Vortech Owners

[babogart]

I am currently revamping my 90 Gal.

I have already taken care of upgrading the skimmer. I am in the process of building a new acrylic sump. I hope to find the time to complete if by the end of this month.

I have pretty much decided on the Outer Orbit Pro Series with 2X250W MH and 4 T5s for lighting. (This will be a mixed reef.)

Next issue I want to address is the flow in the system. I am currently running 2xKorilla 2's and 3 MJ 1200s' on a wave maker.

I have seen some videos on YouTube of the Vortech and I am impressed. There are a couple of questions I have:

-Is the unit noisy?

-Can I produce the "wave" action shown in these videos with 1 Vortech + controller, or do I need multiple.

- Will the wave action cause the built in corner overflow box to become noisy with the surge?

- Would it be a better option to use 2xKorilla 4's and the 2x Korilla 2's that I currently have?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Brent

[Putawaywet]

If you have them aligned properly I think they are pretty darn quiet. I can hear a slight humming as they ramp up and down but I have to be standing right next to mine.

As for the corner overfllow, I'm not sure if you are running a Durso or similar, but about the only thing a wave would do to increase noise would be from the waterfall effect as it pours into your overflow. If your water level in the overflow is already up near the overflow grating then the increase of noise would be very minimal. If it's not, then you will hear a bit of an increase everytime the wave rolls in. Beacuse I am gravity feeding my skimmer I have a secondary standpipe that keeps my water level in my overlfow as high as my tank so I have zero water fall into my skimmer.

Someone else with a similar sized tank will have to tackle your wave question.

Brett

[burton14e7]

Mine used to be quiet but is now very loud. Even though I like the flow I'm going to get a tunze 6101 for my second powerhead. I'd shoot myself if I had two vortechs that were loud. I've seen them dead silent on other people's tank. I'm just not going to take the chance.

[dsn112]

echotech is a great company, I would contact them about any issues. I hear they are excellent at service.

[sjm817]

I had a set and found them to be unacceptably noisy. I didn't like the motor noise of the dry side. My system has a basement sump, so there are no audible pumps, skimmers etc, so the sound of them was very noticeable. If your system isn't so quiet, or you have a different tolerance for noise, they may be fine.

[DarG]

I just got one a little while back. 90 gallon. You wont get that wave with one Vortec. Mine is silent, so far anyway. There may be a very slight hum from the outer motor but it is very very quiet. If it gets noisy over time, that would suck but you dont hear too many complaints. For 400 bucks, it should remain quiet and work for a good long while.

Anyway, I like it. The modes arent the best. The changes take place over a long time. It doesnt ramp the flow up and down rapidly except for pulse mode which is the mode that makes the wave with enough Vortecs or a shorter tank with a single.

Regardless, the flow is impressive. It is much wider than the Koralias or Tunze nanos. I use the 1 vortec, I also have a Tunze nano behind the rock work which helps keep detritus and food from settling back there. I also use a Koralia 3 on the opposite side of the tank from the Vortec. Plus, my large return outputs about 8oo - 900 GPH on the same side as the Koralia . There is a lot of flow in the tank. I am debating whether or not to take out the Koralia. Not sure I need it. I'll probably live with the Vortec for a while and if it stays quiet and proves durable I'll probably add another after a while and see what the sync and anti-sync modes with 2 pumps will do. These are neat pumps but 2 or more will allow for more variation in flow than a single. A single does provide big flow though and I would buy it again if I had to do over the decision.

[babogart]

Thanks for the input.

It is too bad that you can't get the wave motion with just one unit. I have seen some video on youtube where it appears there is only on unit on the tank allowing for the effect. Specifically the one taken at MACNA. Though that tank looks like it was only 24" across.

That coupled with what appears to be a noise issue, leads me to believe that I need to look into the Tunze or stick with the Korillas.

Any thoughts?

-Brent

[sjm817]

As above, I tried them. I had two, sent them back to Ice Cap. They looked at them saw nothing wrong, but sent me another set anyway. I certainly cant complain about the service! Next set, same thing. Just far too noisy for me. Others have had the same comment. It depends on your environment, setup and personal preferences. I wound up keeping my Tunzes. I like the Tunze controller better as well.

[Putawaywet]

I've read a few reports that when they start to make more noise it's more then likely from a bit of build up on the movig parts. Soaking them in a vinegar solution for a bit is suppossed to clear up the problem.

[opiumpipez]

i just picked up another vortech for my 75g which will enable me to run them at a lower rpm than i had with just 1 vortech.

also, im a total nut when it comes to keeping my pumps clean so i wash and clean my voretch (wet side) once a month.

[tylorarm]

I've been surprised by the noise. Much more than my Tunzes, as expected, but even more than my closed loop pumps (Darts & RD), and i haven't even closed in my stand yet. I'm hoping that as they break in they quiet down a bit. That said, very nice flow and even smaller profile than i thought vs tunze.

[steve the plumb]

I think the tunze is an all around better pump.I wouldn't use them on an acrylic tank.If you see Jnarowes thread they crazed his 1000 gal acrylic tank.I was going to buy a set but after seeing that I wasn't going to risk it.My LFS owner said the same thing if the pump isn't 100% aligned it makes noise.The motor itself runs very hot.He had some on his home tank but sold them.He decided not to carry them in the store.I just bought the korrilia #4 and they hum pretty loud,at least one does.I could hear the pump and I had my fan lights on,A room fan on,my dehumidifier(witch is loud)on and I could hear the pump humming.This to me is loud.The other one hums but no where near as loud as this one.

[DarG]

Im really surprised by the replys citing noise. Im glad I didnt ask about that before I bought or I would have passed. Mine is almost silent. My tank is not quiet but the Vortec is. I shut everything down after reading this earlier, except for the Vortec and you cant hear it from a couple of feet away, right outside the fish room door. Everything else I have is louder than this except for the Tunze and koralia. Did they maybe run off a bad run or two of these things? There is a fairly small sweet spot when aligning the two halves but it is easy to find. There is some vibration and associated noise from that if it is not aligned right but outside of that ...

I guess time will tell.

The Video i saw was of two Vortecs on the same side of the tank, side by side. The tank looked like a 24" or 36" cube. A single in a 90 wont do what those two did in the video. You can see the video in one of the Reefcast.com segments.

[GSMguy]

my 36x18x18g 50g has 1 vortech and a nice 1 inch wave. i think for a real nice wave in a 90g 2 would be better but one will work.

[sjm817]

Dont know what to tell you about the noise. Mine were just unacceptable. My tank is in the family room which is open to the kitchen. I could hear them in the kitchen 15' away. My wife is very understanding, and really loves the tank too. She doesn't usually say much when I get new things, but did about these. "What is wrong with those pumps? You aren't going to keep them on the tank, are you?" I couldn't imagine anyone putting up with that level of noise.

I dont know if there was a bad run or not. Ice Caps report that came back on mine was the noise level was normal. The 2nd set they sent me were no better. You have an electric motor stuck to the side of your tank, and it sounds like it. You would hear this sound without the wet side even being used, so its not alignment. On the wet side, no matter how perfectly I aligned them, they were still fairly noisy when in the upper speed ranges.

[DarG]

Originally posted by GSMguy
my 36x18x18g 50g has 1 vortech and a nice 1 inch wave. i think for a real nice wave in a 90g 2 would be better but one will work.

GSM, is yours noisy like sjm describes?
Not doubting your experience sjm, but I am doubting that much noise being normal for these pumps. I cant hear anything from the inner part and just a slight buzz/hum from the motor. No tank vibrations. It sits right near my skimmer and two aquabee recirc pumps and the aquabees completely drown out the sound of the Vortec motor. Either I got an unusually quiet one or earlier ones were much noisier or they had a bunch of loud ones that they didnt want to take care of.

Does worry me a little though because if it gets as loud as you describe with time, it will be a problem.

[sjm817]

I dont have any audible pumps to drown out the noise of the Vortech. These were brand new MP40Ws. They were loud out of the box. I used them for one day which was all I could stand. I got them in December, sold them last week. I tried 4 of them in total.

Its too bad. I really wanted to like these pumps. The flow is really great, but the noise was intolerable. I didn't like the controller, and even visually, its a mixed bag. Nice and small in the tank, but you have that motor and large wire on the outside. Positioning was less flexible since I couldn't put them in a corner and angle them.

[DarG]

My tanks an in wall. They do get quieter over a couple of days but the motor wasnt loud in the first place. My point was that the Vortec I have is quieter than any other pump that I have except for the Tunze and Koralia. It's not about other pumps drowning out the noise. There is no real noise to drown out.

Again, I dont doubt that yours were loud. I just dont think they are supposed to be despite what Icecap claimed. Im sorry that you didnt have a positive experience with them.

[sjm817]

I would love these pumps for an in wall and would buy them again if I had that type of setup. You wouldn't see the dry side, and wouldn't hear them either. Perfect pumps for that setup.

Dont really know if mine were the norm or exception, but I tried 4 of them and that was enough for me. Noise wise compared to the Tunze 6100s, it is night and day, and the Tunzes are not all that quiet IMO.

[Putawaywet]

It looks like noise definitely differes from person to person. I can handle a lot of noise as I've had two tanks in my bedroom, one of which had a surge tank on it, so I am only bothered when things get too quiet (e.g. power failure)

I can say that my Deltec AP702 with dual Eheim's is louder than my Vortec's and if I'm more thna a few feet away I can only hear them when they ramp up to full power.

Brett

[GSMguy]

Its the loudest thing on my tank but then again its the only thing outside the water too, i can deal with the small amount of noise for the benefit, i kinda find the ramping noise soothing.. its melodic really.



i do have to say my Tunzes are Silent..

[sjm817]

I guess it depends on your preferences, setup, acoustics. My Tunzes are not silent. They are tolerable. The Vortechs were not. They were only on the tank one day. My wife and kids were the only other people that heard them and all agreed they were too noisy to keep. I have no doubt that anyone else who heard these things on my tank would agree that they were just ridiculous.

I do find it interesting how some (most people) dont have the same opinion, although I've seen other posts that agree with my experience with them. To be clear, these were "how the heck could anyone in their right mind stand these things" loud to me. Maybe there are differences in the pumps, but again, I tried 4 of them, and Ice Cap said the noise level was normal. so I didn't have anything left to try.

[rishma]

I think there is likely not much difference between everyone's pumps, but there are huge differences between the ambient noise around different tanks. I really believe that is the main difference. My tank is very very quiet, though not silent like sjm817's, and I can definitely hear the VT. It is the most noisy thing on my tank but that does not mean most people will hear it. If I had an Iwaki return pump, gurgling overflow, or typical AC cooling fan I do not think I would hear the VT.

As it is, I hear the VT but have decided to keep the pump because flow is outstanding. Much more diffuse than the tunze 6100.

[sjm817]

Yes, the flow is great on the Vortechs, no doubt. My 6100s have 6200 grills which helps the flow to be more dispersed, but the Vortechs still had better flow.

For the record, my tank is not silent unless I turn it off. There is very minimal overflow noise. When the lights are on, there is a little sound from the fans. The Tunzes are the noisiest pieces (i'm working on making them quieter). My return pump, a Gen-X Mak4 is far from quiet, but in the basement, I dont care.

[summer6]

I've had my pair running for about 7 mos. now and am overall satisfied.
One is super quiet, and the second is harder to line up - if it's not perfectly aligned then it can get loud and vibrate at max speed. They took a week or so to break-in and then were o.k. with noise.
I don't like having to put my arm in the tank to line them up after a cleaning, so if they're working well, I just brush them off in place.
I don't like the cords on either side of the tank, but it's a trade off with heat.
Nice having the battery back-up.
Hard to say if I'd go with more vortechs, or try tunzee out.