If you are going to be in the hobby for a while, you cannot afford to go cheap here.
If you are going to be in the hobby for a while, you cannot afford to go cheap here.
Gyres are very popular with a lot of the high end sps collectors I’ve talked to, but I went with vortechs bc I can’t stand bulky equipment and cords in or around my display. They look like a giant face zit on a super model. But maybe that’s just me.
I finally got a nero and it’s nice but louder than any other pump I have had on my Rubbermaid tub. The wave puck pumps I still have running are dead silent and still working great. The Nero’s magnets seem horribly weak as well.
The original pump that had that body style and flow pattern was the waveline wavepuck. Had a strong magnet and more directional movement but was a little bit bigger. Someone posted a horrible review on their bigtime website which turned a lot of people from buying it but none of the stuff posted I found true. The Nero pump has good flow but is way more expensive because of the phone controlling part. But mines way louder, weak magnets, with much thinner cheaper material and chord. But I will see which lasts longer and performs better. It’s sad the wavepuck got discontinued so quick. Another complain with the guys post was the controller for the wavepuck is ugly. Luckily there are many versions of this pump out now.
Gyres have static flow. I have some 280s in a 240g tank and hate them, but they do move a LOT of water. I would never use them alone. People will tell you that you can run them backwards and all of this, but they still make corals "lean" as they grow and stuff. You can put them very near the top and barely see them, but you can do this with nearly all pumps. I will say this... people complain about having to clean them and performance and all of that, but I have never once cleaned mine in about 18 months and they still move as much water as they did when new. I do not expect them to last for very long, but so far, they have been reliable and have not needed anything.
Vortechs are cool, but you cannot point or direct them. I find them easier to use in smaller tanks where water will be random in every square inch due to small volume and you can get good flow everywhere via brute force. Even on my 240g, mp40s will leave dead places and places with static flow just by having to be perpendicular to the glass. These are not too long lasting and if you get five years out of them, then you will be doing well... you can get new wet sides and replacement parts, so this helps. These are hard to buy used since they do seem to have a lifespan.
What you will like best is up to you... no way around this. There are pros and cons to each. For me, I just buy for longevity and performance - I get equally frustrated with cords on the outside as much as I do with cords on the inside, I hate static flow and I just buy for longevity and performance. This means Tunze for me. I only touch them when the coralline grows and closes the grates shut. I have many of their products that are more than a decade old. I have a box of mp40s that I do not really use anymore, but they can be cool to just stick on for extra flow if I need it for a while.
I do not use apex, so if that is factor to you, then consider it. It means nothing to me.
Vortechs are cool, but you cannot point or direct them. I find them easier to use in smaller tanks where water will be random in every square inch due to small volume and you can get good flow everywhere via brute force. Even on my 240g, mp40s will leave dead places and places with static flow just by having to be perpendicular to the glass. These are not too long lasting and if you get five years out of them, then you will be doing well... you can get new wet sides and replacement parts, so this helps. These are hard to buy used since they do seem to have a lifespan.
What you will like best is up to you... no way around this. There are pros and cons to each. For me, I just buy for longevity and performance - I get equally frustrated with cords on the outside as much as I do with cords on the inside, I hate static flow and I just buy for longevity and performance. This means Tunze for me. I only touch them when the coralline grows and closes the grates shut. I have many of their products that are more than a decade old. I have a box of mp40s that I do not really use anymore, but they can be cool to just stick on for extra flow if I need it for a while.
I do not use apex, so if that is factor to you, then consider it. It means nothing to me.
Thanks so much, exactly the information I was looking for. Sounds like the gyre style is good for eliminating dead spots while standard styles are good for varying flow. Maybe a combination of a gyre and something like the Tunze you recommended would work well for me. Thanks so much for the advice again!
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