Suggestions for increasing flow

[Gyr]

I have a 125 gal SPS dominant tank and would like to increase flow. I am very noise intolerant and have to keep my Vortech MP 40 at half-speed or the whirring noise it makes drives me nuts. Its a shame, because I otherwise love the vortech. I thought about buying a replacemnt MP 40, but that's a lot of money if the new one winds up being just as 'loud' (my guess is that my unit is not inordinately loud, rather that I am inordinately intolerant). I also have an MP 20 (very quiet at full tilt) and before my SPS got big, those two gave adequate flow. Now there are significant 'slow flow' areas in the mature tank and I think that is why I am seeing less polyp extension.
What do others suggest for boosting flow without creating additional noise? Several Koralias on a 'wavemaker' power strip--that's what my LFS has in one of its display tanks and it seems to work well. I don't have any experience with anything other than the vortechs, its what I went with when I decided to go SPS, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Kurt

[Vinny Kreyling]

Penductors on the return lines?

[jrpdriver]

Go with the Tunze nanoStream 6095, they are small and they generate almost as much flow as a Vortech mp40, and they are silent. I use them and love them

[sneaton]

yeah the penductor/eductor is a good cheap option....mine feels like a hot tub jet with only 600 gph from my return...

[fishguy597]

Gyr ,
Sorry to cover the basics but I just did and it worked for me. I got an mp 40 for xmas and I thought had it set up right. I had everything aligned right but I had the glass thickness set to thick. I changed it and its real quiet now. the new one I have is almost dead silent. otherwise is just call ecotec and see what they can do if its excessively noisy might be a bad bearing.

[fishguy597]

Gyr ,
Sorry to cover the basics but I just did and it worked for me. I got an mp 40 for xmas and I thought had it set up right. I had everything aligned right but I had the glass thickness set to thick. I changed it and its real quiet now. the new one I have is almost dead silent. otherwise is just call ecotec and see what they can do if its excessively noisy might be a bad bearing.

[MammothReefer]

My mp40 whines as well, I don't mind it. With that said the 6095 is closer to an mp10 then an Mp40. I added a couple 6025s that I modded that I use in conjunction with my Mp40/Mp10. I like being able to point them at the dead spots. Just snub them up so you get a wider flow increase you find they have to be in tight spots and you don't want them ripping off the flesh of your corals. Mod also makes them flow like the 6055 @ 62 a pop if you are worried about being to spendy.

[radone]

Where can one find info about this mod?

[Reefer1225]

+1 on the Mod. Looking for more flow in my 90. Tunze sounds like a good option at $62.

[MammothReefer]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1025361

Big thread a lot of different ways to do it. I just did the basic on so it doesn't look like I hacked it to pieces, and the wide flow mod.

This is what the inside of mine looked like after I grinded down the shroud with a dremel.

http://www.pbase.com/brahm/image/128484915/original.jpg

[Reefer1225]

Awesome, thanks Mammoth! You made a clean cut compared to the other post. I have a MP40/MP10 combo on the left and right sides of the tank. Where did you end up putting the 2 6025s? Back wall? What direction pointing?

[MammothReefer]

Thanks, I ended up putting it in the front right corner blowing back in towards my vortechs. I used to have 2 on the back walls but found I could pull one out if I moved the other 2 the front pointing back.

[Canadaguy]

What about mp-60's ?? that way it wouldn't have to be turned up as much and then one would think it would be quieter. I thought about going this route but settled on the 40's

[goldenservices3]

wavebox...

[Gyr]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll do some further research into all these different options, see what might be best for me. I guess I could contact ecotec, but I've had this MP40 for well over 2 years, and I don't know if they'd repair such an old unit, even if there was a problem with the bearings. That mod looks promising, too....

Thanks again,

Kurt

[silentscream]

When was the last time you thoroughly cleaned your vortech? After soaking my wetside in straight vinegar for several hours and taking it apart to clean with a brush, the noise was significantly reduced. The whining sound is still there, but does not seem to be as pronounced as before the cleaning. Maybe the pump isn't working as hard to spin the prop now...?

[bobkill]

Pump silent - clean that thing and make sure it matches ur class thickness - and if u run it in reef crest u don't really hear it - I love nutrient export mode but my roommate and u are an the same page when it comes to noise so I use a quiter mode

[96p993]

I agree, reef crest and Lagoon really help making the MP quieter...I use a WXM so while Im not there my tank gets very random flow then when I get home all is quiet

[psykobowler]

Gyr, I have a spare mp-40w driver. If you want to upgrade your mp-20 to an mp-40w so that you have 2 mp40s you just need to buy the power supply at ecotech. I will trade the driver for corals on your tank. Please let me know. Glenn

[Gyr]

Pump silent - clean that thing and make sure it matches ur class thickness - and if u run it in reef crest u don't really hear it - I love nutrient export mode but my roommate and u are an the same page when it comes to noise so I use a quiter mode

I agree, reef crest and Lagoon really help making the MP quieter...I use a WXM so while Im not there my tank gets very random flow then when I get home all is quiet

I agree about the lagoon mode - My princess ears can handle that, but the Reef Crest mode drives me nuts. Even when it is going slow/silent, my panites are all in a buch just waiting for it to get loud again. Too bad, because I really like the random fluctuations in flow that mode creates.

(can you imagine being married to me? I should buy my wife something just because she continues to put up with me)

Oh yeah, what's a WXM?

[Gyr]

When was the last time you thoroughly cleaned your vortech? After soaking my wetside in straight vinegar for several hours and taking it apart to clean with a brush, the noise was significantly reduced. The whining sound is still there, but does not seem to be as pronounced as before the cleaning. Maybe the pump isn't working as hard to spin the prop now...?

Hey, I'll try the straight vinegar. I tried about 50% dilution and it really didn't help...couldn't get much of the junk off. Hopefully that full strength vinegar will work as that is likely at least part of the problem.
Thanks,
Kurt

[Gyr]

Hey that full strength vinegar soak worked great to clean the wet side, which really improved the flow. While the unit is still about as loud as it was at full speed, I can't keep it that high now due to it sucking air and blasting my corals around too much. I have to keep it dialed down to keep the flow where I want it and it runs pretty silent at that speed.
Thanks for the advice.
Kurt