Vortech question

JurisHP · May 16, 2020

I’ve got a 180g mixed reef, which I just aquascaped for the 100th time. I no longer have a rock wall and instead, moved all rock away from the back glass so the fish have way more places to swim and hide. I’m thinking that my MP40’s don’t move the water much if at all between the rock work and the back glass, so am thinking about getting a power head to place on the side of the tank towards the back so the water is moved behind my rock work so no dead spots/detritus buildup. My tank is 72” long. Should I get 2 MP10’s, one for each side? 1 MP40 (60?) on one side and set it for high flow so the water moves from one side to the other? Something else? Or perhaps my idea is not necessary at all? Any input is appreciated

lpsouth1978 · May 16, 2020

I doubt an MP10 will work on that tank. The glass is too thick to hold. I have 3 MP40's on my 180. 2 on one side, and 1 on the other.

JurisHP · May 16, 2020

Do I need a Vortech to move the water behind my rock work at all? I have 2 MP40’s, one on each side at present.

lpsouth1978 · May 16, 2020

If you have 2 MP40's. I would put one on either side of the tank with 1 toward the front of the rock work and the other toward the back. This should be enough to keep dead spots away. You may even want to place 1 higher than the other. According to Ecotech, 2 MP40's is plenty of flow for a 180.

dwest · May 16, 2020

I have a 180 also. I originally put a 200 series gyre back behind the wall along with an mp40 on each side. The water movement was fantastic, but the gyre unit (and a replacement) was too noisy. I settled on putting 2 mp40’s on one side and an mp60 on the other. I just don’t worry about behind the rocks much any more.