Looking for a deal on Vortech's?

[MrSquid]

Got this email today from Custom Aquatic - Vortech's are on sale 3/7-3/9 for $389 (normally $420) with free shipping.

http://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic/productshot_flyer.asp

[muelpaul]

I know those are awesome pumps....but even at that price they are still way to high priced for me.

I saw a thread here on RC of a DIY version...But I can no longer find it and I remember the person making it had a working one. I believe he made it for under $150.

[Limpit]

I'm getting one to replace the 4 modded Maxi-jets and reduce the clutter in my 90.

[customcolor]

here you go maulpaul
here is the tread i started which found out yes you can diy a vortech
diy a vortech? (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1259708)

[siropa]

Glad you are getting one limpit. i'd love to see one in person sometime.

[Limpit]

VorTech will be here the 17th.
I will post a review on it.

[Limpit]

Well I got my Vortech a couple of days ago but finally found the time today to get it in my 90. Installation is super simple and is very quiet. I think all the talk about them being noisy is from people not getting the two pieces alined properly. I cleaned the glass on the inside where I wanted the pump to go placed the wet side where I thought would be a good place and placed the other dry side of the pump on the outside and it mated up perfectly with no noise or vibration. I set the pump to "pulse" mode and had the thing dialed in a couple of seconds to create a real nice gentle wave from side to side. This one pump is doing a much better job than the 4 maxi-jet 1200 and the wave timer I had in there before (at a much greater cost though).
The whole pump is about the size of a 12 oz. can of soda with just a little more than half the can on the outside.
While the pump has only been running for 15 minutes or so so far I am very happy with it right out of the box.
I may play with the other modes, Lagoon and Reef Crest a little later but I really like the side to side wave right now.
Once the water clears a little I will take some video and post it.
If you have the cash to buy one of these pumps I give it 2 "fins" up. :D

[Limpit]

Here is some video I shot of the new pump:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWRtivBi8Ko

So far I am really happy with it. I can get some pretty nice waves going in the tank with just the single pump. I don't leave it set for the larger waves for very long, just a nice slow and steady ebb.

[siropa]

you got all that wave action from that one pump?!? sweet!

[Limpit]

Thats right ONE PUMP!
I have hardly messed around with the other modes but will have to.
I ran it at 100% right out of the box to make sure there would be no vibration and it really churned up the tank.
I cannot imagine what 4 of these pumps would do like some people have, probably empty out my tank!

[siropa]

after seeing that video I might have to rethink what i've wanted to do for water movement in my tank. how much polyp movement do you see from the waves?

[MrSquid]

how would you say 1 would do in a 125? Or do you think you'd need 2 to be real effective? Not really looking for wave action - moreso to get rid of pumps (and cords) in the tank.

How far can you get it from the surface when running at 100% before it starts making funky little air tornados?

[PrisonCityReef]

Limpit - Nice series of videos you have there. Even the basic water change was a good one for a beginner like me.

Vortech looks pretty cool! Keep us posted as you play with it more.

What benefits are there for a 'wavemaker' type system? Is it just to provide a more ocean-like and natural flow?

[siropa]

i'll second that about the videos. I didn't know you had those. very nicely done.

[MrSquid]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12158486#post12158486 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PrisonCityReef
What benefits are there for a 'wavemaker' type system? Is it just to provide a more ocean-like and natural flow?

Exactly. But you want to be careful how you do it. With my Reefkeeper 2 it completely shuts down each pump as it cycles through the A/B/C rotation. Some fish like to hang out in them when they're off. :eek1: Once I caught my starry blenny in one of my SureFlow modded MJ's just seconds before he would have become sushi. If you have fish that like to "sit", you'd want to look at a system that just switches up the speed of the pump. (like Vortech or Tunze) Needless to say, I no longer use the standby or wavemaker functions of my RK2 because of my blennies. ;)

Some people say too that the shifting water from wavemakers will eventually weaken the silicone on your tank. Not sure if there's more of a concern there if you've got pumps on each end - effectively shifting the water back and forth, or if there's less of a concern with a setup like Limpit's where it's just on one end and varying the speed. But it's something to keep in the back of your mind.

[Limpit]

siropa, polyps are moving nicely.

MrSquid, if you have a 6 foot 125 I would say go with two pumps as I don't think one would be able to push it far enough. As far as weakening the tank I have read that also but then I have seen where people have a smaller tank with like a 3 inch wave going in it, thats when I think you could get into trouble.

PCR, random flow patterns are better for the corals than just one continuous direction that never stops but any flow is better than no flow.

As for the videos I used to post here when I first started with the you tube stuff but it got to be redundant posting about a new video every couple of weeks. If you want to know when a new one gets posted you can sign up on you tube and then subscribe to my videos then you will be notified when a new video is posted.