New Vortech/I'm feeling a bit stunned this morning

[christyf5]

Can someone explain to me what the "wireless driver" part means? Does it not have a powercord or is the driver part computer related?

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/wp-vortech2/Echotech+Marine+Vortech+Water+Pump+with+Wireless+D river+%28MP20%29.html

TGIF :razz:

[ElGuappo]

it means you dont have to have a cord hanging out of the tank like with a koralia. the two pieces are hel together by magnets whichinturn drive the impeller. this allows you to have the cord outside the tank.

[Whatigot]

nm...
i read this a little bit...
http://www.ecotechmarine.com/products/mp20-mp40w.php

turns out that the wireless driver they offer is like a wireless modem that communicates with the hardware as well as any other wireless drivers you may have and can synch as many powerheads with as many drivers as you can afford and they will all work congruently.....

pretty cool stuff although you do still have a power cord from the powerhead as well as from the wireless driver...

[Interior_Reef]

I believe it means, wireless, as in no wires in the tank, because it uses the magnetic force through the glass to spin the impellers.

I like these, time to order a few in to test em. :)

[christyf5]

nm...
i read this a little bit...
http://www.ecotechmarine.com/products/mp20-mp40w.php

turns out that the wireless driver they offer is like a wireless modem that communicates with the hardware as well as any other wireless drivers you may have and can synch as many powerheads with as many drivers as you can afford and they will all work congruently.....

pretty cool stuff although you do still have a power cord from the powerhead as well as from the wireless driver...

Ok that makes sense. I was wondering if maybe they'd figured out how to send "powerwaves" to it without having a cord at all. Everyone seems so excited about these things I was hoping there was more to it for that price :wink: The whole modem theory makes way more sense.

Man I sound like an idiot about these things sometimes. Let me just tell you that I sound way more intelligent when discussing the biological aspect of our tanks :razz:

Thanks guys! :biggrin:

[Whatigot]

they still look really cool and are pretty neat considering the mag drive technology but once the novelty wears off it's really not great value compared to some of the competition.

I don't think anyone who does research for their tanks on this sight would ever make the mistake of thinking you were in any way an idiot btw:idea:

[Snappy]

I've got 3 coming in for my new tank, can't wait.:mrgreen:

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

My dad got 4 of them for his tank in Singapore. I have not seen them yet but will next month and I can't wait. He says they are AMAZING.

He got the MP40's though. And had to switch them to 220V because he bought them from the US for some reason.

[Delphinus]

Think this has been answered above but yeah. The pump itself still has a power cord. The controller that tells the motor to spin fast or spin slow is the wireless component, so you don't have to worry about where to place the *controller*.

[Floop70]

If I'm reading this right, it would seem that the wireless component is only used when there is more than one pump installed so that they talk to each other to setup different flow patterns. Is this correct or am I misunderstanding?

[Whatigot]

no, i believe that it can control the single pump wirelessly as well and if you have more than one pump/controller combo it can communicate with it wirelessly as well.

[DanG]

You can set up a master/slave situation with multiple pumps without having to connect any wires between them,

[Jaws]

I'm still waiting for them to come out with directional flow like the new Tunzes. I had 4 on my 180G tank and I thought they were amazing but without being able to direct the flow I found I couldn't get near the flow I wanted out of them without blowing sand all over the place.

[purplepolypeater]

the best in part IMO is no wires in the tank and update firmware easily for new wave patterns if you look on youtube you will see they can control multiple tanks in the same room for really cool synchronous effect.
i used to use other powerheads but one day came home and saw what looked like sandblasting as the powerhead had been knocked from the wall and was pointing straight into the sand i lost many sps (really nice pieces niloc hooked me up with) and installed vortech next day.

[Mikee]

I got 1 and getting a second soon. No need for directional flow IMO because its so wide spread and powerful and i like to keep my sand bed real shallow :D, i love how there are no wires in the tank and the wet side is very small and takes up little space. I love how you can control the speed and different modes and the battery backup! this could save your tank one day :D. The sound is really not as bad as some people say i have mine in reef crest mode at full and i can barely hear it unless im right up at it and my whole tank is real quiet and is also in my computer room.

[Oscar]

Just got a note that a Vortech20 has been shipped to me today from J&L. Crossing my fingers that this will answer my flow issues. The Vortech40 has way too much power for my small tank even at the lowest setting but the specs for this unit sound like they will work for me.

I will give a review probably next weekend.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Just got a note that a Vortech20 has been shipped to me today from J&L. Crossing my fingers that this will answer my flow issues. The Vortech40 has way too much power for my small tank even at the lowest setting but the specs for this unit sound like they will work for me.

I will give a review probably next weekend.

Those are the ones my dad has and says they are incredible. He refused to use anything but Tunze but a few months ago was in Texas and bought two anyways. He took them back to Singapore and had them converted and has not looked back. He ordered two more even! He has a 10' tank and two on either end create great flow he says. I will take pics when I see him next month.

[i have crabs]

i bought 2 a while ago and had problems with them all the time but when i got the new gen2 wet sides on warranty they have worked perfectly since then and will be buying more for other tanks also

[RuGlu6]

dangers of wireless

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=dangers+of+wireless&meta=

Now add 2.4Gz and higher friquency phones, 2.4 is being the worse because it closely matches water and what are we made of (mostly liquid !)
there are no stadies on 5.8 and higher friquencies yet.

DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) is even worse because its like having your own cell phone tower inside your home that is ALWAYS "ON"

WiFi internet, cell phone towers and now aquarium pumps?

thank you, not in my house..
.

[christyf5]

just put your tinfoil hat on :wink:

[fishytime]

:lol:

[slakker]

thank you, not in my house..
.

Then I would recommend getting a EMF meter, you'd be surprised at how much EMF comes out of the common electrical appliances in the house... all told, WiFi and and such devices are "noise" compared to the ambient...

[slakker]

A question to tag on this... would this work better than the Tunze Nano Wavebox? I ask because it's almost $100 cheaper...

[fkshiu]

A question to tag on this... would this work better than the Tunze Nano Wavebox? I ask because it's almost $100 cheaper...

The two are completely different. The wavebox is meant to supplement the directional flow of another device such as a vortech, tunze stream or a closed loop.

[mark]

just put your tinfoil hat on :wink:

I worked with a guy (radio tech) that wore a hockey helmet lined with tinfoil about 20 years ago. Was more than a little strange.

[mike31154]

dangers of wireless

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=dangers+of+wireless&meta=

Now add 2.4Gz and higher friquency phones, 2.4 is being the worse because it closely matches water and what are we made of (mostly liquid !)
there are no stadies on 5.8 and higher friquencies yet.

DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) is even worse because its like having your own cell phone tower inside your home that is ALWAYS "ON"

WiFi internet, cell phone towers and now aquarium pumps?

thank you, not in my house..
.

The wireless driver component of the VorTech is very low power. The units have to be within 10 feet of each other and in direct line of site in order to function. Here's a direct quote from the owner's manual:

QUOTE Operational Range
The wireless signal range is roughly 10 feet when drivers are within a direct line of site. Masters and slaves must all be set and operating near one another to avoid signals being missed. If a pump generates a red/blue error message, this means that the master and slave pumps were not close enough to one another when they were setup. Depending on other electromagnetic interference or other variables, wireless range can vary between 2 and 10 feet. The wireless signal will not pass through water. UNQUOTE

It's highly unlikely that a signal this weak (comparatively) is going to harm you. As someone previously mentioned, there are a ton of other electromagnetic and radio signals kicking around the average household and externally that are more likely to affect your health. You may not have a wireless router in your home for computer networking, but odds are many of your neighbours do, and the range/power of those devices is far greater than the VorTech's little driver. You'll have to lock yourself into a lead lined room for life to escape the madness...