Maxspect gyre 350 review

[Burrito]

tank info: 100g 48x24x20 tank 15mm glass, mixed reef slowly converting to sps

i had an icecap 3k and 3 mp40s in the tank all below 50% in various randomized flow patterns

i just installed 2 gyre 350s on opposing sides in horizontal configurations. first off, alot of people are concerned with sound, these things are whisper quiet, infact, i dare say quieter than the vortechs....the icecap is the loudest of them all even after cleaning

as far as power, i should have gone with the 330s..... my reasoning was using less power will be quieter and less taxing on the pump. the pumps default to 50% when you start them up and nearly blew my rocks over, i had waves crashing hahah, i quickly put it in manual mode at 10% and currently keep it at min 10% and max 30% random on each pump. when it hits 30% the only thing i heard is water moving. you can keep these very close to the surface of the water with the flow directors but it will cause splashing due to the force, i moved mine about 1.5" below the surface to minimize splashing.

i have my vortechs cleaned and boxed up for now, ill update this when i have to do my first maintenance which i think will be the only negative compared to vortechs.

td;dr these pumps are AMAZING

ill post a video later this evening

 

[NeverlosT]

do it! thanks for the review, I am considering one myself!

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

I find it disappointing that there is such a big difference in noise (which equates to quality IMO) between these and the IceCaps, both made and sold by CoralVue. I recently purchased an IceCap Gyre and it was way too loud. Had to return it.

 

[nickkohrn]

I have a 71g display with two VorTech MP40s. It is an SPS-only, bare-bottom, system with a minimal bonsai structure. I have been eyeing these pumps lately, so I am excited to see your video!

Don't mind the explosion of diatoms, but you can see how open my display is. I won't be adding additional corals, so now I want to focus on flow. I have the MP40s on ansi-sync Lagoon mode, with a maximum of 75%. Do you think that adding a Maxspect Gyre XF330 or XF350 would be overkill? I realize that they can be turned down, so that's helpful. I want to make the flow more randomized and not only blow from the back to the front.

 

[Burrito]

if there wasn't a big difference btw icecap and maxspect i assume maxspect would be out of business by the cheaper icecap. for the price of the icecap 3k, its not annoyingly loud unless its gets really dirty then its a audible from different floors of my house. build quality is certainly better on the maxspect, the controller feels better, packages, etc. but the price is significantly more... i wouldn't hesitate to recommend the 3k for a budget tank, frag tank, etc

 

[Burrito]

Excuse the dirty sand
I have to re record the 10-60% vids. YouTube didn’t like the format my iPhone did it at.

Left side at 70% right side st 10%. Didn’t want to go any higher. Notice the torch on the lower right


Both sides set to 50% max 10% min random


Both sides constant 50%. WAYYYY TO MUCH flow but for the visual.

 

[nickkohrn]

Excuse the dirty sand
I have to re record the 10-60% vids. YouTube didn’t like the format my iPhone did it at.

Left side at 70% right side st 10%. Didn’t want to go any higher. Notice the torch on the lower right


Both sides set to 50% max 10% min random


Both sides constant 50%. WAYYYY TO MUCH flow but for the visual.

Wow, those can really push some water! Thanks for the videos!

 

[evmibo]

Does anyone know if they’re coming out with the larger 370 or 380 model?

 

[Juniorh2r]

tank info: 100g 48x24x20 tank 15mm glass, mixed reef slowly converting to sps

i had an icecap 3k and 3 mp40s in the tank all below 50% in various randomized flow patterns

i just installed 2 gyre 350s on opposing sides in horizontal configurations. first off, alot of people are concerned with sound, these things are whisper quiet, infact, i dare say quieter than the vortechs....the icecap is the loudest of them all even after cleaning

as far as power, i should have gone with the 330s..... my reasoning was using less power will be quieter and less taxing on the pump. the pumps default to 50% when you start them up and nearly blew my rocks over, i had waves crashing hahah, i quickly put it in manual mode at 10% and currently keep it at min 10% and max 30% random on each pump. when it hits 30% the only thing i heard is water moving. you can keep these very close to the surface of the water with the flow directors but it will cause splashing due to the force, i moved mine about 1.5" below the surface to minimize splashing.

i have my vortechs cleaned and boxed up for now, ill update this when i have to do my first maintenance which i think will be the only negative compared to vortechs.

td;dr these pumps are AMAZING

ill post a video later this evening

I ordered the 330 it arrives Thursday for a red sea 425xl I currently have 2 Ai pulse on the back I'm I adding the gyre on the side lets see what happens

 

[Juniorh2r]

I ordered the 330 it arrives Thursday for a red sea 425xl I currently have 2 Ai pulse on the back I'm I adding the gyre on the side lets see what happens

The xf 330

 

[Jonreefer]

it must only be the Icecap 3k. I have the 1k model and its dead silent even at 100%
I have been contemplating getting a 2nd gyre and getting rid of my MP10. Was contemplating on one of the new 330 models. but Might be to much for my 40Breeder with a 330 and an 1k gyre

 

[Hemmdog]

Does anyone know if they’re coming out with the larger 370 or 380 model?

I think they discontinued the big guys.

 

[Burrito]

Those of you who have had gryes before. What’s the purpose of the alternative gyre modes? Like anything in the “-, negative” range. I feel like this would put a lot of wear and tear on the pump to keep reversing direction.

 

[malacoda]

If the 300 series is the same as the 200 series, each of the paddles should have a small A or B molded into one of their ends.

If you run it with an A-B paddle set (which is the default set up it is packaged in), it would push water forward strongly with both paddles when in the + range, then when it switches to the - range it will push water weakly in the reverse direction creating a weaker gyre in the opposite direction. The 'reverse' gyre is weaker because of the curve of the paddle blades is designed to push water primarily in the + direction.

If you swap out the one of the paddles to run in either an A-A or B-B set, one side of the gyre will push water forward while running in the + range. And at the same time the other side of the gyre will push water in the reverse direction creating turbulent flow. When the gyre switches to the negative range, the flow switches: the side that was pushing forward will push in reverse to create turbulence on that half of the tank, and the side that was creating turbulence will push forward.

This CoralVue vid can probably explain it clearer: https://blog.coralvue.com/cvtv-episode-3-maxspect-gyre-alternating-gyre-mode/

As far as wear and tear: The change in direction is created by the drive magnet simply spinning in the opposite direction. It's no more wear and tear than it switching from stopped-to-forward, stopped-to-foward or low-to-high, low-to-high when running in one of the other modes.

 

[Burrito]

Ahh. The 300s only come with one set, seems like the 200s came with an extra set.

 

[malacoda]

Ah, well then, if that's the case...

I ran alternating gyre in my tank with the default A-B paddle setup -- which is no doubt what the 300s come with since it the only way to have both paddles pushing water in the same direction -- and found that the reverse (-) mode flow was too weak to really do much unless it was set at a really high %. Like -70% or higher.

At that speed the noise was too annoying to me (the tank is just 4' from my office desk) to make it worthwhile, so I just ran in the forward modes.

 

[garbled]

I would buy these in a second if they worked with Apex. :)

 

[Firemanreefkeeper]

I bought them 2 weeks ago and wasn't super impressed with them. I had the 200 series previously and found the build to be more solid. The flow directors make it push water in a more concentrated pattern but like the OP said you can't put them right up on the surface or they collide and splash. I also don't like the wire setup on it. It has 4 wires now instead of the 3 as both pumps get their own power supply. I will say they are silent.

 

[Burrito]

Mine are running off one power supply. The 2 350s go into one controller. 1 power brick

 

[scriptmonkey]

I would buy these in a second if they worked with Apex. :)

This! I bought the xf230's with the story of Apex support soon. 2 years later, no Apex support. I need 2 for my 130 build...going to wait and see for a bit longer but may need to find something else.