I'm looking at power heads and gyres and they're all rated by tank size in gallons. When considering flow needs, is that what I should be looking at, or is physical tank footprint more important? My tank is 100g, 48lx24wx20h and I am wondering do I really need MP40s or would the 10s be enough? I don't think I am at the point in my reefimg career where it would be wise to consider sps, so lps and some fish will be my primary I habitants until I have been around the block a few times.
Flow Rates
- Thread starter joeyprice
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The type of coral that you plan on keeping is what I would look at. The tank size doesn't matter so much. I would suggest multiple pumps rather than one pump rated for your needs, it's beget to have two pumps for redundancy and to get better overall movement.
I would suggest the mp40 over the mp10. You'll have to run the mp10s @ 100% to achieve the results you want, which isn't great for the motors. The mp40 gives you room to grow and you'll be using it at a lower intensity which will prolong the life of the motor.
You need to consider tank thickness also, MP10s are only good for up to 3/8" glass
Ecotech has a cool calculator on their website to help pick which sizes to go with, based on your tank dimensions and types of corals: https://ecotechmarine.com/vortech-flow-calculator
Also, make sure you get Mobuis-enabled ones so you can control them through their new app.
We run 2 MP40’s on our 6’ 180 gallon tank and they work great.
We run 2 MP40’s on our 6’ 180 gallon tank and they work great.
Not sure I'm buying that glass thickness thing, the single power head I have is one somebody that was moving gave to me free, its a Jebao OP 10 and it doesn't have any problem with my 1/2" glass, all other points are well taken. What about one gyres? Supplement to powerheads or replacements?
Well you have to realize that with the ecotechs that the motor (dry side) is on the outside of the tank. And the propeller (wetside) is on the inside of the tank. The Jebao you have isn't like that. That's where the thickness of the glass comes into play. It really isn't about it just sticking to the glass.
I just noticed that the Jebao is rated for max thickness of 3/8 as well. Doesn't really matter that much, it looks like MP10 would be too small regardless of how thick the glass is.
The glass thickness really matters on vortech being that the motor is on one side and the prop is on the other side of the glass. There is a proper amount of magnetic resistance that is allowed before it stays my the pump motor abd prop performance.
Again, tank size doesn't matter. I have 2 mp40 and 3 tunze pumps in my 4x2x2 120g with an additional 1500 gph return flow. It's all about your goals and what you are keeping in the glass box.
Again, tank size doesn't matter. I have 2 mp40 and 3 tunze pumps in my 4x2x2 120g with an additional 1500 gph return flow. It's all about your goals and what you are keeping in the glass box.
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