Whats your favorite equipment?

[Ironman]

I thought this would be fun to get alot of peoples opinions of how to create or simulate waves and currents in there tank. So take a minute and lists what you use in your tank to create that perfect movement your corals love so much. And tell us why you chose it. This will be a great tool for those newbies who are trying to decide what to do, and a chance for others to brag about there system of wave making. Dont be shy, Ive seen maxijets duct taped to oscilating fans!

 

[dustin_P74]

i have two vortech mp40W's and love them, but i still dont think its enough so i turned on a K4 and still dont think its enough so im trying to figure out what to add and where to add it

 

[Ironman]

Not everyone knows what the vortechs are, So please describe your systems benefits and drawbacks as if you were selling it.

 

[dustin_P74]

its probably one of the best wavemakers on the market with a ton of different settings and each one pushes out about 3200 GPH of water

 

[Bifferwine]

In addition to a pretty powerful return system from my sump, I have 6 Koralia-3s in my 240. I know that this isn't nearly enough flow for most SPS, but most of my SPS were wiped out when my A) my tank boiled to 95 degrees, and later on, B) when my kenya tree forest smothered any remaining SPS out, so I don't worry about my SPS anymore!! ;)

The K3s are placed to create as much turbulence as possible in every area of the tank. I made sure to try to prevent any dead spots, even behind the rock work. My flow is strong enough that a couple fish have managed to get sucked into one of my overflows that was missing a tooth.

I have a 35 gallon remote DSB/fuge, and that only has very gentle flow, the water is controlled by one MaxiJet in the fuge.

So nothing high tech or fancy for my tank. But I know if I went back and tried to restock all the SPS I lost, I'd have to put some more effort into increasing the flow.

 

[Ironman]

The koralias are definatly a good pump. I ran a couple in my 120 for a year and really like them, they mount easily and have a pretty good pivot point for angles, plus have a great water pattern.

 

[Bifferwine]

And they are so easy to clean.

 

[ccCapt]

I have 4 K-4's and 1 K-2 in my 125. Great pumps and even better customer service from Hydor.

 

[Ironman]

It looks like Koralias are taking the lead here so far.

I guess I will put my opinions in.
I used maxijets with a wavemaster for alot of years and was pretty happy with them. down side I found was there tendency to have stray voltage and the heat transfer.
I switched to Sea swirls to avoid heat and stray voltage and they worked pretty good, but they are limited to angles and lower ends of the tank. So I added some koralia 3s which helped. Ultimatly I got tired of having bulky pumps scattered around the tank.
So currently I am running Vortech Mp40ws. I think with these ive found the final need for flow. They have little to no heat transfer, they can be set to simulate any wave or pulse, and they draw under 30 watts at full power. Not to mention they have very little bulk in the actual tank.

 

[wontonflip]

Good thread, Ironman...I just got my 125g, and we're still in the tank stand planning stage, but I wanted to start buying equipment slowly. I was planning on getting some more combinations of koralias, but wasn't sure how many to get. I'm still a newbie, but definitely picking up a lot of good pointers for flow. I don't have much info to offer, but here's what I've got...

I definitely love the Koralias. I have a Koralia 3 in my 45, plus a penguin 550. I rely on the return flow to make the ripples on the surface since I had to move my maxijet to the 10g. I get good enough flow. I have no corals, so I just use them to move detritus from the sand bed.

My 10g has a hob rio skimmer which helps with the movement a little, then I have a koralia 1 on the other end of the tank to keep a good circulation. Pretty soon, I'm adding a fuge to this tank, using the maxijet to put water into the fuge.

 

[ccCapt]

So currently I am running Vortech Mp40ws. I think with these ive found the final need for flow. They have little to no heat transfer, they can be set to simulate any wave or pulse, and they draw under 30 watts at full power. Not to mention they have very little bulk in the actual tank.

Only problem with the VorTechs is the price tag. $400+ each is not cheap.

 

[JAG107]

Yeah when I have $800+ to spend on a wavemaker, it will be 2 vortechs. That will probably be a long time from now, like, next tank upgrade long time.
Until then, I will continue using my 2 K4's, Rio 2600 aimed at the surface for turbulence, and a supplemental K2. My second K2 was moved to my frag tank last month, so my water movement has been a little less since then, but everything seems pretty happy with the current combo.
I like the K4's for the same reasons everybody else seems to...easy mounting and aiming, easy cleaning. I will be modding the K4's as soon as I can get the parts together, seems like a cheap alternative to yet another purchase. I just wish the older K4's could be used on a wavemaker. I can't see buying any more powerheads for a while.

 

[yote]

I'm running 4 K-4s in my 125,along with 2 K-3s.Plus 2 of K-4s have the Eco-Mod props in em which ups the flow rate.That could also be the reason I have trouble with LPS corals.

 

[Ironman]

Some good input so far guys, It is true the vortechs are pricey. Im sure in a year or two the prices will start becoming more reasonable.
Anyone using Closed Loop? My new tank is drilled for closed loop but I chose to save my power bill from having to run a huge pump.

 

[RyanG]

Ironman I will chime in on that not. I have a closed loop system, the pump is an older Sequence 3200 with a 2" intake with two 1" returns and three 3/4" returns(two are spit into two 1/2" returns if you follow) Not nearly enough flow for SPS, not even close! My system did great for small frags but really showed its weakness when i bought and grew some colonies. I lost one gorgeous Acropora colony from the middle out and was working on a losing a second. I added a pair of K4's and everything seems to be a lot happier. I really hate the look of powerheads so I can see myself upgrading my closed loop pump to a Hammerhead in the future. My own personal thoughts are this, if you dont mind paying the extra for a closed loop(initial cost, power consumption ect) they look better but that is probably where the advantages stop. Powerheads are ugly but man do they perform.

Another option for those looking to keep corals other that SPS is the Tunze wavemaker they dont really circulate the water but the force that they move water back and forth with looks amazing with LPS corals especially with anything that has long polyps IE Euphylia coral, duncans, etc.

 

[dustin_P74]

ryan have you though about hooking up an ocean motion for your CL

 

[Ironman]

The wavebox theory is what I like so much about the vortechs. A wavebox is huge and takes up valuable aquascaping room. The vortechs have a wave mode that will let you control speed and timing of the wave. I can make a wave in my tank that would splash out of the tank if I wanted to. I have them on a 120, and have to have the pressure turned almost all the way down to keep from stressing my LPS. It is amazing to watch a Millipora wave in the flow back and forth.

 

[acerhigh]

there are a lot of great devices out there for our tanks...... for wave making/random flow.... my favorite thing made is a SCWD so simple to use..... it's cheap.... and does a great job of redirecting flow thru multiple outlets...

for pumps...... my favorite is a dart..... i've had 2 diff tanks with a dart pump.... super super quiet pump that moves a ton of water! I currently use a dart on the closed loop fed into an oceans motions with a type 1 drum.... ( I think) flow is rotated in sequence.... outlets 1 &2, 2 & 3, 3 & 4, 4 & 1 ...... then I also use a SCWD on my return..... so no flow in my tank is constant!

 

[RyanG]

Acer you've never had problems with you SCWD's not working? Ive heard a lot of people complain about them because the rotating dohicky gums up and quits working.

Dustin I dont have room for OM under my stand, if I could do a remote sump I would do one maybe even two in a heart beat. But there are A LOT of things I would change about my system if I could do it over.

 

[acerhigh]

Acer you've never had problems with you SCWD's not working? Ive heard a lot of people complain about them because the rotating dohicky gums up and quits working.

one time I had an issue with it not switching..... took it off and cleaned it and away it went! that problem occured after the SCWD had been in use for 3 years! I have a friend that has one that has been in use for 6 years with no cleaning and still working just fine!