Having this 8 foot / 500 gallon system has been great, and most of the equipment has made life easier, not harder. However, I have to say that the options provided by my 4 Vortechs have been too expansive. With two pumps on each end of the tank, and the ability to set modes and power levels, the options are infinite. Research on this topic has not provided a compelling path forward, so I thought that I'd start this dialogue to see what you all are doing.
Tank dimensions vary - from very deep to somewhat narrow, and from shallow to tall. I'm in the somewhat narrow (26.5") and somewhat tall (30") categories, which makes me think that the ability to get horizontal gyres going is limited (and further exacerbated by two corner overflows that further narrow the placement of pumps).
I've found that if the Vortechs are too close to the surface, they suck air at anything other than the lowest power levels. The new wet sides don't have a "top" section of the grill to prevent this. If low, it crashes right into the reef.
So I've ended up with both pump above 1/2 way up. My MP60s are in the front with mostly clear shots across the length of the tank. The MP40s are more towards the back, and higher, shooting across the reef structure.
The Vortechs have a few features that I really like - Nutrient Export mode, which creates a cool standing wave in the tank in the evening, and anti-sync, which in theory allows left/right oscillations. But best practices elude me.
Does anyone have a philosophy on using these pumps in this sort of layout that they can share? I think many would benefit. Thanks,
Tank dimensions vary - from very deep to somewhat narrow, and from shallow to tall. I'm in the somewhat narrow (26.5") and somewhat tall (30") categories, which makes me think that the ability to get horizontal gyres going is limited (and further exacerbated by two corner overflows that further narrow the placement of pumps).
I've found that if the Vortechs are too close to the surface, they suck air at anything other than the lowest power levels. The new wet sides don't have a "top" section of the grill to prevent this. If low, it crashes right into the reef.
So I've ended up with both pump above 1/2 way up. My MP60s are in the front with mostly clear shots across the length of the tank. The MP40s are more towards the back, and higher, shooting across the reef structure.
The Vortechs have a few features that I really like - Nutrient Export mode, which creates a cool standing wave in the tank in the evening, and anti-sync, which in theory allows left/right oscillations. But best practices elude me.
Does anyone have a philosophy on using these pumps in this sort of layout that they can share? I think many would benefit. Thanks,
