Mp40 or Mp10

[Phillyd1990]

I'm going to be starting a new build in the next week and there's one last thing I want to get but unsure as I've always used gyres.

The tank will be a 60g deep blue cube 24x24x24.

I will have one maxpect 230 gyre on the back wall vertically and one 230 on the side up high on the glass horizontally. Across from the horizontal gyre I want to put an mp40 or mp10 maybe mid level of the glass.

Question is can I put a mp10 there without having to max it out or should I put an mp40 and just run it low. Obviously the 10 would be better cost wise as long as it can get the job done but I've never owned a vortech so input would be awesome!

 

[Phillyd1990]

Also this will be for sps dominate system

 

[Grahamstyle77]

I have a 50 cube, 24x24x20. I went through the same questioning and ultimately went mp10. Personally I really like my mp-10. I like that our can be dialed down, I think the minimum output on it is about 400 gph whereas the mp40 is minimum 1000gph. (Don't quote me on those #s, been awhile since I researched it). For me the 40 just couldn't be dialed down enough for my taste.
With your gyre pumps you might run into that same issue with the mp40, not being able to dial it down enough.
Also an important consideration would be what kind of tank you're planning? Mine is a mix reef (slowly turning sps), with a sand bed. I think if I had an mp40 it would cause havoc with my sand bed also.
I think the problem really comes down to laminar flow. On 24 inches it really only has about 21 inches (after considering internal tank dimensions & the size of the wet side housing), the water can go before hitting a big glass wall. At least that is my theory on why the mp 40 would maybe be too much power in my tank, but I have never tried an mp 40 in the tank either, so who knows how my thoughts actually pan out. Anyway, best of luck, oh and I run my mp10 on reef crest and it tops out about 70%ish.

 

[Phillyd1990]

I have a 50 cube, 24x24x20. I went through the same questioning and ultimately went mp10. Personally I really like my mp-10. I like that our can be dialed down, I think the minimum output on it is about 400 gph whereas the mp40 is minimum 1000gph. (Don't quote me on those #s, been awhile since I researched it). For me the 40 just couldn't be dialed down enough for my taste.
With your gyre pumps you might run into that same issue with the mp40, not being able to dial it down enough.
Also an important consideration would be what kind of tank you're planning? Mine is a mix reef (slowly turning sps), with a sand bed. I think if I had an mp40 it would cause havoc with my sand bed also.
I think the problem really comes down to laminar flow. On 24 inches it really only has about 21 inches (after considering internal tank dimensions & the size of the wet side housing), the water can go before hitting a big glass wall. At least that is my theory on why the mp 40 would maybe be too much power in my tank, but I have never tried an mp 40 in the tank either, so who knows how my thoughts actually pan out. Anyway, best of luck, oh and I run my mp10 on reef crest and it tops out about 70%ish.

Honestly I figured the mp10 would be plenty especially considering I have the gyres . It will be sps dominate with a sand bed so I dont want it too strong.

 

[MSB123]

I would get MP40. At percents of over about 55%, the Vortechs get pretty loud. Get a MP40 and keep it at ~10%

 

[Res_Ipsa]

MP10 should be enough. I have a 60g (36x18x16) and can't use my MP-10 on full blast or it'll blow off all the sand (Fiji pink) on my bottom. Running it on reefcrest at about 70% keeps great flow in the tank.

 

[Phillyd1990]

I would get MP40. At percents of over about 55%, the Vortechs get pretty loud. Get a MP40 and keep it at ~10%

Do you think I'd have to run the mp10 that high with the two gyres

 

[Phillyd1990]

MP10 should be enough. I have a 60g (36x18x16) and can't use my MP-10 on full blast or it'll blow off all the sand (Fiji pink) on my bottom. Running it on reefcrest at about 70% keeps great flow in the tank.

How's the noise with it on %70?

 

[MSB123]

No. Probably not

 

[Res_Ipsa]

How's the noise with it on %70?

I can't hear it (MP10wQD), especially not over the sounds of my 4 return outlets, skimmer, etc.

 

[Grahamstyle77]

With respect to MSB123, I have heard many people say vortechs can be loud when turned up but in my case this hasn't been a factor at all. I only ever hear the pump when I'm standing within a couple inches of it. Aside from that, dead silent. My tank is in my dining room though and not my bedroom, so I'm not trying to sleep with it running but I have all tile in my kitchen/ dining room so sound does carry well in there and I've never noticed a sound. More importantly, neither has my wife! The loudest thing on my tank now that I replaced my return pump with a reef octopus varios (which I love) is my ATO pump when it kicks on.
But having said that, I know many noise issues are out there so I'm sure that is a consideration but it's not been in my case. Perhaps I'm just lucky and got a quieter pump, who knows.

 

[hart24601]

I would get the 40 personally. I would then run the flow with a combination of timers/or controllers so you really get different flow every 30min or so.

 

[MSB123]

With respect to MSB123, I have heard many people say vortechs can be loud when turned up but in my case this hasn't been a factor at all. I only ever hear the pump when I'm standing within a couple inches of it. Aside from that, dead silent. My tank is in my dining room though and not my bedroom, so I'm not trying to sleep with it running but I have all tile in my kitchen/ dining room so sound does carry well in there and I've never noticed a sound. More importantly, neither has my wife! The loudest thing on my tank now that I replaced my return pump with a reef octopus varios (which I love) is my ATO pump when it kicks on.
But having said that, I know many noise issues are out there so I'm sure that is a consideration but it's not been in my case. Perhaps I'm just lucky and got a quieter pump, who knows.

They are pretty silent.
But as a person who is anal about things like tank noise level, when they are ramping up and down from 20% to 100% in the afternoon for their daily anti sync at 8 seconds, they are loud.
I have done pretty much everything including putting soundproofing in my tank stand to dampen the noise my tank makes.
They are not “loud”, just loud for my tank.

 

[Grahamstyle77]

MSB123, that anti-sync comment, yeah I can totally see that being a factor in the sound. Also that's why I say the tank is in my kitchen/ dining room, so lots of activity in there. Never many quiet moments to hear the tank alone by itself.
But, PhillyD, not to add to your options intentionally but I'll add my experience on 1 other pump for you to judge. About 6 weeks ago I bought an AI nero 5. I purchased it because I'm stocking up for a tank upgrade to an SCA 80G, 32x24x24. I couldn't go mp10 because the glass is too thick. So I was debating between mp40 and nero5. I finally chose nero because in a tank that size I figured an mp 40 would probably never need to be fully ramped up anyway so the total pump capacity was not a concern. Figured a nero tops out at 3k gph, so a good bit more than the mp10, but comparable price. Also the driver is tiny compared to the control driver of the vortech, stand wall real estate is a premium with some of those big drivers. Really planning for a fish room in my next house. But I digress. What also helped the nero win out was the small profile. In tank it's a little larger than mp10 but smaller than a 40, but outside the tank, it's so nice not having that huge motor on the side of the tank. Just a rather small magnet, much less obtrusive. Anyway, sorry to throw another option your way but I quite like my nero 5 and just thought I'd throw my thoughts out there for you.

 

[Phillyd1990]

They are pretty silent.
But as a person who is anal about things like tank noise level, when they are ramping up and down from 20% to 100% in the afternoon for their daily anti sync at 8 seconds, they are loud.
I have done pretty much everything including putting soundproofing in my tank stand to dampen the noise my tank makes.
They are not “loud”, just loud for my tank.

Luckily I'm never too concerned with noise because my gyres make some noise plus it's in the dining room/living room with two noisy kids running around all the time. Only thing I ever had that was too loud was a skimmer. But if I ever do a bedroom tank I'll know to go bigger.

MSB123, that anti-sync comment, yeah I can totally see that being a factor in the sound. Also that's why I say the tank is in my kitchen/ dining room, so lots of activity in there. Never many quiet moments to hear the tank alone by itself.
But, PhillyD, not to add to your options intentionally but I'll add my experience on 1 other pump for you to judge. About 6 weeks ago I bought an AI nero 5. I purchased it because I'm stocking up for a tank upgrade to an SCA 80G, 32x24x24. I couldn't go mp10 because the glass is too thick. So I was debating between mp40 and nero5. I finally chose nero because in a tank that size I figured an mp 40 would probably never need to be fully ramped up anyway so the total pump capacity was not a concern. Figured a nero tops out at 3k gph, so a good bit more than the mp10, but comparable price. Also the driver is tiny compared to the control driver of the vortech, stand wall real estate is a premium with some of those big drivers. Really planning for a fish room in my next house. But I digress. What also helped the nero win out was the small profile. In tank it's a little larger than mp10 but smaller than a 40, but outside the tank, it's so nice not having that huge motor on the side of the tank. Just a rather small magnet, much less obtrusive. Anyway, sorry to throw another option your way but I quite like my nero 5 and just thought I'd throw my thoughts out there for you.

As I said above my tank is in the same kind of area so noise is never an issue for me as long as it's not too loud. Only time I hear it is when i try to get up early before the kids to try and grab some peaceful time lol i looked at the Nero and thought about getting one. I had hydras before and always liked what AI put out but there's so much history already with vortechs it was easier to make an informed decision. Just the size was in question. I actually just decided to go the mp10 route. Should be here just in time to start my build next week!

 

[Grahamstyle77]

Couldn't agree more. You can't doubt the life of vortech. That was my 1 draw back for the nero, no real history behind it but figured the company has put out some pretty great reliable gear so figured I'm ok being a Guinea pig.

Best of luck with the 10 and the new build!

 

[Phillyd1990]

Couldn't agree more. You can't doubt the life of vortech. That was my 1 draw back for the nero, no real history behind it but figured the company has put out some pretty great reliable gear so figured I'm ok being a Guinea pig.

Best of luck with the 10 and the new build!

Excited for my new build

 

[Even Further]

Be sure to check the glass thickness on the tank. The MP-10 has thickness limitations, max thickness is 9.5mm per Ecotech specs. Its kinda lame they omitted 10mm glass from the application range. I was surprised since I have a small tank, but the glass is thick, and the MP-10 is barely usable. I wish they made a MP-10 that accepted thicker glass. I know I've seen online that people use them on 10mm or thicker glass, but not sure on performance.

 

[Ashley Kekua]

please update to tell us if you loving the new pump and it fit your needs to the max!!

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I'd go MP40QD. I have two and both on the back wall (so essentially pushing against 24"). I run them at 90% Reefcrest Anti-Synch and I can only hear them if I'm standing next to the tank. Sound is very important to me because our tank is in our family room where we watch tv. If you get into acros you'll want a lot of flow and you don't want to be limited.