Quiet, STABLE, controllable wave pumps

[Greybeard]

Hi folks.. Looking for honest opinions.

I've got an SPS reef. Peninsula setup. Makes placement of flow pumps a little more complicated than normal. I've been using a pair of Rossmont Mover 4100 pumps on a Waver. Works pretty good, really, TONS of flow, easy to clean... but I do have a few problems with them.

1) Fast ramping up and down results in some fairly noticeable noise. Bad enough I've had to sacrifice flow patterns I like for slower ramping times to keep it from bugging me. Seriously, wife was looking out the window to see if I left my diesel truck running in the driveway.

2) Waver stability. The Rossmont waver uses a wifi app, and it's proving to be quite unstable. I go in to change something, and the darned thing will crash, resulting in me having to factory reset the waver, delete the app configuration, and start over again. Takes me about an hour to do so, and I've had to do it like twice a month. Unacceptable.

So, I'm looking to swap out the Rossmonts for something else. Something QUIET, stable, reasonably easy to service.

Here's some things I DO NOT want...

Gyre. Got no place to put it in my setup, and I had one (1st gen Maxspect). It was a major pain to clean. A friend has a new Icecap version, and the whine it makes? No, thanks.

Vortech MP40: Split pump design is not going to work for me. I'd need to be on both sides of a wall to place them, and I need to point them. Also, quiet, my rear end. They hummmm like the Crash Test Dummies most annoying song.

I've got an Apex, with a couple of 1link connections open. Seems like a pair of WAV pumps might be the answer, but I've not seen them in person. Price seems reasonable... I'm already heavily invested in Neptune gear, and use Fusion for everything else. Just wondering about noise levels. Anyone own Neptune WAV's and want to talk about noise levels?

AI's Nero5 might be a good choice, as well... a bit lower flow than the DOS's... but price isn't bad. Not Fusion controlled, of course, but AI usually makes pretty good stuff. Noise on these?

Other ideas?

 

[William Mumford]

Tunze 6040s

 

[Greybeard]

Tunze 6040s

A little small I'm looking at 3000 to 4500 GPH. The Tunze 6155 would seem more in line, and wow, that price!

I've always liked Tunze stuff, but I'd have to have a real good reason to spend $800 on wave pumps.

 

[Foothill Corals]

A little small I'm looking at 3000 to 4500 GPH. The Tunze 6155 would seem more in line, and wow, that price!

I've always liked Tunze stuff, but I'd have to have a real good reason to spend $800 on wave pumps.

I would look at the 6105s for your tank.

Maybe even the 6095s could also be good depending on how many and where you plan to put them.

 

[xiaoxiy]

Tunze stream 3s are nice! They move a ton of water and have a 5 year warranty as well. I have two and am glad I went with them.

 

[Montiman]

I am a big Rossmont fan so I will first encourage you to look into an app update and using infrastructure mode. I love my Rossmonts and I have not had any issues since updating and using infrastructure mode. I also only login to the app every 3-6 months so I might not be a true power user.

I will also say that generally Rossmont noise is due to a rotor imbalance. I would look at the rotor and make sure it is clean and then look at the blades for damage. At MACNA Mattia at the Rossmont booth showed me that using sand paper to smooth burs out of the rotor can reduce noise because the rotor is better balanced. I have found that if my rotor gets coraline on it it causes an imbalance and this quiets down after a vinegar bath.

If you still want to switch. Tunze all the way. I also love my Tunze pumps. The reason I like both Rossmont and Tunze is I have replaced far too many vortech and gyre parts. the Tunze and Rossmont design is just far more durable and long lasting and this means something to me. The other pumps have other features that may make them a better choice for you but this is at least my 2 cents.

 

[Potatohead]

Your first post screams Tunze. Maybe wait for a sale...

 

[Nathan Milender]

I had the WAVs initially. They are cheaper than many of the higher end pumps and the software is easy to use. It is also nice to have two less control boxes and plug-ins. I had a malfunction issue with what I thought was one of the wavs and now I am thinking it could have been the computer as this was eventually switched out and solved another apex meltdown problem that occurred a little after the wav shorted. I have not tried reconnecting to see if the one not working is resolved. While working on the problem I switched to vortech and I like those better with the down side being you need room outside the tank and you cannot aim them.

1) Noise, they can make a hum when you first start them and this relaxes after a few days. Also, the power cords can create a hum if they touch anything that can vibrate. Mine settled down after about a week but would start buzzing if they touched the lid. They were otherwise silent.

2) Flow, they are powerful and you can adjust them however you want. You can aim them a little, but don't expect acrobatic ability on the mount. In a 6 foot tank I ran them at about 30% or it was too much for some of the euphylia. Where I did not like them as much was they seemed to have a much narrower flow profile coming out of the front and around the sides on the intake compared to vortech. I am not sure if this matters to you. I did not notice it until I placed a vortech and could see the change in the surrounding water pattern.

I have heard good things about the tunze as well but I have never tried them so not sure how they compare. Tunze seems to have the best looking aim hardware but I do not know how well it stays put.

Good luck, maybe you can find a cheap used one to see how they work in your tank.

 

[William Mumford]

A little small I'm looking at 3000 to 4500 GPH. The Tunze 6155 would seem more in line, and wow, that price!

I've always liked Tunze stuff, but I'd have to have a real good reason to spend $800 on wave pumps.

Hahahaha holy didnt read sorry.. but tunze are so good. Like the other user posted waiting for a sale might be worth it they are awsome pumps. I only give mine a little citric acid bath every 3 months and they do great. Side note Please everyone stop using vinger use citric acid.

 

[User1]

Not sure how the tank is setup but do you have room for 1" sea swirls? They have both 3/4" and 1" - depending on how your returns are set up could use those and add random flow nozzles. Something different and out of the box.

Neptune waves get hit or miss reviews. Never owned them.

 

[Potatohead]

The only other ones I can think that fit the bill of are the Octo ones... Which I haven't used personally but apparently they move a ton of water.

 

[delv2323]

Tunze. Last forever, repairable, quiet, and proven. One of the few aquarium items I will buy used sight unseen.

Plus, Roger is available with excellent support.

 

[Slawman]

Had a very similar decision to make a few years ago and went Tunze. Very happy with the decision. Yes, they cost but this is a good example of getting what you pay for, reliable, quiet and effective.

 

[OzarksReef]

Just installed the Red Sea Reef Waves and like them a lot. They've addressed many of the problems MaxSpect and Icecap had with their gyre pumps - especially from a maintenance standpoint. I can't hear them - but you know about all the background noise at my place ;-) Definitely have a nice broad flow and IMO a peninsula would be the perfect application for this style pump.

 

[OzarksReef]

I tried the Neptune WAV pumps a few years back and was not happy with them at all. Difficult to direct the flow and mine had problems detaching and falling into the sand bed.

I'm using the Nero 5 pumps on several tanks and like them a lot. They are very quiet - except on pulse mode. I notice a definite whine up and down on pulse. On random reef energy mode, they're pretty silent though. Glass thickness is an issue with them though - anything over 1/2" is potentially a problem for them.

 

[OzarksReef]

You may also want to consider the Octo Pulse pump line. Love their controller plus they can be controlled with your Apex.

 

[SDK]

I took a chance on a Nero 5 and it has been great so far. On sale for $199 plus $20 for the anemone guard. It is silent and low profile in the tank.

The programming options are easy and the best I’ve ever seen without an Apex/WXM controlling it. Flow pattern is as wide as you can get without dealing with a gyre style pump.

Obviously longevity is still a question, but at half what an MP40 costs without even factoring in an Apex to get the most out of it, it has been worth it for me. I also hate the design of Ecotech pumps.

 

[Greybeard]

Nero5... 1/2" glass is going to be a problem.

WAV: Doesn't seem to be much support for this choice.

Octo Pulse: Sounds good, I know nothing about this one, have to do some looking.

Red Sea Wave: Never heard of it, had to go look. It's a Gyre... no room in my tank. I really need a more 'standard' form factor flow pump.

Tunze: Looks like the 6105 may well give me what I want, at a price I'm willing to pay.... I'll do a bit more research on this one.


THANKS ALL!

 

[mfinn]

Tunze for being quiet and dependable.

 

[Greybeard]

Thanks all.

Just ordered a pair of Tunze 6105's, and an Apex Controller Cable. Guess you can't buy the Tunze pumps without their own controller anymore... oh well, I'll have my choice.

I'll shortly be putting 2x Mover MX2400's, 2x Mover MX4100's, and a Waver, all in good condition, up for sale.

Cheap.

To the guy that likes Rossmont... Quality of the pumps is very good. Reliability is excellent. They're easy to clean... I've had zero hardware problems. Technology, using a controllable sine AC motor controller... very good. But: I'm an industrial software engineer. Whoever did this software for them should be FIRED.

Update, you say? Tried that... fails. Did so from an IPhone, an Android tablet, and my phone.. Oh, wait... couldn't do it from my phone, their app won't run on my phone. A Pixel 3... common, good quality phone, their app would never work on it.

Glad you're having better experience with it than I did... but I'm done with Rossmont.