Ecotech Marine Vortech mp40 thoughts?

[deepseadan]

I'm sure these have been talked about before, but I can't get the search function to work. Other than price, what's the general consensus on the reliability and performance of these? I'm hoping to get one in the next couple days.

[tkeracer619]

I have had them for years. They are nice pumps. Great flow that the corals and fish respond positively to. They do make some extra noise because the motor is on the outside but its not noticeable unless you are on pulse or have a very quiet setup.

They are pretty robust. The earlier models had more issues but the wet sides went through a few minor changes over the years to improve reliability. As long as you don't send the controller or dry side swimming they should last many years and are for the most part user serviceable. Theoretically you could just replace parts forever as long as parts are available should something go wrong. The wet side will need to be serviced at some point and should be cleaned every few months in vinegar. If you notice the wet side is starting to get sloppy you should refresh the bearing, driveshaft, and the screw/nut (total cost $38). The magnet is the expensive part of the wet side so you don't want to let it get too sloppy which can damage the magnets coating. I have one that needs it now but its one of my first pumps, its at least 3.5+ years old. The dry side bearings can also be replaced should it ever need it. There is a diy thread on how to do it but I never have had to myself.

I prefer lagoon mode at about 90%. Read the full manual on their website to see all the features.

You want to make sure to get the halves aligned properly and secure the dry side so the cord goes up. If a snail gets in the wet side and the pump isn't secured the dry side could fall. You don't want that to happen...

This video shows my 360 with 2mp40 and a mp60. Lots of flow. You can see the food moving along the sand bed. No dead spots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1cg8gkR_1w

Consider getting a battery backup for it as well. It will keep your tank alive in a power outage.

[tallreefguy]

I think they're fantastic. I ran one of my 100g 4' tank without any other pumps (except return) and everything did very well. They circulate the water fantastically.
I ran mine in Nutrient transfer mode. I heard that was best for SPS

[reefkeeper1989]

I HAVE 3 MP40S ON MY 220 LOVE THEM have an mp10 also

[scarface70706]

been running my mp40ws for a little over a year now and love them. corals and fish like them as well. if you can afford it i highly recommend them

[deepseadan]

Do you think that 1 will have much effect in my tank being 6ft x 18 w 24 tall, or is two a must? I don't think my wife will let me drop a $1000 all at once.

[sunilp]

I have been running mp40's for around 10 months. Don't like the noise they put out since my tank is in the living room. Switched to Tunze 6105's

[tkeracer619]

yup. two is ideal but it will be fine with one for now.

[cap032]

Originally Posted by deepseadan

Do you think that 1 will have much effect in my tank being 6ft x 18 w 24 tall, or is two a must? I don't think my wife will let me drop a $1000 all at once.

I just put 1 on my new 6ft 125g and "holy cow" it moves some water. The undertow effect it has is awesome. It has moved the sand bed around on about half the tank and is creating good surface agitation across the entire surface. I will be adding a 2nd eventually just to ensure there are no dead spots and to maximize the reef crest mode running them in anti sync.

[shinninja]

I have three mp40s on a 6foot tank and two mp10s on a cube. Excellent pumps. Annoying loud! to me, biggest down fall if the noise. As long as you don't mind the constant up and down noise of the pumps, you will be fine!

[deepseadan]

Originally Posted by shinninja

I have three mp40s on a 6foot tank and two mp10s on a cube. Excellent pumps. Annoying loud! to me, biggest down fall if the noise. As long as you don't mind the constant up and down noise of the pumps, you will be fine!

I'm not super worried about noise, I already have noise from an iwaki md55rlt pump and three 3" fans on the canopy, asm skimmer and so on. Might as well add some more. Thanks for the info everyone, tomorrow's the big day.

[implac]

Has anyone put a decibel meter to these things? Anyone whose not running a chiller noticed a specific degree drop in tank temperature by switching from traditional powerheads to a vortech?

[Breadman03]

Originally Posted by implac

Has anyone put a decibel meter to these things? Anyone whose not running a chiller noticed a specific degree drop in tank temperature by switching from traditional powerheads to a vortech?

I'm interested in responses to this. I'm debating between 2*MP10 or one MP40 in my 75.

[TomNeely]

In my 75 gallon I used two vortechs. A MP40 and MP10. One MP40 was enough for the first couple of the years but once the SPS corals started growing a extra pump was needed.

[tkeracer619]

On a small system on the verge of overheating it will probably make a difference but on a large system the watt use we are talking about is minor.

[implac]

Might be good material for a short article as heat reduction seems to be a selling point. Take a few comparably sized propeller pumps, a few tanks of water (50, 75, 125 gal), measure their heat increase apart from the constants of room temp, with/without lights, heater, etc...
I personally noticed an increase of 2-3 degrees F when I switched from two Koralias (18.5 watts total) to one Tunze Stream 6065 (12 watts) in a 60 gallon system. There may have been other factors I did not consider, but the increase in temp was coincident, immediate, and lasting.

[jerpa]

The heat would be almost inconsequential on all but the smallest tanks and even then you would need to have been using inefficient pumps. 30-40 watts won't do much of anything unless it's a nano/pico. I wish my tunze and koralias would help raise my temp. If you have a faulty pump they can raise the temp substantially, however they will also be pulling more from the wall.

[xabo]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

yup. two is ideal but it will be fine with one for now.

tried sending a PM but your box is full. How/where do you have your pumps placed in your tank?

[Dseg]

I have two MP40s on my 180 gallon. They are great but they are loud. It really depends on what you consider loud though, everyone has their own tolerance. The MP40s are the loudest thing on my tank. My goal was to make my tank dead quiet, unfortunately no one makes silent MP40s and they are a must have for me...

[deepseadan]

Okay so I bought and installed my mp40 today. First, I can't hear it running at all, it's way quieter than my 3" fans and iwaki pump. Second, it moves a lot of water, but I will definitely need two for my 6ft tank. I was really hoping to get away with one considering the cost. Last, it was a nice easy install, but the programming part of the book could be better. All in all I'm glad I chose the mp40.

[psykobowler]

If you wanted to get away with one, the mp60 would have been a better choice. It would have cost less than purchasing 2 mp40s.

[coralreefdoc]

Breadman03. I would highly suggest going with 2xMP10s versus a single MP40 on a 4ft 75G ...

Personally, with my temporary 75G holding system, Im running 2xMP10s on one short side and an MP40 on the other. Albeit this is somewhat overkill and not necessarily needed, but I don't mess around in the flow/lighting aspects. SPS Dominated as well ...

HTH

[cham]

I love them, currently have 3 MP40's on my 120 and looking for two more

[maynardjames]

Originally Posted by deepseadan

Do you think that 1 will have much effect in my tank being 6ft x 18 w 24 tall, or is two a must? I don't think my wife will let me drop a $1000 all at once.

one throws out lots of flow. but then u cant wait to get other so u can sync

[maynardjames]

Originally Posted by cham

I love them, currently have 3 MP40's on my 120 and looking for two more

wow mega flow two on my 120 can really get some pretty good flow going but i would buy another if i had money to buy it