[mike31154]

Thanks for the review & getting in there as an early tester! So the difference is roughly 7 dB for $117? I guess the key is, as you say, that you can hear a difference & if it appeases the significant other. I've had 3 MP40WES running on my 77 gal 4 ft tank for years & also not done much to the wet sides. Never lubed them yet, I didn't even know there was a lube interval for the wet sides? Ceramic bearing, teflon washer, replace every few years when worn out. Only time I run mine in short pulse is before a water change & don't run them at 100%. Most of the time my 3 run in TSM up to about 85%, the one on the back wall is limited to an even lower speed because the tank is narrow.

Again thanks for making the purchase of the new drive. Even though you've spent that money, if I may, I'd recommend you consider a second MP40 for the other side of the tank, then you won't need to run the 2 of them anywhere near 100% to have sufficient flow everywhere in the tank. Doesn't need to be a new one, used would work just fine. Your review has confirmed for me that I really don't want or need to switch out my current WES drives. I'm getting old & deaf anyway, mine are not that noisy running as they are & I have a monster air pump running 24/7 and LED light cooling fans running during the day to drown out any peeps from the EcoTech MP pumps.