re-visiting the vortech/tunze comparison

[macreefster]

like a previous poster i am currently looking to upgrade my circulation within my tank. in my 70gal ( 36"x24"x20"ht) i am currently utilizing seio, tunze nanostreams and koralia powerhead. i have the seio controller which allows me to create some pulsating action, but none of the pumps seems to work well with my wavemaker as they tend to reverse polarity when turned off and on. so i am looking to get the vortech with controller or a tunze 6100 with controller. i like the idea of the smaller inside dimensions of the vortech but am wondering what others experiences with them are now that the controller is available ( the previous thread was prior to the controllers availability). i appreciate any input others may have....thanks

[chadfarmer]

tunze nanostreams

would take another one if you gave it to me

[macreefster]

i assume you meant you would NOT take another tunze nanostream if you given one? i have the smallest nano stream and it has done fine for me except its not controllable. would really like to hear from someone with a vortech with controller. thanks

[cardgenius]

I love mine. The flow is very strong and wide. And the controller makes it even better. The pre-set flow patterns are nice too, gives you something different. I like Tunze but I like the wider flow with the VorTech than the high powered stream that you get with Tunze. Tunze are an eyesore in a tank and the VorTechs look much better. Another thing is the heat loss, my tank dropped a couple degrees when I switched.

One thing about them is you have to replace a couple parts that will rust on the wet side. They need to be changed out every 18 months or so and cost $25 to replace. Not that big of a deal if you know before hand, but I can see why people get upset if they find out afterwards.

They do make some noice buts its not as loud as everyone says. The only time I can hear them is at about midnight when all the lights are off along with everything else in the house, other than that there pretty quite.

[macreefster]

thanks cardgenius, thats the type of info i was looking for. i am new at this site and absolutely love it! i think i can deal with a bit of noise and maintenance replacing parts in order to have a wider stream of flow and a less bulky pump in the tank itself. i'll give the vortech a shot, i can always change to tunze down the road..... its not like we get into this hobby to save money!..lol. thanks again for the info.

[strendo]

I just bought my 3rd Vortech. Their great pumps, both times I had problems with them ecotec fixed them for free. The wireless controller is really cool too.

[tbone28]

Originally posted by cardgenius

One thing about them is you have to replace a couple parts that will rust on the wet side. They need to be changed out every 18 months or so and cost $25 to replace. Not that big of a deal if you know before hand, but I can see why people get upset if they find out afterwards.

Are there any plans from the manufacturer to correct this issue? I don't think that this should be part of "routine" maintenance on such an expenseive powerhead

[macreefster]

i must say the vortech experiences seem a bit contradictory to me. it sounds like they are great pumps for producing lots of flow in a wide stream and are very easy to hide in the aquascaping, yet they are seemingly inherantly problematic. rusting out wet side parts and strendo had to have ecotec fix his pumps both times? i am still tempted to try the vortech out, but i sure hope it doesnt entail having to ship them back to have the manufacturer repair them.... you would think by now they would have these issues fixed BEFORE shipping. as tbone asked, it sure would be nice to know if the manufacturer has already corrected these problems and if not, when?

[sjm817]

Tunze for me. Vortechs were WAY too noisy (yes, they were aligned properly), I didn't like the controller as much as Tunze, and although it looked nice in the tank, the motors and big wires on the outside of the tank were an eyesore. Tunze has more mounting/positioning options as well.

[DarG]

I have a Vortech as well. I am going to buy a second in the near future. I knew about the drive shaft (sometimes) and bearing needing replacing as part of maint. . I heard it was yearly but whatever the case, that was expected and acceptable. I didnt know that the mag. disc needed replacing because of rust as often as it does. I figured that they were encapsulated in a protective plastic but they are only coated. I figured that you got 2 or 3 years out of them but it seems that they need replacing more frequently. Most commonly ive heard 1 year - 18 months. But its a 15 dollar item so I can live with it on a yearly basis. It is still very much worth it IMO. I love the pump. Mine cant be heard beyond a couple of feet away. The controller is cool. I wish it had user adjustable time period for a rail up / rail down cycle but it;s cool enough without it. Adding a second vortech will add a little more randomization as well. I have zero complaints so far about the pumps performance or apparent build quality and everyone reports that any issues are handled painlessly and very quickly. Some buyers have apparently had noisier pumps and un-coupling issues (usually a faulty bearing that is too tight) so they arent perfect and you do read about unhappy buyers because of these things, (and the required parts purchases for maint.). I would be unhappy if I had problems too, Im sure. But it seems that the majority work like they are supposed to and the owners of these, like me, who knew about the maintanence are very happy with the Vortech. Obviously, they arent for everyone so dont buy if the maint. parts costs arent acceptable.

[tbone28]

does vortech make a powerhead that blows more than 3000gph to compete with the bigger Tunzes in the big tank market?

[DarG]

They are wear parts that are necessarily exposed to the water. These parts or parts that serve the same purpose are enclosed and not exposed to the water in other pumps where the entire unit is in the tank. I think they can better address the magnetic disc but I dont think they will be able to eliminate the need for replacement of the bearing. They may be able to extend the life of the part but I dont think it will ever be permanent. It's made of a polymer.

It comes down to knowing that these parts need replacement every so often at the buyers expense and either being ok with that or not being OK with that. If its not acceptable, dont buy the pump.

As far as the magnetic disc, I think there must be a way to encapsulate it so that it stays completely dry. It may require making the magnets a little stronger but its got to be technically possible. As it is, I can live with replacing that as well but I think this can be solved.

These threads are always amusing though. Some ex Vortech owners seem to be unable or unwilling to accept that current Vortech owners arent ex Vortech owners

ps. Im not referring to anyone who has posted in this thread ... as of yet anyway.

[macreefster]

thanks DarG, i am leaning towards your philosophy..... deal with the minor problems vortech may have in order to get the type of flow i want without a bulky housing inside the tank. if worse comes to worse, i can switch to tunze down the road..... besides, after reading the forums here i am re-thinking my skimmer (octopus dnw200), my lighting ( going to lumenarc reflectors) and upgrading my pumps to the vortech (s) with controller. why couldnt i have found this site BEFORE i bought all my equipment last month???...lol

[chadfarmer]

I have 2 vortech and trading them for some tunzes

[sjj729]

I just recently purchased a Vortech for my 65 gallon tank. I was back and fourth between it and a tunze nanostream for quite some time. I have had the Vortech in service for 5 days and I don't find the noise bad at all. My fans on the halide fixture are much louder. In the evening when the fan is off I can hear a faint winding of the pump but I would certainly not call it noisy. I like the strong yet wide flow and really like the controller with the different patters. So far I am very pleased.

[micheal.F]

I was leaning towards Vortecs for my new tank and changed my mind because of the parts issue,and am now thinking of the Tunzie or Xwaves. I would like the vortec because I can place it at the bottom of the tank to give a nice current down below stretching across the tank.

I dont think that a product that costs over $400 here in Canada should have a yearly part to be replaced these units are not cheap.The least Ecotech can do until the issues are resolved would be at least 2 or 3 replacement parts on every pump,doing this will make buying this product much more reasurring.
Until then I would not buy it.

[snorvich]

Noise = divorce Tunzes all the way here.

[bureau13]

I have a pair of Vortechs on my 240, and I love them. The only time I find them to be noisy is in pulse mode at full power...which is of course where I have them. I can tune them out usually unless I get up in the middle of the night and nothing else is going on. If absolute silence is a must, and you want to use some sort of wavemaking action, the Vortechs are probably not for you.

jds

[kingsland]

Originally posted by macreefster
thanks DarG, i am leaning towards your philosophy..... deal with the minor problems vortech may have in order to get the type of flow i want without a bulky housing inside the tank. if worse comes to worse, i can switch to tunze down the road..... besides, after reading the forums here i am re-thinking my skimmer (octopus dnw200), my lighting ( going to lumenarc reflectors) and upgrading my pumps to the vortech (s) with controller. why couldnt i have found this site BEFORE i bought all my equipment last month???...lol

I have two of the Vortechs and I love them. The small footprint, heat on the outside of the glass, and great flow make them worth the small amount of maintenance. I have not had a single problem with them yet. You will love the lumenarcs if you decide to get them.