Thoughts on the EcoSmart driver

[Paul_N]

That is called top shelf service right there.......

I traded a MP20 for a MP10 that I will upgrade to the W es controller since it is about half the price.......Then I will get a new MP10 so I can sinc them up......From the sounds of it the MP10 and the ecodrivers are worth the money....

What size tank do you have the mp10 on?

 

[thewackyreefer]

My replacement WWD and new ES drivers came today. Last week, when I discovered my problem, the guys at EcoTech told me to package everything up and send it all in for evaluation, so I did. What I got back is what appears to be ALL new stuff! Definitely a brand new wet side assy because there is no algae on the one I just got, and I'm 99% sure the dry side is new as well. It all came in a brand new EcoSmart MP40w box with the ES driver already hooked up and all new box contents. That's pretty cool, everything is new! You can't get any better than that.
I have my new ES drivers all set up and running in Nutrient Transport Mode now. I really like the new auto wave tune feature too. Makes setting up a wave in your tank a snap!

I recently upgraded from an MP20 to MP40wES and the wet side started to fall off shortly after the upgrade. Sent Vortech an email Saturday afternoon, received a reply within 10 minutes and woke up this morning to a tracking number for a completely new wet side in my inbox. The customer service alone is worth the money. Top notch company.

 

[Azurel]

What size tank do you have the mp10 on?

I don't have it yet it in the mail....It will be on my 60g cube.....The Mp20 is to much at higher speeds, and to upgrade it would make it a MP40W es which will be way more then I need......The MP10s I think would be perfect in sync to make my flow.....Plus in the end it will be cheaper

 

[Curtie44]

Agreed, EcoTech service/warranty policy is above all others. They were super fast turning my pump around as well.

One thing I have noticed that I will need to call EcoTech on to make sure I'm not doing something wrong.....If you look at the description of the cycle that is Nutrient Transport Mode, it is described like this:

EcoSmart NTM (Nutrient Transport Mode)
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]In this EcoSmart mode, water is circulated in a two phase program to promote maximum health and nutrient export, as well as increased growth for sensitive corals such as SPS. In this mode,your EcoSmart master driver will be purple and your slave driver will flash white/orange/teal and indicate its speed by the LED strip. The third and fourth LED’s will indicate which EcoSmart mode you are in. This mode is represented in the image below:[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Phase one, or the wave phase, consists of the pumps pulsing at an expanding frequency so as to achieve a resonant wave in any aquarium at some point in the pulse cycle. If you have already tuned a wave form into your EcoSMART driver by using the auto-tune function in Short Pulse Mode, this saved resonant wave will automatically be used during phase one of the this mode. The pulsing serves to raise debris and detritus from the bottom of the tank and behind the rock work, where it will then be migrated out from the water column and into your overflow during phase two.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Phase two, or the nutrient transport phase, begins a flushing cycle to export nutrients and debris in the water column which can then be captured by your protein skimmer or other filtration equipment, effectively removing it from the aquarium and increasing the overall health of your tank. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Arial]To maximize the effectiveness of this mode on your aquarium, your pumps should be positioned in the traditional EcoSMART configurations, with at least two pumps opposite each other on each side of the tank, and one or more on the back wall. The graph below represents this: [/FONT]

It says you have the ability to use your own saved wave if you choose to. When I program my wave, I program it in Synch mode because I get a much better wave than if I do it in anti-synch. When I switch to NTM and put the slave drive in orange (it is on the opposite side of the tank as the master) it is supposed to use my saved wave I just created but instead it starts the phase 1 portion of NTM with the drives in anti-sync, which is not the wave I programmed. Hopefully this is something I'm doing wrong during the programming and they can correct my mistake. It will be a bit of a disappointment if I can't use the wave I tuned though.

I'll pass along what I find out when I call....
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]20[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

 

[Curtie44]

Well after a few emails and phone calls back and forth to EcoTech, I am told that the EcoSmart drives are suppose to do what I'm trying to get them to do. They had me clear driver memory and program again but it still wants to run in anti-sync as soon as I put it in NTM with the slave in Orange. They decided to send me 2 new EcoSmart Drivers to try out, which arrived today. I got them installed and they do the same thing. I get a really sweet wave programmed and saved in short pulse mode and in sync mode, then switch to EcoSmart NTM and switch the slave pump from White to Orange ('cause it's on the opposite side of that tank of the master) and the pump starts running in anti-sync :sad:. I shot another email to Jeff @ EcoTech and took a video showing what happens. Any of you other EcoSmart owners having this problem? Video here: YouTube - EcoSmart.mpeg