Vortech vs Tunze

[WWWD]

Why not think about a wavebox?

[ed99]

I've got about 3" between the one end of the tank and the wall so I will have room to attach the Vortech.

Thanks for all the posts. I agree with Colin-lots of good info on this thread as well as some of the others. In my particular case I wanted to address the fact that I didn't want the two pumps opposite of each other on the long axis since one was a viewing pane. It sounds like I can't go too far wrong either way but the Tunzes look to be the more developed product. Albert_dao has posted a video showing a couple of Vortechs on the controller in development and it looked impressive, but I haven't seen any info on when it might be available.

As for the wavemaker- I'm looking at that option as well. Since my tank is still cycling, at this stage I'm just looking to get started with more flow now with a pump that I will be happy with 6-12 months down the road.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by ed99

I don't have any substrate in the tank so flying sand shouldn't be a problem, however I'm probably wasting flow by sending it directly along the short axis of the tank.

It may be an advantage having it blasting along the short axis actually. One of the biggest advantages I've seen with the Vortech and the Tunze is not only the amount of water flowing out but the amount of flow you see being sucked in the powerheads as well. If you don't have sand then blowing the stream at the front glass will help disperse the flow even more than normal and you should get a really quick out then back in turnaround circulation which should create all kinds of turbulence. You might be able to get away with only three powerheads instead of four doing it this way too. 1 powerhead should cover a 2 foot area really well if blowing from back to front. JMO. Does that make sense?

[ed99]

Originally Posted by Jaws

It may be an advantage having it blasting along the short axis actually. One of the biggest advantages I've seen with the Vortech and the Tunze is not only the amount of water flowing out but the amount of flow you see being sucked in the powerheads as well. If you don't have sand then blowing the stream at the front glass will help disperse the flow even more than normal and you should get a really quick out then back in turnaround circulation which should create all kinds of turbulence. You might be able to get away with only three powerheads instead of four doing it this way too. 1 powerhead should cover a 2 foot area really well if blowing from back to front. JMO. Does that make sense?

Yeah, that makes sense, and there shouldn't be too much splashing around after 2 feet. That was the root of my question, especially with the Vortechs not having a swivel yet.

In the end I've picked up a Tunze 6100 to get started. Figured that leaves the most options open for future plans. I haven't had a great start though- I plugged in the Tunze and after about 5 minutes the transformer started smoking! I followed all the instructions, not that there was much to it. Anybody see this before?

[Mike Olson]

Take it back to where you bought it and get a replacement...the Tunze streams are excellent. I use a 6000 on a single controller and a 6060(no control) along with a wave box in my 180...I am looking at getting a couple of the Tunze nano streams and a multi controller to replace the 6060...I then have control of the 6000, 2-nano streams, and the wavebox with one single controller ( and moonlights)

[albert_dao]

Smoke? Weird! Bring it back to me man.

[ed99]

And here I thought I was smart enough to find the smoke deep inside, as one of the users mentions. Just replaced it and after an hour I can still touch the transformer, must be a good sign. It's working great, everything is stirred up and I can feel the current at least half way down the tank. 2 or 3 of these things in the tank must be like a hot tub.

[Pan]

hottub? won't the viewing of bikini clad girls disract you from the fishies