Vortech MP60 on 75 gallon?

MaddyP · Mar 22, 2017

What do you guys think? I already have the MP60 so figured it was a question worth asking. I'm toying with the idea of trying it just to see how it would work out, but with it being a rimless tank, I'm worried about completely overpowering the tank. Tank will be bare bottom with a focus on SPS.

redfishbluefish · Mar 22, 2017

I'd be using it. They are adjustable pumps and I'm a firm believer in not running them at maximum to "save" the pump. Just turn it down and it will be great! Now watch Dana Riddle's talk at MACNA 2016, and you'll be turning it up and adding a second and third pump.

MaddyP · Mar 22, 2017

redfishbluefish said:
I'd be using it. They are adjustable pumps and I'm a firm believer in not running them at maximum to "save" the pump. Just turn it down and it will be great! Now watch Dana Riddle's talk at MACNA 2016, and you'll be turning it up and adding a second and third pump.

This was my thinking as well! I know minimum is around 20%, but even that should be fine in a 4' tank.

Mike S · Mar 22, 2017

Although you could probably crank it down enough to make it work, personally I'd probably opt to sell it and replace it with two 40s giving you more flexibily with flow patterns.

mcarroll · Mar 22, 2017

Mike S said:
Although you could probably crank it down enough to make it work, personally I'd probably opt to sell it and replace it with...

+1 on the two mp40's. Much better fit for a 75 Gallon. I'd try placing them on the back wall too vs the standard placement on the sides.

But personally...I'd replace with Tunze's. Much better options (AC and DC, to say the least), better value, more durable, more adjustable. The 6095 is the usual recommendation vs the mp40...but a set of 6040's, 6055's or some combo of them or a combo with AC pumps like the 6045 would also work great. Even just a set of plain AC pumps can make a great reef tank.

Rickyb1982 · Mar 22, 2017

I have 2 mp60s on my 300 gallon reef tank and I can tell 1 mp60 would be way too much for a 75 gallon imo!! I have both of mine turned all the way down and they are still very powerful

DarkSky · Mar 23, 2017

I have two MP40s in a bare bottom 45g SPS tank. Never can have too much flow.

Rickyb1982 · Mar 23, 2017

DarkSky said:
I have two MP40s in a bare bottom 45g SPS tank. Never can have too much flow.

Put sand in there and see lol

Rickyb1982 · Mar 23, 2017

DarkSky said:
I have two MP40s in a bare bottom 45g SPS tank. Never can have too much flow.

And if it's just sps it's good but my lps get beat up if I don't put them somewhere where they are blocked from the flow

DarkSky · Mar 23, 2017

Rickyb1982 said:
Put sand in there and see lol

Well that's why I said it's bare bottom and SPS!

Rickyb1982 · Mar 23, 2017

DarkSky said:
Well that's why I said it's bare bottom and SPS!

Yea bare bottom is good lol

MaddyP · Mar 23, 2017

Thanks for the suggestions! I think two MP40's would give me much more flexibility. I'll also have two MP10's on the back wall.

mcarroll · Mar 23, 2017

DarkSky said:
I have two MP40s in a bare bottom 45g SPS tank. Never can have too much flow.

Interesting on the tank size! The two I mentioned earlier were for my 50 Gallon.

They were supposed to be an upgrade from my pair of "little" Tunze 6045's. Flow was terrible no matter where I had the mp40's – weak more than a few inches from the pumps and dead behind every rock or coral.

The tank was already packed with corals, so it was just an unfair environment for them. They seem to work best in an empty tank.

I ended up putting the two original 6045's back and bought a third one...then all was good.

AdamNC · Mar 23, 2017

If I can run 2 MP40s in a 29 gallon with a 1-2 inch sand bed you can run 1 Mp60 in a 75

PedroYoung · Mar 23, 2017

2 MP40's on my 75G was too much with sand even cranked way down, but would have been perfect for bare bottom. I ended up going with array of 3 MP10's.

kingdog22 · Mar 24, 2017

Mp60 will be perfectly fine on your 75. I have a mp60 and mp10 on my 75 going on 3 years.
I have the mp60 alternating during the day and both pumps programmed all the way down at night. Then picking up in the morning and throughout the day.
I put 2 mp40s on it and a week later went back to the mp60 because of how much water it moved over the mp40s.

Rickyb1982 · Mar 24, 2017

kingdog22 said:
Mp60 will be perfectly fine on your 75. I have a mp60 and mp10 on my 75 going on 3 years.
I have the mp60 alternating during the day and both pumps programmed all the way down at night. Then picking up in the morning and throughout the day.
I put 2 mp40s on it and a week later went back to the mp60 because of how much water it moved over the mp40s.

That's crazy lol ! The 2 I have on my 300dd is turned all the way down and they are crazy

mcarroll · Mar 25, 2017

kingdog22 said:
I put 2 mp40s on it and a week later went back to the mp60 because of how much water it moved over the mp40s.

Rickyb1982 said:
That's crazy lol ! The 2 I have on my 300dd is turned all the way down and they are crazy

I'm curious about your thoughts.....I suspect you guys are noticing the effects of higher and better velocity (distance/second) more than the difference in flow (volume/second).

Interestingly the 300DD is a 36" long tank much like me and the OP. (Well, like 6 of our tanks.

) So based on the velocity I think the mp60 must be the best fit.

In contrast, the 60 Gal cube is 24" long....much more favorable to the mp40's "performance curve"....making the mp40 a best fit.

So does this sound crazy or plausible from your points of view?

Here's my thinking...

Obviously the mp60's are much higher flow rate than the mp40's. But the mp40's are much lower velocity than the mp60's. Per the published tests I'm aware of, mp60's are the one (and only) Vortech that delivers comparable flow speeds to a Tunze Stream or NanoStream. (Not aware of the numbers for any other pumps.)

Flow velocity is important when flow is expected to be useful for more than just mixing up the water......like moving detritus and debris.

Here's an interesting, related link from the Flow section on my blog where the authors talk about flow velocity:

Function of Funnel-Shaped Coral Growth in a High-Sedimentation Environment

Here's the video that includes the velocity measurements I was mentioning:

Wael Binali · Jun 28, 2017

OK, I'm gonna get in on this discussion. I have a 75 cube and only a MP10 that is doing a lot of work, but then again I only had LPS and it was doing it's job. Now that I am adding SPS to the top areas of the rocks would another MP10 do?

MaddyP · Jun 28, 2017

Wael Binali said:
OK, I'm gonna get in on this discussion. I have a 75 cube and only a MP10 that is doing a lot of work, but then again I only had LPS and it was doing it's job. Now that I am adding SPS to the top areas of the rocks would another MP10 do?

Is your glass 1/2"? I have an MP10 on mine currently but it won't stay on 1/2". I'll be upgrading to two MP40's for SPS dominate. I only have softies at the moment as well.