Are the Vortech MP40 Worth the $$$

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by blacknife

how bout the 10's and 20's?

I have a 33 and was thinking at some point it would be nice to upgrade to something variable.

I only have experience with the 40s, but for your size tank either the 10 or 20 will work fine. Depends on your livestock/coral requirements, although to me, more flow is good even in a FOWLR to keep the 'crud' from settling too much.

The 20 has the advantage of being upgradeable to 40W for a couple hundred $$ if you need more flow in the future. I've also read that because the MP10 is much smaller, it runs at a higher rpm, meaning the possibility of more noise when running full blast. If you go with a 20, you may be able to run it at a lower speed which should also keep the noise level lower. Some folks do complain about the sound of these pumps but I don't have a problem with the whirring sound. It's more apparent when using short pulse wavemaking mode, which I don't use. You're going to hear them more readily with the motor running outside the tank. Submerged pumps have the advantage of the water dampening the sound of their motors.