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View Full Version : Tunze VS VOTECH


KevinK
08-16-2011, 09:15 PM
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/tunze-issues-press-release-explaining-their-flow-vs-turbulence-video

ok gust some comparison, I know there is some data telling Tunze is below there reading, however I have to agree with what the video shows.

the Tunze is more under pressure vs vortech, resulting the tunze pumps whatever flow thy have, clearly shows that that flow makes it to the other side of the tank.

the votech on the other hand has more flow as thy claim, but this flow shows clearly to disappear as soon as it gets resistance from present water in the tank.

comparing it with a needle ore a stump point, I know what makes it further into something.

thing is that compare it with a long thick rod (the stream of the tunze) all the surface of that rod is moving one direction, creating friction with the surrounding.

meaning that if the pump is rated for 2000 gph, it in fact can move much more, because the stream itself creates friction / turbulence

the vortech next to it is the stump point that looses its power under its own power, and as a stump stick in the grown, it will go in, but only if you keep pushing, ore in other words, the votech needs to run longer to mix a tank than a Tunze douse.

for the information, I don't have a tunze nor a votech, I don't criticize any findings, but this at this time is how I would se the entire comparison

DAVE
08-16-2011, 10:53 PM
I have expressed my concerns on this test on reefcentral. The equipment used for the test was not appropriate. Further more, they did not eliminate a number of uncertainties that they equipment used will provide.

DAVE
08-16-2011, 10:55 PM
Sorry, I posted before I read your link. I was referring to a different study (the one put on using the FlowTracker as the measuring device).

reefermadness
08-17-2011, 01:37 AM
pretty interesting stuff......well not really but good to know....sort of.

Tunze or Vortech....you cant go wrong with these pumps. Myself I prefer the Tunze pumps but that's just me.

dreef
08-17-2011, 04:20 AM
I don't care about any tests..going to have to try to pry my vortechs out of my hands.

gobytron
08-17-2011, 02:01 PM
No thanks...
got mine full of tunze's:lol:

jostafew
08-17-2011, 05:00 PM
I think the obvious answer here is to choose the pumps that are best suited to your tank size & shape, perhaps it's a combination of the two. For eg. my tank is almost cubed at 30x24x24 so the slower broader flow of the vortechs makes sense for me (I've got an MP10 on the back wall and an MP40 on the side wall). I need the flow to fan out quickly after it leaves the pump. In a longer tank maybe you'd want the punch of a Tunze to get water movement further into the tank.

DAVE
08-17-2011, 05:07 PM
I think the obvious answer here is to choose the pumps that are best suited to your tank size & shape, perhaps it's a combination of the two. For eg. my tank is almost cubed at 30x24x24 so the slower broader flow of the vortechs makes sense for me (I've got an MP10 on the back wall and an MP40 on the side wall). I need the flow to fan out quickly after it leaves the pump. In a longer tank maybe you'd want the punch of a Tunze to get water movement further into the tank.


Agreed, both pumps provide a benefit in the right systems

gobytron
08-17-2011, 05:54 PM
I think the obvious answer here is to choose the pumps that are best suited to your tank size & shape, perhaps it's a combination of the two. For eg. my tank is almost cubed at 30x24x24 so the slower broader flow of the vortechs makes sense for me (I've got an MP10 on the back wall and an MP40 on the side wall). I need the flow to fan out quickly after it leaves the pump. In a longer tank maybe you'd want the punch of a Tunze to get water movement further into the tank.

I dont feel thats the answer at all...lol
as this test was essentially to see which pump was "better" on an equal playing field in a direct peer to peer comparison.

You make a good point, but it's certainly not the obvious answer here...

Delphinus
08-17-2011, 10:16 PM
Interesting video!

I think it comes down to that gph is maybe not the best metric to use, it may tell us what's passing through the pump head itself but not what's going on in the tank, which is going to be affected by a myriad of other variables (size, shape, structures, etc.) Maybe velocity is a better metric..

fishytime
08-17-2011, 11:52 PM
I dont feel thats the answer at all...lol
as this test was essentially to see which pump was "better" on an equal playing field in a direct peer to peer comparison.

You make a good point, but it's certainly not the obvious answer here...

but it kinda is.......I ve seen what turning on a vortech in my tank does......the first time I fired mine up the over flow that was on the same side of the tank as the vortech started to drain.....as I was underneath the tank tinkering with the gate valve to adjust the water level inside the overflow, my skimmer erupted like Mt Vesuvius ....that to me says that they move a lot of water.........I love my vortechs for that......and the controller is cool.......

But!......you cant point them.......or mount them in certain situations.......

thats why I love my tunzes.......I can mount them in wet situations.....I can point them where I need to..... they still put out good flow.......and they are reliable....


I get tired of these comparison tests between the two pumps......how can you accurately compare the flow output of two completely differently designed pumps?......its like comparing the output of 3000gph through a garden hose (tunze) to 3000gph through a fire hose(vortech)..... and there is the other variables, like Tony mentioned.....

viperfish
08-18-2011, 01:55 AM
I had a Tunze 6105 on one side of my tank and an MP40 on the other side. I ran both of them at full power just to see the difference. There was a little broader flow from the MP40 and I stress "little", it was almost identical. One didn't overpower the other so they are both going to do pretty much the same thing in a tank. My goal was to go Tunze or Vortech because I didn't want the mix in my tank. I chose to go with Tunze for the following reasons:

1. IMO Tunze is a better build quality ( I know that statement is subjective but let's face it, you can't kill a Tunze).
2. There are tons more options for positioning a Tunze PH. The Vortech side to side (and even back to front) concept is great in an empty tank but as soon as you put live rock in the tank you end up with dead spots and then you need to add more PH's to cover these dead spots. Tunze can be mounted anywhere and pointed in any direction to eliminate dead spots.
3. Tunze has better controllability. The light show on a Vortech is cool but Tunze's control is so much more flexible, especially with the 7096 computer USB interface (I'm really surprised Vortech hasn't done this yet).
4. And finally... who makes pumps big enough to use as an outboard motor? TUNZE. How cool is that!

Palmer
08-18-2011, 02:59 AM
I have both pumps in my system and am a little on the fence between them. I do like the Tunze performance, and like the price point a lot better. Utility for $ spent is a significant factor for me in purchasing. Having said that I like what the vortech does in my tank very much and I think its various flow programs are great.

One thing I am very skeptical of though is video's/research put out by any vendor for marketing purposes. I honestly do not trust any vendor to be objective and I have no faith that any video like this has been set up as a controlled blind study of each piece of equipment. And this is nothing against Tunze I would say the same if Ecotech put out a video.

Palmer

Edit- Maybe "Double Blind" is a little too demanding for this kind of comparison but hey I still dont trust it lol....

Jeff000
08-18-2011, 03:46 AM
I have both pumps in my system and am a little on the fence between them. I do like the Tunze performance, and like the price point a lot better. Utility for $ spent is a significant factor for me in purchasing. Having said that I like what the vortech does in my tank very much and I think its various flow programs are great.

You can get the programmer for the tunze too.

I have tunze right now, but did have an mp40 for a couple days, I got real tired of it sounding like I left the vacuum on in the other room.

Palmer
08-18-2011, 03:59 AM
You can get the programmer for the tunze too.

I have tunze right now, but did have an mp40 for a couple days, I got real tired of it sounding like I left the vacuum on in the other room.

Ha Ha. I dont find my Vortech loud or bothersome as far as noise goes. Probably too many concerts and hours with the headphones on....

reefermadness
08-18-2011, 04:04 AM
after reading all the responses Im glad so many people realize the value of a quality pump and lets face it both vortech and tunze put out a great product IMO.

Curious on the up keep of vortech? I usually go a year before cleanings on my Tunze's.

lastlight
08-18-2011, 07:51 AM
And this is nothing against Tunze I would say the same if Ecotech put out a video.

The start of this whole 'Tunze powerheads underperform' scandal was due to a big study funded BY Ecotech. Tunze has since posted a video rebuttal of sorts...

Palmer
08-18-2011, 02:48 PM
The start of this whole 'Tunze powerheads underperform' scandal was due to a big study funded BY Ecotech. Tunze has since posted a video rebuttal of sorts...

There you go I'm not suprised. :lol:

gobytron
08-18-2011, 05:41 PM
but it kinda is.......I ve seen what turning on a vortech in my tank does......the first time I fired mine up the over flow that was on the same side of the tank as the vortech started to drain.....as I was underneath the tank tinkering with the gate valve to adjust the water level inside the overflow, my skimmer erupted like Mt Vesuvius ....that to me says that they move a lot of water.........I love my vortechs for that......and the controller is cool.......

But!......you cant point them.......or mount them in certain situations.......

thats why I love my tunzes.......I can mount them in wet situations.....I can point them where I need to..... they still put out good flow.......and they are reliable....


I get tired of these comparison tests between the two pumps......how can you accurately compare the flow output of two completely differently designed pumps?......its like comparing the output of 3000gph through a garden hose (tunze) to 3000gph through a fire hose(vortech)..... and there is the other variables, like Tony mentioned.....

Because at the end of the day, they are designed to do the same thing.
Of course there is different performance under different parameters, that's why tests are controlled!!!

I have to admit, I never bought a Vortech, I've never even been tempted too but I would still be very interested in a non biased, controlled test...maybe a couple of them each with a specific performance rating in mind to really know which is the best on a par playing field peer to peer.

abcha0s
08-18-2011, 07:48 PM
Here's my .02

I own both - 2xMP60wES and 2xTunze6205s. The MP60s are so loud. They must be 10-20 times louder than the Tunze, but the in-tank footprint is small, there is no cord in the tank and they are much easier to maintain (just swap out the wet side).

What no one has mentioned is that you can mod the Tunze for a wider flow pattern. You can cut the tube shorter and cut every other slot from the grill out. This results in a similar flow pattern to the MPs. Best of both worlds?

If only I cut cut the cord on the Tunze. Life would be perfect.

- Brad

lastlight
08-18-2011, 08:13 PM
If only I cut cut the cord on the Tunze. Life would be perfect.

- Brad

You could Brad... but the actual gph rating of the streams is low enough as it is haha =) And yes I *still* love me some Tunze!

doch
08-24-2011, 07:56 PM
I jsut got my tunze 6105s in the tank last night, and I'm glad of it! Up to this point I was running an m40 and 3 koralias. I disconnected the koralias, and plugged in the first tunze. I then unplugged it, and plugged it back in because I didn't hear anything. Still nothing. Then I looked up at the tank, and there was flow EVERYWHERE! I like the Vortechs, but I'll never buy another. This one will go in my frag tank as planned. TUNZE!

viperfish
09-05-2011, 05:18 PM
I jsut got my tunze 6105s in the tank last night, and I'm glad of it! Up to this point I was running an m40 and 3 koralias. I disconnected the koralias, and plugged in the first tunze. I then unplugged it, and plugged it back in because I didn't hear anything. Still nothing. Then I looked up at the tank, and there was flow EVERYWHERE! I like the Vortechs, but I'll never buy another. This one will go in my frag tank as planned. TUNZE!

I'm share your opinion 100%. I had two MP40's in my 150 and picked up a 6105 just to compare, I was blown away. It wasn't just the flow, the build quality is clear right from the time you pull one out of the box. My first one was used but judging by the operation and look, you would think it was new (it had one year of use). I have since sold my two MP40's and replaced them with 6105/6055 and a 7096 controller, it doesn't have the eye candy that the Vortech does but I don't think the fish care about that anyway. What it does have is dead silent operation, the best quality and reliability in the biz (IMHO), and is more controllable than Vortech. When I dropped my first $500 on a Vortech I was pretty excited, it did do what it claimed, and looked pretty cool so I'm not trying to knock Vortech and I do think Ecotech is in for the long run, I just think Tunze is better. I wonder how many people have gotten rid of their Tunze pumps and replaced them with Vortech? Only problem is Tunze's don't sync via wireless with an LED light (whatever the hell that's supposed to do!).