Whats your opinion on the best powerheads?

[amzar123]

Whats your opinion on the best powerheads?
I had a chance to review these recently and was surprised at just how much of a difference they make :)

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[snorvich]

Tunze and Vortech both are good. Each have advantages and disadvantages.

[jraker]

+1 on both Tunze and Vortech.

[davocean]

My new Vort quiet drive is everything I hoped it would be, click together and flick it on, total silence w/out any fuss

[Bent]

Meh my jebs have never faltered despite the bad press....yet.


Will let you know when they do.

[tom obrecht]

I have tried many throughout the years. Personally tunze is at the top of my list and what I currently use.

[xanthurum]

Vortec is the only pump For me

[d2mini]

Tunze for their silent operation, extremely low maintenance and ability to alter direction of flow.
Ecotech for their low in-tank profile, nice controller, no cord in tank and pretty quiet operation.

The flow is great on both.

[jjvanb]

Would you guys say one is more reliable / longer lasting than the other?

[biecacka]

They both will last long if cared for properly. Some guys on here have had their Tunzes for 10+ years.

Corey

[tom obrecht]

Tunze IME has the best track record.

[davocean]

Tunze have certainly been around longer, and they do have great CS, both are really good companies and products, I just prefer no wires in display.

[snorvich]

They both will last long if cared for properly. Some guys on here have had their Tunzes for 10+ years.

Corey

I am one of those.

[Ucantwin]

I am really liking the Gyre so far.

[stackrat]

Nobody have Wav's?

[snorvich]

I am really liking the Gyre so far.

The possible issue is long term robustness.

[Ron Reefman]

Trying to find 'The Best' can mean several different things to different people. The best made, the best flow, the best controller, the best waves, the best value.

I think the EcoTech MP series are among the best made and definitely the best idea. But for the money, just not worth the expense.

The Maxspect Gyre moves a ton of water and has a pretty cool controller, but they have proven to be a bit fragile.

Good old Jebao wavemakers, low cost, good flow, barely adequate controllers and built a little too cheap. But if you don't want to spend an arm and a leg for a powerhead and are willing to work around the occasional failure, they are OK. And even if you have a 25% failure rate over a couple of years, by far the best value.

[Mark426]

Echo everyone else's opinion. Tunze (if you can hide the cord) and Vortechs pretty much cover it all. Gyres are a cool idea but they are just too cheaply made.

[atorres53]

I have a pair of WAVs and I love them.

[d2mini]

Gyres... good concept, poor execution. Move a lot of water but not the be all end all they were promised to be. Maintenance is high, parts are fragile.
They are chinese junk in comparison to the other two.

[jayball]

Coming from two korilla's, to a korilla and a gyre, to a mp40QD and gyre.

I liked the korilla's for the money and they were dead quiet, high value.

Gyre moves a lot of water but not in a pattern that my tank needed and although it has not broken for me it does feel like the most fragile of the 3.

The mp40qd wins hands down, it has a wide and strong flow pattern that creates an undertow 2 feet across and has the best modes to create random flow.

[amzar123]

Gyres... good concept, poor execution. Move a lot of water but not the be all end all they were promised to be. Maintenance is high, parts are fragile.
They are chinese junk in comparison to the other two.

Very interesting, people's views on these seem to differ greatly

[moondoggy4]

Tunze here, 6095 and 6055 both come with their own built in controllers, I have a brown 6100 over ten years old still works great.

[alton]

Very interesting, people's views on these seem to differ greatly

And why we have ford Chevy and dodge. Can you imagine going to the store and only having one choice?

[mpderksen]

I have a Vortec MP10 and a WP25 at opposite ends of my 4' tank. Last weekend I notice 1 significant difference (to me). Time for a vinegar soak..... WP had to sit in the buck by the tank. The MP I moved to the sink and could really clean it better. You can separate it and really scrub the propeller.
Money? Yes. And the flow from each is appropriate for my current use. But when I go to the 6' tank, I'm only getting MP40s. Customer serve and connecting to my Apex are also big selling points to me. I can't comment on Tunze etc. but their success in the hobby where people don't tolerate frequent failure must mean they're doing something right too.
My philosophy is to get a quality product and be done.

[davocean]

Good old Jebao wavemakers, low cost, good flow, barely adequate controllers and built a little too cheap. But if you don't want to spend an arm and a leg for a powerhead and are willing to work around the occasional failure, they are OK. And even if you have a 25% failure rate over a couple of years, by far the best value.

I agree w/ your comments for the most part, but this right here, yes if we are talking value solely based on dollars and cents sure, but the thought of a surprise failure and being completely w/out flow and now I gotta scramble and hopefully an LFS is open or I can get a replacement soon, that ruins all value for me right there.
Hard for me to put a dollar amount on reliability, especially when it comes to my animals.

[SeattleReefer]

I agree w/ your comments for the most part, but this right here, yes if we are talking value solely based on dollars and cents sure, but the thought of a surprise failure and being completely w/out flow and now I gotta scramble and hopefully an LFS is open or I can get a replacement soon, that ruins all value for me right there.
Hard for me to put a dollar amount on reliability, especially when it comes to my animals.

your reef isn't going to crash for lack of a powerhead. And as a hobbyist don't you have several spare powerheads lying around?

I went the Jaebo route and don't regret it yet. I'm also surprised at how quickly that brand is adding features, which is admittedly easier to do when others have already blazed the path.

[davocean]

If you are keeping spares of every piece of equipment you kind of defeat the value of that deal.
If the title of this thread was what is the cheapest powerhead I may agree w/ you, but those are certainly not the best.

[dattong]

your reef isn't going to crash for lack of a powerhead. And as a hobbyist don't you have several spare powerheads lying around?


This question was exactly what's popping in my head when I read davocean's post. Anyway regardless how reliable or best equipment you have, it's a good idea to have a spare one to use just in case. I always have a spare return pump, and a few powerheads.

[davocean]

Over the years and many tanks I've had to deal w/ surprises of failed gear more times than I wish.
I will gladly spend the money to avoid those surprises and headaches as best as possible, cause usually they just don't come at a convenient time.
But I understand budgets come in to play, been there, but cheap gear has failed me too many times to list them as what is best.
Will my tank just die from a PH fail? No most likely not, but will my prized magnifica release or wander because it went the day or more w/out flow for example, that's a big maybe, and could that cause bigger issues...
To each their own, but for me and all I've put into my tank it's not worth buying gear that I KNOW has a rep for being hit or miss in the reliability area just to save a few bucks.

[Big E]

Tunze are my favorites because they are so robust.........they'll last 20 years and you can aim them. They have also upgraded the minor issues they have had (brackets) and have also re-designed them to be smaller as well as less costly and added controllers.

Roger is by far the best customer rep for any of these type of pumps.

You can buy Tunzes used and know they are going to work for years.

I won't ever buy Echotech because you can't aim them, they break over time and have plenty of short term failures. They also are more likely to shred smaller fish that venture too close. Tunze has the fish saver rotation when they are in alternating mode and most of their models don't have the large openings.

Jaebos are junk, sure they cost less, but fail and the loss of flow is annoying. It's a pain to continually have to clean them every few weeks to keep the flow consistent.

[Angel101]

What Ecotechs and Tunzes never fail? However, Jebaos do, therefore all your animals will die, because Jebao owners don't have the foresight to have spares? Ha, ha, ha. Now that is what I call skewed logic.

[Big E]

Spares for what? One of my RW15's is dead. I've tried another controller and it won't work. I also know about replacing the pieces/parts.......it's not that.

Who do I talk to?..........who is the customer/warranty rep?

If you know how to fix it, fill me in.

I can only speak for myself......I've never had a Tunze fail.

[Big E]

dbl post

[64Ivy]

I use both actually; Tunzes on my display and Vortechs on my auxillary (Lps) tank. The Tunzes are my choice. The Vortechs were won at a MACNA. Both are excellent.

[ca1ore]

'Best' is an inherently subjective term and most threads here attempting to identify 'best' quickly go off off the rails. My own personal experiences include Tunze (for many, many years), vortech (since only 2013) and Jebao. I doubt that either of the latter will be as reliable and enduring as my Tunze's were - so from a reliability perspective, Tunze is 'best'. I like the form factor of the Vortech, it's flow flexibility is outstanding, and apex compatibility is important, so in that sense, it is 'best' (though I imagine current versions of the Tunze units have better flow capabilities than did my older, prior models). Jebao is inexpensive and mine have been reliable so far, so it is 'best' in terms of cost; they are a bit clunky though.

[dattong]

Spares for what? One of my RW15's is dead. I've tried another controller and it won't work. I also know about replacing the pieces/parts.......it's not that.

Who do I talk to?..........who is the customer/warranty rep?

If you know how to fix it, fill me in.

I can only speak for myself......I've never had a Tunze fail.

Blame yourself lol

[dkeller_nc]

But I understand budgets come in to play, been there, but cheap gear has failed me too many times to list them as what is best.


Yep. There are lots very good options for "inexpensive" that doesn't require you to take chances with your animals, risk a house fire, and for those of us that are engineers/equipment freaks, support a company that has unacceptable customer service, poor design, even poorer build quality, and questionable business practices.

On the low end, I ran my 20g nano for years with Koralia PHs on a simple switching timer. It now has Tunze 6040s simply because I liked the lower profile design and could use fewer to accomplish the flowfield I wanted. That tank has thrived, and there's Koralias for all but the biggest hobbyist tank.

On the slightly pricier but more capable end, Sicce Voyager pumps are bulletproof and highly capable. Tunze non-controllable Stream and NanoStream pumps are downright bargains given that they're nearly indestructible. And both brands are can frequently be had at a substantial discount off of their list price.

Finally, the Tunze DC controllable pumps are easily the "sweet spot" with respect to price and performance. The controllable nanostreams are massively powerful; calling them "nanostream" is a stretch. A couple of 6095s would be more than enough for a 4-foot tank with moderate to high flow requirements. And these too, aren't subject to rigid MAP and can frequently be found on-sale.

In short, there are easy ways to avoid spending the dough on Vortechs if you choose without resorting to sketchy products from questionable companies. And this is from someone that has mostly Vortechs - Sicces and Tunzes are relatively recent acquisitions.

[davocean]

Good point by Dkeller nc and I should clarify, there is a difference between cheaply made and inexpensive gear and koralia's are good example of a decent PH that fits a budget.
I also still like the old tunze 6025's for an inexpensive PH made by a company that has good CS and reputation.

[Breadman03]

Tunze for their silent operation, extremely low maintenance and ability to alter direction of flow.
Ecotech for their low in-tank profile, nice controller, no cord in tank and pretty quiet operation.

The flow is great on both.

I just upgraded my WES 40's with QD drivers and wet sides. They are now as quiet as the 6095's that are running at the front of the tank, though they make more of a whir while the 6095's are more of a hum. They both run at about 51 dB according to a non-calibrated dB meter iPhone app, which is much lower than the 58 or so that the house is at when people are awake.

I think we can narrow best down to Tunze, Ecotech, WAV, and Gyre. Each has pros and cons, but it would be hard to dispute that they are the current top shelf choices.