ecotech marine vortech mp40

[Gooseman]

I am considering changing out my old pumps for the ecotech marine vortech mp40. I have a wave maker on a trio of Koralia pumps now. When they switch back and forth between pumps they are noisy and irritating. Does anyone have any input/experience good or bad with the ecotechs? Are they worth the money? Are they durable? Reliable? Quiet?

[aaronpentz]

With most stuff it's all about duty cycle.

If you buy stuff and plan to use it at or near its max capacity then you won't get much longevity out of it. But you also don't need to over buy.

I had 2 mp10s on a 45 cube and later went to a 90 cube and added 2 more mp10s. Never ran then over 50-60% and I've yet to replace a wet side from normal wear at just over 10 years of use.

So I would plan to run them only at an average of 50% or less.

Sizing from here with the flow requirement you need for the tank size you have


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[Gooseman]

I have only ever had pumps that are not adjustable. So having that much control over them would be nice! Thanks

[cody6766]

They're expensive, but worth it. I bought my MP40s used about 7 years ago and they're still running strong. If you don't want to eat retail cost (they almost never go on sale), then watch the classified page here.

When I ran Koralia powerheads, I found myself replacing one or two every 6mos to a year. Plus, I'd need 3-4 of them to generate the diversity of flow in my 60 cube. I run 2 MP40s on it and run them at a little below half power. THey look better in the tank, cleaning is easier, flow is more broad, and they last longer.

[Gooseman]

Glad someone else understands what im saying about being unhappy with the Koralias. I have the same issue with replacing them as well as they have no real power on larger tanks. Thanks for the heads up, i will watch out for a pair thats for sale here.

[Gooseman]

Out of curiosity, how often do you have to tear down the ecotechs for cleaning? Are they pretty much maintenance free? The scum build up on the tank walls around the Koralias gets bad and i need more than a magnet scubber to clean up the glass properly. Thanks!

[cody6766]

I do it less often than I should, but every few months. I feed pretty heavily, so I get quite a bit of algae on the outside of the wet sides. Cleaning is easy. Pop them off the glass, scrub them under running water, take the guard off and clean the prop, then put them back in. The only part that can be a little annoying is the chatter that comes from imperfect alignment of the wet and dry sides. It's not hard to get them back into alignment, just a nuisance if you miss the first time.

Tunze is another very reliable, wide flow pump. You'll still have cables in the water, which makes cleaning more like cleaning Koralias, but they're in the same class as the Vortech pumps. People will argue over them like Chevy vs Ford, all with valid points, but you're really just shopping for your favorite flavor of pump at that level.

[Gooseman]

Interesting, i will have to look into those other pumps. Thanks!