Have you owned Tunze AND Vortech?

[Semper Fi 1959]

I currently have 3x6100's on a 7095 controller along with a wavebox in my 180.

After talking to some folks, I'm wondering if I'd be happier with Vortechs to go with my wavebox.

Has anyone here owned first the Tunze's and then transferred to Vortech's? If so, what are your thoughts?

I would like the Vortech model that has the battery backup and is wireless. I like the fact that they are smaller - let's face it, 3 6100's and a wavebox take up a LOT of real estate. I like the battery backup option, in case of a loss of power.

I like that I can position my Tunze's, except that I hear the Vortech's do not need to be 'pointed'. I hear the Vortech's use less power and just the small size looks awesome.

Please HELP!

[unbreakable]

i love my vortechs. what is it that you want out of them?

some people expect them to be like waveboxes but then get all mad when theyre not, or they get angry when they dont have strong directional flow. vortech has a wide flow and nice undertow

[carman9941]

I have had both, and i like the vortech's better because of the foot print, i am not saying anything bad about tunze and am excited to see them coming out with smaller streams, I think a wave box and 2 vortechs would be the bomb jmo

[Tang Salad]

Originally posted by Semper Fi 1959
I hear the Vortech's use less power

Is this true?

[Semper Fi 1959]

Originally posted by carman9941
I have had both, and i like the vortech's better because of the foot print, i am not saying anything bad about tunze and am excited to see them coming out with smaller streams, I think a wave box and 2 vortechs would be the bomb jmo

Exactly my thoughts. I think I could replace 3 6100's with just 2 Vortech's and with my wavebox be all set.

As far as what I want out of them...I don't want them to be like the wavebox, cus I already have one. I want a pump that is smaller for starters. And then I'd like it to be 'comparable' to my 6100's. Plus the Vortech's will get rid of a lot of wiring for me...plus they have the battery backup. Again, I'm not saying anything bad about Tunze, cus they are great pumps. I love my flow rate in the tank...I don't know. Maybe I'll just keep em. Who knows.

LOL

[mouscacha]

I've always been under the impression that both work well together. Vortechs are good because they have wide flow and cover most of the tank. There are always dead spots, which tunze and their directional flow is known to help overcome.

carman9941 has the right idea!

[sjm817]

I've used both and by far like the Tunzes better. The main thing for me is the Vortechs were far too noisy. That alone was pretty much a show stopper. The Tunzes are MUCH quieter. Other things I like better are the controller and feed mode of the Tunze. As far as aesthetics go, the Vortechs were a mixed bag. Small in the tank, but you have the motor and big power cords to look at outside of the tank. The newer Tunzes (6x01 and 6055) also have a battery backup option. The Tunzes have many more mounting options as well. For flow, I did really like the flow of the Vortechs. Wider than the Tunze 6100. I put 6200 grills on my 6100s to change the flow to a wider pattern like the Vortech has.

[snorvich]

Where can you get 6200 grills?

[vetdog]

Is it true that vortechs are loud? I have seen a couple of tanks with them and have not found that to be true, However, I have seen it said on the boards several times that they are loud.

[d4a2n0k]

You can get them from any Tunze dealer or direct from Tunze.com. They arent cheap though, IIRC about $50!

[bmwaaron]

I have a wavebox and 3 vortechs on my 200 gallon, I love them all. I think the Vortechs are too loud when used in Short pulse mode (like a wave) but they work great in reef crest mode. I would highly recommend the vortechs incombination with the wavebox.

[cd77]

Originally posted by vetdog
Is it true that vortechs are loud? I have seen a couple of tanks with them and have not found that to be true, However, I have seen it said on the boards several times that they are loud.

I own two, and can't hear mine at all once they're configured properly. I've seen plenty of posts where people complain about noise and heat -- usually that is a sign of misalignment, a bent (or broken) pin spacer, or dirty wet or dry side surfaces. It's not difficult to bend a pin spacer without knowing it. The first one I owned ran extremely hot for months then finally started making noise -- after taking it apart I found I destroyed it by accidentally bending the pin spacer during installation.

If I can hear the pump when my light fans go off, then it's too loud for me -- the Vortechs I cannot hear; though I'm sure others will have different opinions.

As for the OP -- I can't comment on this as I've never owned a Tunze.

I opted for the Vortech for the small footprint, the motor placed outside of the tank, and for the wireless sync feature if you have two or more.

[sjm817]

Mine were properly aligned. The noise of the dry side alone was far too much. You have an electric motor stuck to the side of the tank and that is what it sounds like. The wet side noise added to the equation just made it worse. I spent a week messing with them and nothing I did quieted them down. I sent them back to EcoTech to have them look at them. They said nothing was wrong and the noise level was normal, and sent me a new set of pumps anyway. The new ones were just as bad.

Why some people have such different opinions on the noise level....I dont know. Its either a different tolerance level for noise, environment differences or a quality control issue. I tried 4 of them, and that was enough for me. Believe me, I'm not exadurating. Anyone who was in the same room with the tank would say the same thing. I had to turn the Vortechs almost all the way down to have them as quiet as the Tunzes @ 100%.

The new Tunze Stream 2s are just getting released. They are smaller and even quieter than the current Streams. The non controllable ones are out, the controllable in a few months.

http://tunze.com/fileadmin/downloads_en/stream2en.pdf

[discocarp]

Wow those look great sjm817! I was considering picking up a vortech for the battery backup, but it looks like the new tunzes will auto switch to a dc backup power source. Plus they are smaller and have MUCH better aiming possibilities. Looks nice. I think I'll hold off on the vortechs. I might replace half my 6100s with these (leaving the 2 in the rocks but switching the visible ones up top).

[sjm817]

I replaced one of my 6100s with a 6101 just for the battery backup. After selling the 6100, the upgrade cost wasn't too bad. Yes, the Stream 2's look very cool. Nice magnet too. It will even work on 1" thick tanks. The Stream 2s also are fully compatible with existing controllers.

[discocarp]

I didn't realize the 6101's had the battery feature also. I still think I'll hold out for the new ones.

The only upgrade I've made to my tunzes in a long while was the controller. My 7094 finally crapped out (after a LOT of use). The 7095 is great though! I'm happy to read it will work with the new streams too. Less I have to upgrade (making me more likely to actually upgrade).

[RokleM]

Originally posted by mouscacha
I've always been under the impression that both work well together. Vortechs are good because they have wide flow and cover most of the tank. There are always dead spots, which tunze and their directional flow is known to help overcome.

carman9941 has the right idea!

Bingo. In my 180 I have two small nano's to keep the surface shaking, a Vortec's on left/right side walls for wave/rocking motion, and Tunze's on the left/right side walls to get the distance/circular flow through the tank.

[will16]

Originally posted by sjm817
...Why some people have such different opinions on the noise level....I dont know. Its either a different tolerance level for noise, environment differences or a quality control issue. I tried 4 of them, and that was enough for me. Believe me, I'm not exadurating. Anyone who was in the same room with the tank would say the same thing. I had to turn the Vortechs almost all the way down to have them as quiet as the Tunzes @ 100%.

I think it is a quality control issue. I have 2 vortechs purchased at different times from different dealers. One is very quiet. Can barely hear. The other is loud. The dry side motor makes a whining sound when it spins up and down. If it can vary this much, that could explain why some ppl swear they are silent while others cant stand them. Luckily I have one of each

[RokleM]

Honestly, the majority of the people that _think_ their Vortech's are silent have never had a Tunze. The Tunze truly puts out little to no noise what so ever. When you compare that to the Vortech, the difference is considerable even when it's perfectly aligned.

[discocarp]

I've never heard the vortechs but my four tunze 6100s are all DEAD silent.

[areze]

no vortechs here, but I can say with no question that the tunze 6101 is silent. few aquariums are really silent of course. your overflow, return pump, general water movement ect all make noise, in such a case, if the dB of the vortech is lower than the rest, you wont hear it, and it really doesnt matter anyway.

if you turn off EVERYTHING, then you can know for sure if it makes noise. but thats not really important.

I think its probably the guys with the fish rooms and careful planning to keep the display totally silent that would have the best chance of hearing the vortechs(or tunze).

[Tang Salad]

Anyone know any of the power consumption numbers? Im curious to learn if the Vortechs lose some electrical efficiency becasue of their increased mechanical complexity...

[will16]

I think its listed as 28W @ 3000gph. Remember, they are adjustable so you can set your flow rate anywhere you want.

[RokleM]

Vortech:
•Flow: 500-3000 gallons per hour
•Power Consumption: 9-28 watts

Tunze 6101:
•Output: 660 to 3,170 US gal/h
•Pump wattage: maximum 36 W

[Purple Haze]

Tunze2's FTW! That is, when they come out in a few months