MP40 Placement

[pandora32]

I am the new proud owner of a pair of mp40 pumps and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on placement of them? I put one about 9" below the water surface and 3" or so from rhe front. Its on the right side of my tank. As for the second pump, im not sure where to place it. I know id like it on the left side. Would having a pump low and a pump high be any different than having them straight across from eachother? It was recomended by young very informative folks that i needed more flow, so im trying to do just that...lol.

 

[Krish]

A lot of people find that by placing a powerhead on either ends of the tank, both pointing to the front center of the tank where the flow meets and collides provides great random flow. I've done this on my 75 gal and was real happy with the coverage. Maybe give that a shot. Other than that, your aquascape will determine how the flow is distributed and so you may have to play around with them a bit to find the best spot to get the most coverage by avoiding as many deadspots as possible.


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[pandora32]

I went ahead and left the one on the right and put my other mp40 a lil lower on the left. Seems to be workining pretty good so far.

 

[estanoche]

I have mine staggered like that - one higher and one lower on opposite ends.... it gives the flow a good circular "up and out" gyre to move waste from the sandbed to my overflow.....

throw some food in the tank and watch it float around a bit, and see how your flow is helping with nutrient export.....

 

[pandora32]

seems to work pretty good like this

 

[mcoomer]

What are your dimensions? I too ran my Vortechs at opposite ends of the tank but it's hard to give advice without knowing your particulars.

Mike

 

[Darthv247]

depends what mode u want to run. they have schematics of exactly how to place them for each mode in the users manual. but yah one on opposite sides and one or more on the back wall for the nutrient transport mode or the tidal swell mode depending on the shape of the tank.

 

[Krish]

I've never used a vortech, but one thing I don't like about them is that they can't be angled. So much fine tuning you can do by slightly angling a powerhead. I agree with Joanne...Throw some food in there and see where the flow takes it. No better test by observation using this method. I always use this as a test.

 

[Darthv247]

they dont need to be angled. u wouldn't understand until you have seen them set up correctly in person. they create flow in the entire tank. u should place them as close to the top of the water column as you can without creating a vortex at the top and as close to the Front of the glass without too much flow being wasted on the glass. opposing each other exactly not staggered. u def dont want corals in the direct path of their flow because its pretty strong.

download the users manual. it has diagrams and instructions on how best to place them and how each mode works.

to be honest if u want to use them for directional flow u may as well buy a much cheaper unit. otherwise try and think of them like a closed loop.

 

[pandora32]

Ok. Great. Thank you all very much. My tank is 72"wx24"dx29"t. I have the one on the right side 9 1/2" from the top and 6 1/2" from the front. The one I have on the left I went ahead and moved to the same measurements as the right, so straight across from eachother...lol. All my corals and fish really seem to love them here. Even my orange sponge looks better than before. The RBTA I have has never been as big as it is now! Very happy with these pumps. The only livestock issue I seem to be having is with my pulsing zenia, they dont appreciate the flow created from them. Theyre not in the dirrect flow, but. Its ok though. I set up a 44x24x24 110g tank in my wifes office. I have been SLOWLY taking all my softies over there. SHHHHH....she dont know...lmao

 

[Krish]

they dont need to be angled. u wouldn't understand until you have seen them set up correctly in person. they create flow in the entire tank. u should place them as close to the top of the water column as you can without creating a vortex at the top and as close to the Front of the glass without too much flow being wasted on the glass. opposing each other exactly not staggered. u def dont want corals in the direct path of their flow because its pretty strong.

download the users manual. it has diagrams and instructions on how best to place them and how each mode works.

to be honest if u want to use them for directional flow u may as well buy a much cheaper unit. otherwise try and think of them like a closed loop.

Yea, I've never seen a vortech in person much less use one, so what makes them any different from any other powerhead with a broad flow pattern like a tunze (as an example) if you get two tunze streams with say the same gph of flow as the vortechs? Is the vortech's flow pattern that much broader than any other powerhead on the market that they didn't need to be designed to be angled any (because the flow is just that broad) or is the key ingredient here just the placement of two opposing powerheads vortech suggests?

 

[pandora32]

Never used tunze. They do have a pretty broad flow pattern. Thats a good question though.

 

[Krish]

Yea, the tunze streams were the original powerheads that came out with the broad flow pattern. They also have models that go on controllers. Really nice poweheads!


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[pandora32]

I have read about them before. A big thing with the ecotech pumps, for me at least, is they dont take up much room and there arent any electrical parts inside the tank. You know what I am talking about when I mention "you get a lil zap one day cleaning around your powerhead..."lol. It dont really hurt, but I cant imagine it being good in there you know. Another nice thing is the heat they produce isnt going into the water. I already have a hard enough time keeping my temps down. I havent used a heater in my reef since july of last year! The temp goes down to about 76/77 at night and climbs up to about 82 on the high end! Winter, summer, doesnt seem to matter.

 

[Darthv247]

it seems to be about as broad as can be but somewhat directional still i suppose, like u def dont want anything directly in its path if your using them more than half power. the main reason i say that is the way they are designed to be opposing eachother is to make the best out of the different modes that are pre programmed for you. i always see people sticking 2 on the same side of the tank then wondering why they dont give them enough flow or say the they have dead spots. The manual tells u exaclty where to place them based on the stlye/shape of your tank. they work like the same as a closed loop basically. they create flow in the entire tank and there should be no need for additional pumps. for the 2 new modes i would reccomend getting at least one for the back wall too. if your tank is 24" deep or less u can just add a mp10 or 2 to the back.

 

[Darthv247]

Ok. Great. Thank you all very much. My tank is 72"wx24"dx29"t. I have the one on the right side 9 1/2" from the top and 6 1/2" from the front. The one I have on the left I went ahead and moved to the same measurements as the right, so straight across from eachother...lol. All my corals and fish really seem to love them here. Even my orange sponge looks better than before. The RBTA I have has never been as big as it is now! Very happy with these pumps. The only livestock issue I seem to be having is with my pulsing zenia, they dont appreciate the flow created from them. Theyre not in the dirrect flow, but. Its ok though. I set up a 44x24x24 110g tank in my wifes office. I have been SLOWLY taking all my softies over there. SHHHHH....she dont know...lmao

awesome! i was amazed the first time i turned them on with the new controllers. so simple for me i dont have to worry about fiddling with 8 powerheads in the tank angling them just right. it does all the thinking for me with the controller.

try out the Nutrient transport mode during your maintenance too. works awesome. u will see crap u never knew existed come out from behind the rock work. then blow off the rocks and sand and it all goes down the overflow almost immediately. the mode does w/e short pulse mode u have saved as your favorite then follows it up by surging around the tank starting on the right to the back to the left depending where your master is i suppose.

ive been afraid of anemones with these power-heads ever since i saw one get stuck in a karolia i used to have. thing looked like sushi when i found it wrapped around the propeller.

 

[Darthv247]

Krish,
i forgot to add. U have to tell each pump what side of the tank it is on also which side it is in correspondence with the other pumps so the controllers know how to sync up and turn one side or the other on etc. Like say u have the "master pump/controller" on the left side then u put a slave on the opposite side and one on the back of the tank and they speak to each other wireless. one of the modes is random flow back and fourth between sides. or there is a pulse mode that just creates a wave. or the 2 newest modes on them are more complex like a closed loop system and both great for SPS tanks.

heres a link to the manual will explain it better.
http://ecotechmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/FULLMANUAL_Revision1.12.pdf

 

[Krish]

Krish,
i forgot to add. U have to tell each pump what side of the tank it is on also which side it is in correspondence with the other pumps so the controllers know how to sync up and turn one side or the other on etc. Like say u have the "master pump/controller" on the left side then u put a slave on the opposite side and one on the back of the tank and they speak to each other wireless. one of the modes is random flow back and fourth between sides. or there is a pulse mode that just creates a wave. or the 2 newest modes on them are more complex like a closed loop system and both great for SPS tanks.

heres a link to the manual will explain it better.
http://ecotechmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/FULLMANUAL_Revision1.12.pdf

Cool man. Thanks! Looks like really nice powerheads with a lot if features. Guess that's what you are paying for.


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[pandora32]

I have my pumps set up with the reef crest/lagoon random. When I clean the glass of the algae, I usually select the constant on because I also top off the tank at the same time and I dont have an ATO as of yet.