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View Full Version : Wavemakers - Tunze vs Gyre vs Vortech?


coolxborg
08/19/2015, 10:33 AM
I have a 150G tank (5x2x2) thats been running for 3.5 months. It only has 4 fish (clowns, royal gramma, and a goby) right now with some zoas, one leather, and few heads of frogspawns/duncans. The plan is to have more LPS. For lighting, I have Radions and could potentially add SPS later on.

I currently have have koralias in it, but would like to upgrade.

Out of the Tunze 6095 (assuming need 2) or Maxspect xf150 or Vortech mp40's (assuming need 2?), which is the best? Are there others that Im missing?

With the cost associated with these pumps, i want to make sure i get the right ones.

Thanks!

Reefinny
08/19/2015, 10:34 AM
I have had all three on my 100 gallon. I have gone back to the MP 40

DavidinGA
08/19/2015, 10:34 AM
Jebao rw20's

asonitez
08/19/2015, 10:54 AM
I have found tunze 6095's to be the hardest working, most dependable, and easiest to maintain of all the pumps you mentioned. I have 4 of them on my tank running at around 50% each and they have been operating like that for a long time. I have a forsale thread where I'm selling all 4 because I'm moving and getting a bigger tank and I plan to up the ante with bigger water flow tunzes. Tunze support is top notch and I have tried the GYRE's and vortech's and nothing beat controlability targeting and quietness.

Allentown
08/19/2015, 12:07 PM
I know money is an issue but I opted for one MP40 and one Gyre x150 at opposing ends.

I wanted the vortech for the back up battery and extra controllability and I wanted the gyre for the long thin top wave.

I plan to actually add couple more vortechs and maybe even a Tunze wave box as time goes on...and of course the vortech controllable main pumps.

Nothing wrong with Tunze either.

My best advice to you is to consider your power outage back up plan.

That alone made the Vortech the easiest option for the first pump.

Remember, upgrades are fun, its never a one and done, its just a question of "whats best to start"

I started with the Jaebos...they last about a year or 15 months but the ones that come with the dual controller are pretty cool because you can get them synchronize and counter synch etc similar to the more expensive options.....if power outage isn't part of the planning right now..

Two WP 40s and the dual controller would be a good ("Ill upgrade again in a year or two but money is tight" option.

I have no experience with the Gyre and I know people SWEAR by them but I personally would not want my ONLY pump to be a laminar non networkable option that only works from one end of the tank and that requires me to go buy a computer UPS and rig a power back up solution myself kinda deal.......

Reefnub
08/19/2015, 12:59 PM
I'd go with 2 mp40 and add a jebao rw8/wp25/tunze or do what you planned with one xf150 and a tunze, if this tank isn't sps dominant it should be fine.

Both setups will give you different flow setups. I also don't like relying on a xf150 because the flow is very laminar. The more random the flow the better.

nuxx
08/19/2015, 01:07 PM
Been really happy with our Jebao wavemakers.

Have (1) RW20, (1) RW15, (2) WP60 and (3) WP40 in our main tank and (2) RW15 in our frag tank.

The RW15s in the frag tank are synced together wirelessly through their controllers.

The ones in the main tank are hooked up to the APEX and loop through 12 or so programs during the day.

The first gen WP40s seem to burn out after 2 years, so I've been replacing them with RWs... but for $50 bucks, who can complain...

Bent
08/19/2015, 01:25 PM
jebao + jbwave = win.

nuxx
08/19/2015, 01:36 PM
jebao + jbwave = win.

Jebao + APEX = more win :)

DavidinGA
08/19/2015, 01:36 PM
jebao + jbwave = win.


Hmm...just looked up jbwave and I have a hard time wanting to spend $89 for it. Seems like a waste of money. Most people already have a reef controller that can duplicate anything it is doing anyway. Would you buy one?

nuxx
08/19/2015, 01:38 PM
Hmm...just looked up jbwave and I have a hard time wanting to spend $89 for it. Seems like a waste of money. Most people already have a reef controller that can duplicate anything it is doing anyway. Would you buy one?

Buuuuuut....

You do have to buy an adapter and new power supply if connecting them to a controller.

Just had to buy 3 adapters, 3 new 6.5 amp power supplies and a VDM for the APEX.

coolxborg
08/19/2015, 01:58 PM
Haha! I feel like im more confused after posting. I was hoping majority would go with one choice. :)

Perhaps, the best way is try different combo's and see what I like.

I do have a reeflink so it would be nice to control the mp40's. I also have an apex so Tunze will work. And Gyre xf150 is the most economical (which isnt apex ready if I read correctly), well Jebao's are probably the most economical.

Im in no hurry so could do more research, but knowing myself, I would like to make a decision this week. I hate lingering.

Thanks to everyone so far that has provided input!

DavidinGA
08/19/2015, 02:01 PM
Buuuuuut....

You do have to buy an adapter and new power supply if connecting them to a controller.

Just had to buy 3 adapters, 3 new 6.5 amp power supplies and a VDM for the APEX.


Eh no...

I run Reef Angel and only had to buy a single jebao controller cable off Reef Angels site (nothing else is needed). If your DIY you can make the cable for next to nothing yourself.

I don't know much about Apex though. Only thing I do know is that everything about them costs a lot more $ to do the same thing RA does for a fraction of the cost...:rollface:

Allentown
08/19/2015, 02:23 PM
Haha! I feel like im more confused after posting. I was hoping majority would go with one choice. :)

Perhaps, the best way is try different combo's and see what I like.

I do have a reeflink so it would be nice to control the mp40's. I also have an apex so Tunze will work. And Gyre xf150 is the most economical (which isnt apex ready if I read correctly), well Jebao's are probably the most economical.

Im in no hurry so could do more research, but knowing myself, I would like to make a decision this week. I hate lingering.

Thanks to everyone so far that has provided input!

If you already have a reef link (assume you have radions) that's another point in favor of going with the vortech pumps. You can (I think) some combination of 8 different lights or pumps off a single reef link and if you have or buy an apex, you can add their control module so you have options there.

Your control of the Gyre beyond its (I think 8 pre-programmed modes) will be limited to the outlet programming with off and on commands with an apex.

As you said, you can run Tunze right off the base apex out of the box. I only have their ATO units but they are top notch.

If I were you I would go with Vortech based on the size of the tank and the existing equipment you have.... (don't be like me and buy a combination of AI and Kessil lights, Vortechs, Jaebos and Gyre pumps and then you are faced with controlling everything with a ton of individual controllers or having to buy almost every single control modue apex sells....unless you like that sort of fun).

Bent
08/19/2015, 02:32 PM
Hmm...just looked up jbwave and I have a hard time wanting to spend $89 for it. Seems like a waste of money. Most people already have a reef controller that can duplicate anything it is doing anyway. Would you buy one?

It's worth 89 bucks if you don't have a reef controller.

Edit:
I would argue that most people dont have a controller.

Edit2:
Sorry, re-read your original post. I did buy one, and I have two rw4s hooked to it. It's about 100x better than the stock controller. It really maximizes the potential of the pumps.

So if you take two RW4s from Amazon at 50 bucks, plus the wave at 90. Your looking at 190 bucks for two highly customizable, wirelessly controlled via smartphone or tablet, for under 100 bucks each. That's pretty dang good imo.

PeterHall
08/19/2015, 02:38 PM
I have two jebao rw15 on my 180 turned all the way to max. I've had them for more than a year and love them. I would probably go with two rw20s and save your money

DavidinGA
08/19/2015, 02:41 PM
It's worth 89 bucks if you don't have a reef controller.

Edit:
I would argue that most people dont have a controller.

Edit2:
Sorry, re-read your original post. I did buy one, and I have two rw4s hooked to it. It's about 100x better than the stock controller. It really maximizes the potential of the pumps.

So if you take two RW4s from Amazon at 50 bucks, plus the wave at 90. Your looking at 190 bucks for two highly customizable, wirelessly controlled via smartphone or tablet, for under 100 bucks each. That's pretty dang good imo.
Yeah, I suppose if you don't have a controller it's a great deal.

soulpatch
08/19/2015, 02:43 PM
Not to throw a wrench into your thought process but there is also the new WAV pumps from Neptune that start shipping end of this month apparently...

ca1ore
08/19/2015, 02:48 PM
I was hoping majority would go with one choice. :)

:lolspin::lolspin: ..... no!

'Best' is too subjective; what you invariably get is some variation of what each person is happy with. The take away should be that all the choices offered are viable ones. The trick is to decide what constitutes 'best' for you.

For example, I hate clumsy great pumps inside my tank, so for me, Vortech is the favored pump.

GroktheCube
08/19/2015, 05:12 PM
In order of my preference:
1. Gyre
2. Jebao RW series
3. Tunze controllable pumps
4. Vortechs

coolxborg
08/19/2015, 05:20 PM
In order of my preference:
1. Gyre
2. Jebao RW series
3. Tunze controllable pumps
4. Vortechs

Could you expand a bit? Im curious why you picked the gyre #1.

ArmanS
08/19/2015, 10:09 PM
I have had all four.

Tried out the Jebao, good pump for the money but I prefer the better quality and easy of controllability of my MP40s.

The Gyre I have the 150 model, I really dislike this pump. When it worked it does provide plenty of flow, I would say easily more then a comparably priced pump ex, MP40, Tunze 6105 etc. My complaints are they it has only been working maybe 25% of the time, Coralvue's support is good but I've had too many issues with my pump. It's basically brand new now after they sent out new controller, and driver.

The other issue with it is taking it apart and cleaning it is a pain compared to other pumps.

Tunze's are great pumps, great build quality and great flow and warranty. I just prefer the look of the Vortechs to the Tunzes, as well as the battery back up option which is so easy to use.

Vortechs go on all my tanks. I've had MP10s, 40s, and 60s, the new Quiet Drive Technology is amazing. Much more flow and they are near dead silent.

Battery Back Up is very important, connectivity is very important, the controller is great, quality is great, warranty is great, customer service is great, and now they are very affordable.

shifty51008
08/19/2015, 10:47 PM
Tunze would be my choice, 8 years on my pumps and with regular cleaning they are still as strong as they were when new, did have to replace 1 impeller though.

Reefvet
08/19/2015, 11:07 PM
Not to throw a wrench into your thought process but there is also the new WAV pumps from Neptune that start shipping end of this month apparently...

Which will fall into the totally unproven category. At $500 and a rated flow of roughly 3K gals it's expensive. It only has one cable, you can tilt it like a Tunze and there's nothing showing on the outside of the tank. But that means no battery backup and all the heats in the tank.

Gyre is nice but you're all beta testers, gen 2 will be the time to buy. The $100 per pump Ice Cap controller to regulate through an Apex puts it's price stupidly high for a feature that should have been built in in the first place. Pump heat is in the tank.

Tunze, heat in the tank but much less for the water it moves and they're very long lived, low maintenance. I have one that's 12 years old and still works great. I have a dozen others, never had a problem yet.

I have 6 Vortechs. Outstanding pumps. Heat outside the tank. New QD is super quiet, old MPs can be updated to QD.

After 40+ years in this hobby I won't buy a cheap anything. You just end up buying it again and it'll fail at the worst possible time.

New SICCE and Aqua Medic controllable Powerheads just hitting the market and with MACNA just about to happen you never know what else might be announced. I'd wait and see.

GroktheCube
08/20/2015, 09:02 AM
Could you expand a bit? Im curious why you picked the gyre #1.

In my experience, a single gyre can reliably generate substantially more whole tank water movement with fewer dead spots than multiple propeller pumps, and not create areas near the pump with flow too intense to be able to place corals. It also does this while taking up very little space in the tank, and being silent. I've seen people complain about it being hard to clean them, but all I've found necessary is a vinegar bath every two months or so. Neither of mine have ever been disassembled for cleaning, because I've not found it to be needed.

The RWs generate more broad and usable flow than Tunze stream pumps, take up less space, and still share the advantage of being able to direct flow. I have multiple 6105s and 6095s. After I got my RW-15s, I put them in storage. Not even a matter of cost, the Jebaos just perform better.

The Vortech pumps remind me of either RWs that can't be turned, or Gyres that don't produce nearly as much water movement. They're also a bit noisy. That said, they're a good choice for smaller tanks where their output is adequate to create whole tank water movement. I have one in my GF's 40B that houses a mantis shrimp and a three stripe damsel along with plenty of macro algae, and it's perfect for that.

Allentown
08/20/2015, 11:58 AM
All of the "Gyre" no "votech" back and forth is why I basically went with one of each.

Don't think Iill need a second Gyre and if it goes out on me.....well ill really have to love it to buy another. I do planning on adding vortechs though.

soulpatch
08/20/2015, 12:00 PM
Which will fall into the totally unproven category. At $500 and a rated flow of roughly 3K gals it's expensive. It only has one cable, you can tilt it like a Tunze and there's nothing showing on the outside of the tank. But that means no battery backup and all the heats in the tank.

Gyre is nice but you're all beta testers, gen 2 will be the time to buy. The $100 per pump Ice Cap controller to regulate through an Apex puts it's price stupidly high for a feature that should have been built in in the first place. Pump heat is in the tank.

Tunze, heat in the tank but much less for the water it moves and they're very long lived, low maintenance. I have one that's 12 years old and still works great. I have a dozen others, never had a problem yet.

I have 6 Vortechs. Outstanding pumps. Heat outside the tank. New QD is super quiet, old MPs can be updated to QD.

After 40+ years in this hobby I won't buy a cheap anything. You just end up buying it again and it'll fail at the worst possible time.

New SICCE and Aqua Medic controllable Powerheads just hitting the market and with MACNA just about to happen you never know what else might be announced. I'd wait and see.


Going to assume you have heat issues in your tank??? lol

Sure the WAV is new but then again Neptune has a decent track record with their new products. Same could be said for ecotech which is why I am going to go with the M1 pump for my one return.

The older MP40 really cant be upgraded to the new QD per ecotech. You need new motor for them so sure you can get new controller but not comparable to the new QD models.

nuxx
08/20/2015, 01:07 PM
Eh no...

I run Reef Angel and only had to buy a single jebao controller cable off Reef Angels site (nothing else is needed). If your DIY you can make the cable for next to nothing yourself.

I don't know much about Apex though. Only thing I do know is that everything about them costs a lot more $ to do the same thing RA does for a fraction of the cost...:rollface:

Yeah the APEX can only control 2 wavemakers per VDM. So with 6 wavemakers I need three adapters and two extra VDM ports on top of the one I had open, which needed the VDM module.

GroktheCube
08/20/2015, 01:16 PM
All of the "Gyre" no "votech" back and forth is why I basically went with one of each.

Don't think Iill need a second Gyre and if it goes out on me.....well ill really have to love it to buy another. I do planning on adding vortechs though.

Honestly, they're all pretty decent pumps. People are able to grow coral successfully using all of them, so a lot of it comes down to personal preference and the experiences (good and bad) people have with various brands.

coolxborg
08/20/2015, 01:32 PM
Im thinking Ill will go with 1 mp40 with a battery back up (found a deal locally) and 1 Gyre and will likely get Gyre interface module with it.

I decided to go with one mp40 since I have a reeflink so might as well utilize it with the pump. Also like the backup battery idea that comes with the deal.

As for the Gyre, I spoke with a couple local reefers and they really like the water movement with no major complains. And since the interface module is now available, I can control with my Apex.

It feels you cant really go wrong with any of these pumps so we'll see how it goes and if I dont like one or the other, you'll see it on selling forum :)

Mishri
08/20/2015, 03:35 PM
Yeah.. I really like my Gyre's.. had them since they first released the xf130.. I've never had to take them apart to clean them (its been over 6 months I think).. and that is with new tank algae outbreaks.(just clean the algae off the outside, inside never collected anything).. I hope you have equal luck/experience as I have. -Most of the people complaining about them breaking have taken them apart.. I'm not sure why they take them apart.. doesn't seem like routine cleaning should necessitate it... i've seen it suck up all sorts of things and spit it out though.. like nori and a small fish(pearl fish-lives in my sea cucumbers butt-it survived)... ;)

Reefvet
08/21/2015, 04:03 PM
Going to assume you have heat issues in your tank??? lol


No, I don't, but it is a big issue for many reef keepers.

If you read my comparisons, I'm saying that's a significant difference and an advantage that only the Vortechs offers.

I was wrong about the price on the WAV. It's $199 for 1 pump, $499 for a pair with the new module to run them. I'm sure we'll have more information by MACNA.

Honeygs
03/26/2016, 05:41 PM
So one mp40 would be good for a 36 x 18 x 24 tank? Didn't mean to high jack, just thought I'd ask.

davehead86
03/26/2016, 07:39 PM
So one mp40 would be good for a 36 x 18 x 24 tank? Didn't mean to high jack, just thought I'd ask.

No you dont want just one powerhead in a tank that size. To get the water movement you need it would be pretty high and that would blast anything close and would dissipate quickly.

I have a 65 gallon like you (putting it together now) and I went with 2 MP10's possibly adding a third for the back wall.

Wills612
03/26/2016, 08:28 PM
When I had my 40b I had 2 mp40s, and 2 wp25 blowing behind the rocks and it was just right.

Hentz
03/26/2016, 11:24 PM
So one mp40 would be good for a 36 x 18 x 24 tank? Didn't mean to high jack, just thought I'd ask.


I run almost exactly your same dimensions, just a few inches shorter. I run two MP40's and they're great. I'm currently SPS dominant.

Though I'm thinking of possibly trying out a Gyre to see how the corals and myself like the flow.

Honeygs
03/26/2016, 11:39 PM
I will try 2 mp's then. Wanted to make sure it would be enough flow. Thanks for all your input and help.

garwood
03/27/2016, 12:42 PM
how come no one ever mentions wavebox anymore.

reefteaser
03/27/2016, 02:33 PM
FWIW I been using an Aquamedic Ecodrift 8 on my 60x20x22 for 5 months and get great flow. It has a lot of speed and pulse settings, very quiet.

K.C.
03/27/2016, 09:03 PM
... Didn't mean to high jack, just thought I'd ask.

I don't think asking a question in a thread that's been dormant for 3 months is exactly highjacking :facepalm:


how come no one ever mentions wavebox anymore.

Because they're not as commonly used now that powerheads have the ability to create a wave motion or at least a lot of water movement. Many don't create an actual wave action but that's not always important.

I still run a Tunze wavebox and they're great. In some applications they're the best solution.

REEFCHITOWN
03/27/2016, 09:41 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZouZvAJoM1Q

I think now with the Aqua link being able to be used to control the RW series pumps, i am not sure why anyone would buy anything else. Only other thought would by a gyre, but i think you will still want a bit of random flow in the middle section.

Take a look at my review. I am running many different flow patterns throughout the day with out expensive additional hardware required.