Tunze 6055 swapped for the MP10 (and I couldn't be happier)
First things first - this is my 1000th post on R2R - just want to note that for prosperity.
First long update in a while on a tank build decisions but before I get into the topic at hand a quick update on tank.
Tank update
Things are going well and very stable. The diatoms appear to be gone or at least very well managed. I have my NOPOX dose and food dialed in very well and maintaining 3 ppm Nitrates, .07 ppm Phosphates (tad high still but working on it). Since winter has come and my house has been shut my pH has......risen to 8.3! Right? Go figure. I think it could be cause by the gas heater taking in more air from outside than the ac unit does. Or the veritable forest of houseplants my wife has is actually good for something besides looking good (and making the kids worry that Mom is becoming a "plant person"). Fish are all happy and I couldn't be happier that I worried so much over proper community selection. No one's too aggressive or territorial and you'll see almost every fish in every area at one time or another. The only exception is no one is allowed near the entrance to the watchman goby (Grouch) pistol shrimp (Dozer) cave without a nip from Grouch. To be expected.
Changed the lighting scheme on the Radion to "Coral Test" at 80%. Everything is responding very well to that.
New Corals
There's a longer post needed on last month's coral purchases and shipping issues...all are doing fine now but has some losses. Was waiting to make sure the replacements and newer corals I've purchased since were healthy before commenting. I'll update soon on this.
Power-head Switch Out
Big update is with the switching out the MP10wQD with two Tunze 6055. So this is NOT a 'bash the MP10' post. I think it's a fine power head, just not for me for reasons I'll go into now.
MP10 - Pros
1) Great flow - that thing could crank out some water flow. Always had any amount of flow I wanted. But it's not necessarily focused flow, I think it's much more broad flow
2) Flow Options - the pre-programmed flow options cover a wide range of flow modes and can be adjusted for intensity.
3) Appearance - nice looking especially if you have a thing for cords in tank (I don't) and you don't mind a big block sticking out the side of the outside glass (I didn't). Never bothered me, but thought I'd mention it. The controller is also attractive.
4) Resale value - It should have a high resale value. It's great design, well constructed and good functionality and should last for years.
MP10 - Cons
I'll start out by saying up front I think this pump would be great with an aquarium controller so you could take advantage of all the features much easier. However, I do not ever plan to have an aquarium controller and the more time that goes by the less I feel I want or need one. So please remember this is based on using the local controller. I also do not have ReefLink so I'm limiting the intended use case from the manufacturer. If some of this was based on not knowing how some feature worked - please let me know so the record is straight. I'm still going to talk about how a more intuitive user interface would help.
1) Controller functionality - It may seem minor but it grew to be a major annoyance that I could not ever seem to get in feed mode without selecting a new flow mode. It's the same button, but you have to hold it down for 3 sec to get feed. Finger moves at all and bang - you're in a new feed mode and have to cycle through to get back where you started. A dedicated feed button would have eliminate this issue.
2) Using other flow modes - since it wasn't terribly intuitive which flow mode color was what I never really bothered selecting anything but "Reef Crest". Actually, I selected yellow light - I assume I remembered correctly that it meant "Reef Crest" mode. I think blue was "Transport Mode" (I just looked it up, blue light is "Pulse" - see what I mean?) Nice to have flow modes, but that's one of the bigger features and I never used it. Does not mean that it's not a great thing to have for some people, or maybe most people, but without programmable aquarium controller or ReefLink it's not a value to me for the cost.
3) Flow direction - big drawback here for me. It's obvious of course and knew this when I bought it but was hoping the flow modes would over ride any issues with directional flow. I had a Tunze 6015 (AC 450 gph) on the other side of tank and I felt that gave me more control over flow direction and coral impact than the MP10 did. Considering I had to reach in the tank to move it around and still liked the flow direction control more says a lot.
4) Expensive - minor issue for me but it did prevent me from buying another just in case 2 MP10s would solve all my problems. 2 of these may have in fact solved my flow issues, but since I could get two of the Tunze 6055 for the price of one additional MP10 (and sell my other online), it was easy decision for me. Plus to take full advertised advantage of the MP10 (the MP10 directions from EcoTech show the app on the phone on the cover page - something you need the ReefLink to use) you need the ReefLink or an aquarium controller.
5) Magnet Strength - I have a Red Sea Reefer 170 and the magnet on the MP10 was just barely adequate at medium speeds to hold it in place. At higher speeds forget it (but I felt I wouldn't need higher speeds with smaller tank - and didn't). Again, I knew this buying it based on other's reports, but I wasn't upping to MP40 just for the magnet due to cost and overkill on smaller tank. It was workable and did improve when I attached the cord to the tank but was never 100% to my satisfaction. It's ranked last though because it wouldn't have been a deal breaker at all for me.
Tunze 6055 Pros
1) Directional Flow - Tunze's have it, MP10s don't. It's that simple and it's a big deal for me. I want much more control over the direction of the flow in my tank than I do large flow modes in a fixed direction. My alveopora and duncan are moving back and forth in a much more natural fashion. My sand bed is staying much cleaner within reasonable flow rates because I can direct the flow slightly downward or off the glass. I agree that having 2 MP10 (at considerable cost) might have produced similar results.
2) Ease of feed mode - I push a button - I'm in feed mode.
3) Ease of controller usage - Yes it's simple. I'm a simple guy. I dial a nob I change the speed, I dial another nob and I change time of the pulse. The indicator panel let's me know what's what without having to refer to a color coded cheat sheet. Genius of user interface design even though years old now.
5) Appearance - so some people say they hate cords in the tank. I ran the 6015 on one side and the MP10 on the other - I never noticed the cord on the Tunze, not once..ever. I think the Tunze's are very attractive in my tank, that's a personal call and very subjective of course.
Tunze 6055 Cons
1) Cleaning/Maintenance - Yes, cleaning the MP10 wet side is easier. - But I'll say I cleaned both the 6015 and the MP10. Sure I could remove the MP10 wet side (or swap it out which is nice option to have - at a cost) and clean it away from tank. The 6015 I had to dip in bucket of citric acid next to tank. It just wasn't a big deal to me to clean pump next to tank as I've left cord length free to do that without unplugging. I also have a few other pumps I need to clean next to tank as well. I can see how this might be significant issue for some though.
Summary:
As I've said, the MP10wQD is a great power head. There's no doubt in my mind about the quality, functionality and design of the product. But you can't satisfy everyone's needs with one product. If you're wanting whole tank water movements in a broad based manner, if you have a controller or ReefLink so you can easily program these flow modes then absolutely the MP10wQD is something you should research.
If you more like me, and probably more manual and less automation, if you want highly directional flow you can adjust as tank matures, if you want simple easy to use intuitive user interfaces then I would suggest you add the Tunzes to your list of options.
Well, dinner's here and the martini glass is empty.
More later - Qm.
