Vortech in a smallish cube

[kwirky]

So I purchased the vortech for my 24x24x18H tank. It was based on a sort of cost/feature ratio that seemed pretty good. The pump outputs 3000gph and has a wavemaker with some half decent features built in. it has flow control and a 10 minute feed mode. The fact it takes up almost NO room in the tank was a big plus.

So far the impression has been good. The features are pretty much how I expected them to work and the pump's performance is quite strong. It takes up very little room in the tank which is a bonus because the tank's pretty small as it is. It still allows for a nice "open" look to the tank even though there's the capability of a 66x turnover .

The pump's build is appears better than a koralia and a seio which are the two other "high flow" pumps I've had experience with.

Setting up the single pump was quite easy. I got the propeller assembly to stick on the first try but the 2nd time I had problems. After a thorough read through the manual I realized I have to let ALL the air escape from the propeller module before attaching it to the glass. This solved the problem.

The wavemaking modes are not bad. It has the following modes:

• always on
• tidepool random
• reefcrest random
• pulse mode

There are two buttons and a control knob. On always on you turn the control knob to adjust the pump's flow. On tidepool and reefcrest random the knob controls the pump's maximum flow. On manual pulse mode the knob works in combination with the "set" button. Pulse mode works like this:

you press the set button to toggle between pump speed and pulse frequency. Then you turn the knob to adjust the pulse speed or pulse frequency according to the "set" mode you're in. If the light's on solid then you're in pump speed setting. If the light's pulsing then you're changing the pulsation and you can notice your change right away as you play with the knob.

A fellow reefer told me they absolutely loved the reefcrest random mode but I find for my little tank the pulse mode works better. I believe this is also because I only have one pump and not two. You can get more pumps and run them either synchronously or asynchronously. Down the road if I'm feeling like splurging again I could possibly get another pump and run them asynchronously and get the water moving in both directions.

In the little tank, though, wavemaking was definately possible when using the manual pulse mode. I had to throttle the power to about 70% and tweak the pulse to about 3/4 second intervals to get the waves going. It actually made a single wave that would wrap around the tank walls. Pretty neat In the end I had to end the wavemaking because the tank only has 6mm side panes and I don't want to burst a seam.

I have a video of the wavemaking in action but my internet's REAL flakey tonight so youtube uploading's out of the question. I'll post the video tomorrow if the internet's better.

So after the 2nd evening of playing with it I have to say it's a pretty good product and worth the money. If you want to more control of your waterflow I think it's the most economical way to do so even for a small tank such as this. I'll post my thoughts on the vortech in the future too if I run into problems or find something I like about it I never noticed before.

[Pan]

Nice write up.
I was thinking of vortechs but i need a few and cost was a factor

[Der_Iron_Chef]

May I ask, Sean, what's the cost of the new Vortechs?

Nice review, btw....sounds like something to consider down the road (after tax refund )

[spikehs]

whats the noise level like on them? I've always wanted to get one, but heard they can be noisey?

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by Der_Iron_Chef

May I ask, Sean, what's the cost of the new Vortechs?

Nice review, btw....sounds like something to consider down the road (after tax refund )

thanks

they cost round $400. Some places sell for $440

Originally Posted by spikehs

whats the noise level like on them? I've always wanted to get one, but heard they can be noisey?

they make a hell of a noise while you're aligning the propeller with the magnet driver but once they're aligned that noise is gone. The motor itself makes this whirring noise that's more noticeable at low speeds than high speeds but that depends on which sound frequencies annoy you. Once all the other tank equipment was turned on it's only really the manual pulse mode that seems noisy because it has a constant throttle up and down that's more noticable than the random modes. The random modes blend in with the rest of the equipments' noises.

[digital-audiophile]

Sweet review. I looked at the vortechs too but just couldn't bring myself to the cost. I would need 2x so it adds up a bit. Down the road though I would really consider adding a pair.

Do you get any "sloshing" sounds in the herbie with the wave motion on?

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

Sweet review. I looked at the vortechs too but just couldn't bring myself to the cost. I would need 2x so it adds up a bit. Down the road though I would really consider adding a pair.

Do you get any "sloshing" sounds in the herbie with the wave motion on?

no sloshing sounds. I have the tubes in the overflow all the way up so that there's not much of a waterfall going into the overflow. Yeah I agree on the cost of 2 being a little high. I'm all excited about the potential of adding a second one in antisync mode but alas I don't have that much munnies.

here's a video of me playing with the pump while I was waiting for the salt to mix in the aquarium:
www.kwirky88.com/video/wavemaker.wmv

[Delphinus]

I'd love to hear more about what the various modes actually do? Ie., what's reef crest mode and what's tidepool mode?

Great review BTW, thanks for posting such a detailed writeup. My biggest complaint, or frustration if you will (and this is not a knock on the stores, I realize they can't do everything), is that it's really hard to visualize what these products will do for your setup until you've gone and bought one and tried it on your tank, and although the cost is not unreasonable considering what you get, it's still daunting when you don't know ahead of time what you're getting yourself into.

One comment regarding the cost of multiple units - part of the cost is the controller - it seems to me that the incremental cost for additional propellers must be less than say a completely linear increase? Ie., two props and one controller would surely not be 2x$400? Considering the cost of Tunzes nowadays, the Vortechs don't seem all that pricey an alternative anymore (seems to me a few years ago they were the pricier, now maybe due to the $Cdn/USD they're not as bad?)

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

I'd love to hear more about what the various modes actually do? Ie., what's reef crest mode and what's tidepool mode?

this is from the manual:


I think if you had another unit in antisynch then when one pump's at 20% the other'd be at 80% and vice versa.

Originally Posted by Delphinus

One comment regarding the cost of multiple units - part of the cost is the controller - it seems to me that the incremental cost for additional propellers must be less than say a completely linear increase? Ie., two props and one controller would surely not be 2x$400?

yeah two units would run 2 x $400 because the wavemaker controllers are included whether you like it or not. That's cheaper than two tunze turbelle stream 6101's and a multicontroller which would run about $1000 for equivelent flow (600-3000 gph on the 6101). I think the tunze multicontroller has more automatic flow features though. The vortechs have the benefit of size. They take up MUCH less tank space than turbelle streams.

Some people on reefcentral complain of having to replace the magnet on their vortech in about a year and a half which runs about $40 directly from the manufacturer. Some people don't mind some do. I don't know my thoughts on that cuz I don't have to replace mine yet

btw my fiance left for the day I'm preferring reef crest random mode now instead of manual pulse because today I've been cleaning off the rock. I've found it's been working better at keeping detritus water born.

Originally Posted by Delphinus

My biggest complaint, or frustration if you will (and this is not a knock on the stores, I realize they can't do everything), is that it's really hard to visualize what these products will do for your setup until you've gone and bought one and tried it on your tank...

on a side note I agree with you. I worked at radioshack where everything had to be "powered up" but it seems that's not the case for the aquarium industry. The other day was the first time I saw a tunze wavebox working at Wai's and gave me more of an urge to plunge into wavemaking myself. From the stores' perspective about 10-15 units have to be sold to make up for the loss of the single unit put on display. That's before any profit would be made too. Then another model will come out once the store's sold about 20 and the new one would have to be put on display. When I told dennis I'm getting one the other evening he said "they're a LOT of money sean are you SURE you want to buy it? *smiling*". He's only seen videos and heard second hand from people what they do but he had never seen one first hand.

I figured I'd write a thorough review of it because I saw a fair bit of hype on the product from reefcentral and I know some other people are humming n hawing over the price and wondering if it's really worth it. Take all this with a grain of salt though because like i said earlier all I've experienced for powerheads otherwise are maxijets, seios and koralias. Of all those powerheads my favorite is the maxijet but that's for their utility value

[digital-audiophile]

Isn't there a single cortech running on the tank in the back of the store?