Ask Reefers #1: What's your favorite "in aquarium" pump for flow? October 2024

[tsharpe291]

have had and tried many brands, tunze would be my favorite. tried and true.

 

[Bruttall]

for pure water volume movement I am not sure you can get better than Maxspect Gyre. I run a pair of 350's opposite each other in the ends of my tank, they run 5 minutes each, one then the other. I run them about 70 to 80%.

Also got 3 mp40's I love the no wires look. But these 40's do not move near the sheer volume of water that the Gyres will move.

 

[revhtree]

Let's get some more steam to this thread today!

 

[keithw283]

Overall performance and design I love my MP40s. The Sicce Voyager is pretty reliable and very cost effective. The pumps are massive in the tank though compared to others. I have a maxspect gyre going in my new tank once it's set up that I got last black friday.

 

[14 foot reef]

Let's get some more steam to this thread today!

@revhtree This thread has really opened my eyes to some new ideas.
I'm in my first stage of my new frag farm business plan. As I move to phase 2-5 over the next few years, my flow choices will definitely change with the knowledge shared here !!!!!

Thanks

 

[Spare time]

I like the Sicce Voyager 1, 2 and 3 as it's an anemone proof wave maker

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@revhtree This thread has really opened my eyes to some new ideas.
I'm in my first stage of my new frag farm business plan. As I move to phase 2-5 over the next few years, my flow choices will definitely change with the knowledge shared here !!!!!

Thanks

This thread has been helpful for me as well, figuring out what wave maker/pumps are the best!

 

[VintageReefer]

Vortech mp40 and mp10 - first generation pre mobius. Mine have been running daily for 10+ years. Quiet and reliable. They don’t make ‘em like they use to!

 

[Gtinnel]

I have used many pumps over the years but I am now switching all of them to Vortech MP pumps. I find with the ease of removing the wetside I actually keep them clean and any other style pump I procrastinate on cleaning them for much, much longer than I should.

 

[JoJosReef]

I'm unsatisfied with all of the powerheads I've used so far.

Cheap pump from Amazon: bulky and weak flow
Mid-cheap zkjs pump from amazon: better, but now rusting a bit in a small breach in the plastic casing.
Maxspect Jump 2k: Excellent water movement, but performance goes down too quickly without regular cleanings
Maxpect xf330: same as Jump 2K

In all cases I've struggled with keeping flow with consistent power and randomness.

I'm now starting a new tank with an overdriven return pump/RFG and an MP40. Hopefully this one does the trick!

 

[McPuff]

I'm a big fan of Tunze for reasons others have noted. The stream3, in particular, is an amazing pump and pushes a lot of water! The only downside is that you can't really direct it. The 6105 and 6255 are pretty great pumps as well.

For aesthetics, the MP pumps are nice but I don't think the look is worth the hassle.

 

[phillyb614]

My AI Nero 5s are beasts and the app is super simple. Definitely want to get a couple of Nero 3s because of my satisfaction with the 5s

 

[danreef55]

@revhtree Thanks for collecting this data for the trade.
The MP40's and 60's are really a top end pump that I have owned for years with little problem.
The Gyre XF350's are another great water movement pump, but the quick slowdown of flow without cleaning constantly is just really a pain. I wish they held the gph longer between cleanings.

@14 foot reef
How frequently do you have to clean the gyres? Appreciate any input because I plan on running them.

 

[just_matt]

My 32 biocube really likes the Nero 3. Space is at a premium and I really like the unobtrusiveness of the low profile Nero. It's capable of far more flow than my tank needs and even in detritus-cleaning "stir everything up" mode I only get it up to about 60%, normally pulsing between low teens and high 30's.

I did upgrade my filtration pump to an Axis, mainly so I could throttle it down at feeding time so I don't hoover up the food I just put in the tank. The Mobius app let's me bump the Nero up and throttle the Axis down with one click, and then return them to normal after 15 minutes so I don't have to remember to plug the filtration back in. I forgot several times, as I sure will be no surprise, once until the next morning.

 

[aquaman67]

Going from Maxi Jet type powerheads that needed to be ran on a timer to Nero 3s was amazing.

The ability to actually program the pump itself and to have different pumps on different schedules doing different cycles and different flows is like walking on the moon from static on / off pumps.

 

[Doctorgori]

I’m using Red Sea Gyres on 2 tanks, Nero5 on another…
both brands have been reliable and mostly maintenance free

 

[coralbeauties]

I like the nero pumps but have experienced pump motor failures. At one point I think I had a total of 8 running in different tanks and am now down to 4 I think. No where the life that I have experienced with mp40s, they just dont ever die but are SOOO expensive. I hate the constant cleaning of a gyre pump to keep the flow up to where they should be and it doesnt take long for the flow to reduce. I know there is a huge thread on a Chinese knockoff of the mp40. I might have to try out one of those.
Jeff

 

[revhtree]

@revhtree This thread has really opened my eyes to some new ideas.
I'm in my first stage of my new frag farm business plan. As I move to phase 2-5 over the next few years, my flow choices will definitely change with the knowledge shared here !!!!!

Thanks

Well that's great to hear and encourages me to keep progressing with my idea!

Let's get some more input!

 

[Crabs McJones]

I really liked my vortech mp10s

 

[PharmrJohn]

Back in the day (15 years back) I ran a two Mag9.5's as a return and skimmer pump and Koralias in tank. With my next build, I'm gonna run Sicce Syncra 9.0 (x2) for returns, whatever comes with a RO Regal 200SSS Skimmer and Maxspect Gyres in tank. I'm basing my choices on research done independently. I have read that the Gyres CAN go sideways a tad easier than others, but I like the idea of both power and directional opportunities they afford.