Ecotech vortech MP40 W (wavedriver)

[chew*]

Just thought i'd put a FYI out there, the new model ecotechs "MP40W" are in circulation now. Capt Andy i believe picked one up today, maybe he can shed his input on the usability/performance of the wave driver.

Also wanted to explain how this works. They call it a wireless wave driver however there is still a wire attached to the pump from the driver. The wireless function is for multiple pumps. If you have more than one you can program them to interact or counter act one another. So basically you don't have to wire all the pumps together, in fact from what i read if you have multiple tanks in diff rooms they can interact or be on the same wavelength. Not quite sure how this is usefull but.......its possible.

The wave driver appears to be lighter, and is made of plastic, personally I kinda like the metal construction better of the original driver but i guess it has its advantages, I'm assuming that they run cooler now also.

I ordered my wavedrivers and will have more info on functionality in a tank in a couple weeks. IIRC the price is $75 each. John at sea creature can get them direct, i'm sure you can source them elsewhere soon though.

 

[chew*]

Both my vortech wave drivers arrived today and all i can say is it was worth the wait. I played around with pulsed mode for a bit running the pumps asynchronus and timed them with my tunze wavebox. Well big mistake on my part because when i had the timing dead on I doubled the height of my wave. That said these can probably be used to create a wave or multiple waves. Since i already have the wavebox and i run dominant sps I chose the reefcrest mode with varies the speed after i set a maximum and left the slave to async setting so that when one pump slows down the other pump will speed up.

The only thing more that i could ask for is possibly a photocell to allow for calmer conditions at night however since i have the tunze wavebox also with photo cell I allow that to shut off.

 

[delta]

The reefcrest setting sounds interesting. Does it randomly change speed or pulse?

 

[chew*]

The reefcrest mode randomly changes speed after you set the "high speed" and the second pump can be run in sync or async to the master.

Pulse mode is totally seperate. Once agoin you can run sync or async and set the desired "speed" of the pumps and then set the desired "pulse" duration.

There is also a lagoon's mode and constant speed mode.

To sum it up lagoon's mode is used to create a low energy environment ( randomizing the pumps flow to your max setpoint speed ) I tested this and the variations in speed are slower and more subtle

Great for lps

Reef crest mode is used to create a high energy environment ( randomizing the pumps flow to your max setpoint speed ) I tested this and the variations are very quick and abrupt

Great for sps

Pulse mode first allows you to set the pump speed then allows you to set the duration of the pulse.

Great for creating a wave

In all modes the master/slave can be run in sync or async

It's also quite easy to program with a multicolored single led that flashes a combination of colors that is in the manual. Very simple 2 button programming.

Also though i might add that there claims of wireless can be somewhat misleading. The pump is still wired to the driver, however unlike tunze the wave drivers communicate to each other via a wireless network so to speak. Where as tunze pumps all need to be hard wired to the multi controller.

If your rich you can program up to 10 pumps to interact with each other.

Also might mention there is a "feed" mode, this shuts the pumps down to minimum speed for 10 Min's then resume to prior programming.

 

[highpower9979]

chew do u think these are better than 2 tunze 6100 with multi controller

 

[chew*]

Absolutely /\ except maybe on the energy usage department, not quite sure what a tunze 6100 draws for power full blast.

More importantly you can buy these 1 at a time, with tunze's well, buying a 6100 without a controller is preety useless unless you have a very large tank you can run it full blast in.

These on the other hand include the controller so you can use it with no other units to buy right out of the box.

 

[delta]

Not sure on flow but very similar in the way you can control them.

Tunze 6100 draw 40 watts max

 

[chew*]

Ok so it's a draw then ecotechs draw 40w max speed. As far as flow the vortechs won't take the flesh off of your corals etc what i say by this is they have a higher dispersion rate at a shorter distance.


Flow is 3000 gph which IRC is higher than the 6100

For instance place a coral directly in the path of a tunze 6100 withing 12" and it will literally rip the flesh off. It takes about 16" or more for a tunze to disperse its flow.

The vortechs disperse at about 6" however do not lose momentum, I have trenches on the ends of my 3 ft tank from having the speed to high.

 

[CaptainAndy]

IMO the vortechs are able to mimic the "to-fro" movement of water that you see when you go snorkeling or diving. I had tunzes and a tunze wave box before and I'm much more happy with the vortechs. Plus, there is no comparison between the low profile design compared to the big/bulky tunzes. Painful shelling out over $400 each but worth it.

 

[chew*]

Actually i did some homework, so as some of you may know the 6100 has been discontinued.

They now make the 6101. The 6101 specs are......

Flow rate:660 to 3,170 US gal./h
Energy consumption: maximum 36 W

The ecotech specs are

Flow: 500-3000 gallons per hour
Power Consumption: 9-28 watts

So it appears with the new drivers they were able to reduce wattage consumption and to be honest they do feel cooler now.

Heres my list of pro's over tunze.

Less heat in the tank ( a single turbelle can increase temps up to 3.8w per pump ) the part that gets hot sits outside the tank.

A vortech takes up maybe half the space in the tank

Usability out of the box with no additional components to purchase.

Product support ( i had a problem with a new unit, the plastic shroud was cracked, they overnighted it no questions asked ) I know tunze has good support to however sending something to germany is a real PITA.

Now with the new wave driver less wattage consumption.

Better implementation of flow.

All in all I would say that if ecotech keeps up the good work I think they have a tunze killer. Tunze's been having some issues with they're newer stuff of late.

 

[highpower9979]

a tunze 6100 pumps 3170 an hour at full blast im not really asking about the flow im asking about options do the vortechs controller have more setting than a tunze multicontroller

 

[chew*]

Forgot One thing, I did lose a $110 fish to this pump however more due to my own stupidity, however they now provide a sponge sleeve that slides over the outer housing of the vortech if need be, this would have prevented any mishap. I just ended up spooking a very small new addition right into it, Havent had any probs with any other fish.

 

[Aquaman_68]

Not sure on flow but very similar in the way you can control them.

Tunze 6100 draw 40 watts max

tunzie 6000 does 1800 gph & uses only aprox 12 watts...X 4 that is roughly 48 watts & 7200gph at full blast!! & they are directional!! I like the concept of the vortec...I wish they would design directional ports though.. They say that subject is being discussed in R&D.. Tunzies are more bulky but if you are creative you can do quite a good job at hiding them!!!

With that said I do like the vortecs...Got to get over yaktops house to see them in action with the new controller!!

 

[chew*]

a tunze 6100 pumps 3170 an hour at full blast im not really asking about the flow im asking about options do the vortechs controller have more setting than a tunze multicontroller

Wave Modes
Reef Crest Random Mode- set the potentiometer to your maximum desired speed and the VorTech Wireless Wave Driver automatically randomizes the flow throughout your tank. The pump will vary from one speed to another rapidly to simulate the high-energy conditions of a natural reef crest environment.

Lagoon Random Mode- set the potentiometer to your maximum desired speed and the VorTech Wireless Wave Driver automatically randomizes the flow throughout your tank. The pump will vary slowly from one speed to another to simulate a calmer, lagoonal reef environment.

Synch Pulse Mode- When entered into Synch Pulse Mode, pumps will automatically synch with the master pump to provide pulsing flow throughout the aquarium. The potentiometer is used to adjust the maximum speed and then is used to adjust the frequency. The minimum speed is automatically set to the minimum pump speed to create as strong a pulse as you desire. Other pumps can be placed on the same side of the aquarium as the master pump to create standing waves in your tank.

Anti-Synch Pulse Mode- When entered into Anti-Synch Pulse Mode, pumps will operate inverse to the master pump. Therefore, everytime the master pump is at the maximum speed of the pulse cycle, the slave pumps entered into Anti-Synch Pulse Mode will be at the minimum speed of the pulse cycle, and vice-versa. Place these pumps on the opposite side of the tank as a master pump to create tidal currents within your aquarium.

Feed Mode
When any one pump is entered into feed mode, all pumps shut down for 10 minutes to allow you to feed your aquarium.

I'm preety sure this will answer your questions. I think the randomization is something that a tunze cant do , I could be wrong. I'm also quite sure you can't perfectly sync or async 2 tunzes.

 

[S Hunter]

How is the cost for this in comparison to a tunze setup?

 

[highpower9979]

i like to see them in action 2 maybe when i get my 125 ill get a couple but thanks for all the info on them chew

 

[Mr.HaHa]

chew

i see that you are running two vortechs on your 65g. i have a 75g (4ft) and am just running the one vortech on pulse mode and so far so good. i may have to get another vortech though but i would prefer not too.

which settings have you used that seem to produce the best results for your sps?

 

[chew*]

Premium aquatics

Ecotech

ICE-VOR-MP40W
Price:$419.59 USD

Multiplied by 2 = $839.18

Tunze's site
Multi controller
7095.000 $241.31 USD

6101 ( all things being equal and current products )
6101.000 319.95 USD multiplied by 2 = $639.90USD

Total tunze setup $881.21

They're package price is the same, no breaks for buying packages.

 

[chew*]

I'm running in reefcrest mode atm, with speed set to max, I was running speed slower prior to getting the wavedrivers ( i bought them pre wavedriver ) due to sand storms, sandstorms are not an issue now it appears with the randomization. Placement is key as well as placement of corals. I have my millies directly at the far end getting full blast, they are full polyped and appear happy, the pump blowing on them is mounted up high to overpass some lower flow sps. The other pump is towards the front of the glass a little lower, the flow hits the corner, wraps around the other corner and gently blows over some other sps and my frag rack.

With a longer tank I wouldn't have to be as picky in my placement of corals.

Me personally there is no such thing as 2 much flow unless your getting sand storms or your blowing directly on a particular coral, With carefull placement and use of deflection you can get some serious flow in a tank with good results. Mind you i have a blueline 40 return and a tunze wavebox also, there are absolutely no deadspots.

 

[Yaktop]

many great points and well explained. I have three with the controllers and very impressed. I hate the tunzes due to the space they take up and the heat they give off but I guess thats good in the winter. Thumbs up!