Orca mounting question

[Mickey]

I'm planning on purchasing the Orca MK2 6105 kit to replace a failed Neptune WAV. Ideally I'd like to mount it to the 80/20 bracing that sits on the eurobrace rim of my tank. It's 40mm/approx 1 1/2" wide. Is that possible?

 

[rvitko]

The clamp only spans just under an inch, like 15/16ths. It can be turned horizontally or vertically but it cannot span that far.

 

[Mickey]

Okay, thanks. There is room I think to attach it to the eurobrace itself but I was hoping to pull it a bit higher out of the water. Black seems to be harder to find, is it discontinued or just short supply?

 

[rvitko]

Short supply, that will change in a couple months but they have been harder to produce. Its complicated but to meet safety standards they are made from a fire retardant plastic and the black color has been a lot harder to make.

 

[Mickey]

I have no objection to the white as long as it doesn't hang below the water level in the tank. From pictures and videos I've seen of the Orca on eurobraced tanks, it will be partly below the water level.

 

[rvitko]

The motor is all above the water line, the clamps can be turned around to mount it higher or lower. https://www.tunze.com/US/en/details/0502.000-tunzeR-orca-mk2-black.html

 

[Mickey]

Thanks so much.

 

[Mickey]

Me again. Still debating on the black (harder to get) or the white. Given what you said about the black version being more difficult to make, is the white version actually better (i.e. less likely to have heat issues) when in a canopy with LED lights?

 

[rvitko]

They use the same flame retardant polycarbonate filament, the issue with black is two fold, in most cases, plastics are made black by adding carbon, this filament is difficult for two main reasons, it soaks up moisture like a sponge so unless it is dried thoroughly it sputters and pops and leads to blemishes, the melting point is very high and through the entire process it has to be kept very hot. Black has more moisture retention and is difficult to dry and just like a black car shows every flaw, it is the same here, white almost no cases have defects, in black we initially had to through 80% of them away, these are just cosmetic defects but no one wants a pop/scar mark on a product that costs this much. There is no real reason to not buy black, we designed white originally simply because walls are usually white, the goal was to hide it, not show it off. We have improved production of black considerably and they will be readily available very soon.

 

[Mickey]

Thanks for the explanation. I may go ahead with the white and just hope that I can attach it to my eurobraced tank so that the white doesn't hang down into the water.

I have a Sea-swirl that I love but the bracket to attach it to the eurobracing hangs pretty far below the water level which really bugs me, and I want to avoid that with this.