Vortech sizing for a 40 gallon CADlights

[Urchinhead]

Right now I have two Tunze 6045's and two Tunze 6025's in my tank.

 

The 25's are at the bottom 1/4 of the tank and are used to try (and are failing) to keep the sand bed getting a decent but not overpowering flow across it as well as to provide indirect flow to my lower flow lower light corals down there.

 

The 45's are in the upper 1/4 of the tank and are to provide indirect flow to the higher flow SPS corals I have.

 

I love the Tunze's but I am really impressed with the cool factor of the Vortech's and all and I am a gadget head at heart so it appeals to my inner geek but before I blow yet another large sum of cash that I will have to part out my corals and hardware to support I wanted to get opinions from the more learned folk here on the Vortech powerheads.

 

I was thinking a 40 in the top 1/3 of the tank on one side in the back and a 20 on the other side in the bottom 1/3 of the tank and that the 'undertow' created by both would be enough to do a better job of keeping the sand free of detritus and that by using both in conjunction I could get a higher total flow than the tunze's with, if possible, a moderate wave like flow in the tank below the surface so that I am not sloshing things at the top.

 

What I am hoping to do is replace all or most of the Tunze's with one or two Vortech's. The questions I have are will they do the same/better job of providing flow to all my corals? Will they do a better job of providing a flow across the sandbed without causing divots or sandstorms? Can I generate the kind of flow I am hoping for with that combination or would I be better off with two 40's or two 20's or just one 40 or 20? Will the distribution of flow be enough to cover the same if not more area that the Tunze's are now? And are they controllable via a AC III Pro or RKE?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

UH

[SPS20]

I have seen both the controllable Tunze units and the Vortechs in action, and both work very very well.

 

If you already have a aquacontroller, I would get the aquasurf module and a couple of the low-voltage controllable tunze powerheads. This offers you more flexibility on a couple of fronts:

- You can only point the vortechs directly away from a pane of glass, whereas the tunze units can be pointed in any direction

- I don't believe that the vortech is controllable via the aquacontroller, whereas the tunze units offer virtually unlimited flexibility via the aquasurf.

 

Also, I think vortechs are likely to be overkill in a 40 gallon tank. They are very powerful pumps, though you can tune them down to work in smaller tanks.

 

If you are dead-set on the vortechs, go ahead, you won't be disappointed with their performance, but I think you would be equally impressed with the controllable tunze units.

[tracer197]

i have seen what two mp40ws can do in a 120g. absolutely no dead spots and there's plenty of flow on the sand. so i would think that one mp40 would be too much for a 40g.

 

i plan on getting one mp20 for my 65g and seeing how it does.

 

i don't have any experience with a tunze so i can't compare.

[Urchinhead]

Thank you SPS20.

 

For me it really comes down to the elimination of multiple powerheads, clean look from the mounting, cool factor, and removal of power cords in the tank in that order. Also the unit I am looking at come with a controller built in so the AC control factor is less of an issue whereas with the Tunze I would need to order an additional $200 controller. So I am pretty much set on the Vortechs if they will do what I am looking for. Any thoughts on that?

[SPS20]

Thank you SPS20.

 

For me it really comes down to the elimination of multiple powerheads, clean look from the mounting, cool factor, and removal of power cords in the tank in that order. Also the unit I am looking at come with a controller built in so the AC control factor is less of an issue whereas with the Tunze I would need to order an additional $200 controller. So I am pretty much set on the Vortechs if they will do what I am looking for. Any thoughts on that?

 

Well, I would offer this further bit of warning: The operating temperature on the external pump part of the new mp20 units is 50-60 degrees celsius. That is waaaay too hot for my tastes. There are also many reports of them jumping off the glass when operated in certain modes. Personally, I think that vortechs really shine in large tanks, and their weaknesses become more glaring in a small tank.

 

I am of the opinion that the vortechs are still not 100% ready for prime-time, and I do admit an almost religious devotion to tunze products. Everything that company makes is just incredibly well-designed, IMO, even if the instructions are obviously written by a person whose first language was NOT english.

 

If I were you, I would be buying tunze pumps. However, I wouldn't think you had made a huge mistake if you went for the vortechs. I have just heard too many bad things. It should be noted, however, that I saw a 180 gallon reef recently with 2 vortechs as the only additional circulation apart from the return pump, and this tank had a 3" pressure wave washing from end to end. It was very impressive. I just think it's not the right tech for a 40 gallon tank, that's all.

 

I am also biased since I have seen the same thing acheived with tunzes, and if you splurge on the aquasurf control module, you can do almost any flow pattern you can imagine. (plus it will integrate with your feed timers, you can create different day/night flow patterns, periodic storm surge, etc, etc.) I vote tunze, but you really can't go horribly wrong with either, IMO.

 

- Josh

[Urchinhead]

Josh-

 

Thank you again. I too am a devoted Tunze man but the Vortech's catch my eye for the reasons I cited. In their literature they say its for 20+ gallon tanks but like you said I am concerned and want answers to my questions.

 

50-60' C is *HOT*!!! Wow! That is amazing! That is 120 to 140' F!!

 

tracer-

 

Thank you. That helps generally but I am still looking for specific info...

 

So anyone have thoughts on the flow and dispersion questions I have?