Mp40….Are They Really Worth The Money?

[c_healy]

I love mine and the fact there is no cord in the tank. Other pumps really disrupt the look of tanks. Mine is mounted low on the back glass.

 

[Poochaku]

octopulse w/ wave engine >>> vortechs.

I don't like the earmuffs, I do agree they are superior if you can place on the back wall of the tank.

Mobius is horrible. They continuously push updates because it is a nonfunctioning point of sale if you have over 3 devices. usage is fine but I can never get all aquarium devices to connect consistently. nightmare if you want to apply programing to a set of lights or pumps.

Price is horrible. 4x octopulse and 1 wave engine is approx 1.2k pre tax.
For that you can get.... 2.5 MP40?? or 1 MP60 and 1 MP40 approx?

Not aimable. Becomes more important the more grown in your tank becomes.

 

[Tamberav]

I will be honest, on a nice grown in tank, I don’t even notice what pumps they use. Like I can picture some nice tanks I love in my head and I can see the corals and layout but I have no clue what pumps were in there…

 

[hunterallen40]

So I used Jebao power heads previously, and was quite happy with their flow. I did not feel like it was insufficient in the slightest, and the pumps were super solid.

When I upgraded to my 320, I decided to just spend the extra cash and get the fancy power heads (MP60's).

Honestly, I am blown away. My corals were healthy and growing, but I see a massive improvement with these power heads on. It is amazing how much water they push, and the wet/dry separation is super convenient for cleaning.

I do have my complaints...

1. My small wrasses love to play in the power heads when I hit the feed button... My fangtooth blenny did the same, but he just died getting crushed by blades in the MP60... Now I watch the wrasses and manually turn things back on when I see they are safely out of the power heads.

2. The first powerhead I got had a bad bearing and needed replacement. 50% of my ecotech products have needed replacement within a month of use (including my XR30 get 5's). This is probably not the norm for them, but, regardless, their customer service is superb, and they replaced everything that broke, and did so quickly.

All and all, I still say worth the money.

 

[rtparty]

I didn’t read the whole thread. I’m sure a bunch of fanboys and haters showed up though.

I find them absolutely worth it. Especially on my 6 foot peninsula. Having one extra Wetside makes maintenance so easy that no other pump is worth the time to take out and clean. Pull out dirty Wetside, set in citric acid, put clean Wetside in, clean the dirty Wetside and you’re done. No cords to untangle. No bringing a bucket of water over to the tank. Nothing. They are overpriced though and quality isn’t what it used to be IMO

There isn’t a gyre on the market I’d use. Maintenance is a such a pain and they need it constantly or they lose a lot of flow.

I love Tunze pumps but none work for my situation so they were out. Their controller is also extremely outdated and dumb.

 

[zheka757]

I’m looking for a pump that will take care of basic flow, eliminating dead spots and have random flow setting. I also need something that can be adjusted power wise.
I want to replace my AC pumps, which have a ton of flow but no versatility.

For your needs you can get away with $90 jebao powerheads., I used them for years, Most people say with mp10/40/60 "i dont want to see wires inside the tank" well guess what!, you will have bulky magnet with wire sitting outside the tank, that looks just as ugly.

 

[Sean Clark]

I love Tunze pumps but none work for my situation so they were out. Their controller is also extremely outdated and dumb.

Controller is out of date? Still works just like their pumps. I don't need a poorly implement app to go with second rate hardware followed up by third rate quality control and fourth rate customer service.... No thanks.

I'll choose quality every time.

 

[rtparty]

Controller is out of date? Still works just like their pumps. I don't need a poorly implement app to go with second rate hardware followed up by third rate quality control and fourth rate customer service.... No thanks.

I'll choose quality every time.

It literally does nothing. Tunze are great pumps but need a serious update. Which is coming with the new controller.

I’ve had unbelievable service from Ecotech for over 15 years when I’ve needed it.

Mobius isn’t perfect by any means but my pumps are on lagoon mode and never change. I don’t see the need for 15 changes a day but some variability is nice.

Not to mention there are zero Tunze pumps that work for my situation. I tried. I talked to Roger as well. He even said they have nothing to do what I want. So your opinion is to use the wrong tool just because they’re quality? Nah. That didn’t work at all.

 

[Pmj]

I didn’t read the whole thread. I’m sure a bunch of fanboys and haters showed up though.

I find them absolutely worth it. Especially on my 6 foot peninsula. Having one extra Wetside makes maintenance so easy that no other pump is worth the time to take out and clean. Pull out dirty Wetside, set in citric acid, put clean Wetside in, clean the dirty Wetside and you’re done. No cords to untangle. No bringing a bucket of water over to the tank. Nothing. They are overpriced though and quality isn’t what it used to be IMO

There isn’t a gyre on the market I’d use. Maintenance is a such a pain and they need it constantly or they lose a lot of flow.

I love Tunze pumps but none work for my situation so they were out. Their controller is also extremely outdated and dumb.

Yes, this is the big thing. I don’t care about the cords in the tank, I care about not having to unhook cords to take the pump away from the tank, or conversely bring water to the tank to soak in. I can just take it off and clean it and leave cable management alone.

 

[Sean Clark]

It literally does nothing. Tunze are great pumps but need a serious update. Which is coming with the new controller.

I’ve had unbelievable service from Ecotech for over 15 years when I’ve needed it.

Mobius isn’t perfect by any means but my pumps are on lagoon mode and never change. I don’t see the need for 15 changes a day but some variability is nice.

Not to mention there are zero Tunze pumps that work for my situation. I tried. I talked to Roger as well. He even said they have nothing to do what I want. So your opinion is to use the wrong tool just because they’re quality? Nah. That didn’t work at all.

It literally does nothing. Tunze are great pumps but need a serious update. Which is coming with the new controller.
Oh if you are serious then you have never used the controller. It does actually do something.

I’ve had unbelievable service from Ecotech for over 15 years when I’ve needed it.
Ok, that is your experience. There are plenty of others that counter this. I am glad you have had a more pleasant experience.

Mobius isn’t perfect by any means but my pumps are on lagoon mode and never change. I don’t see the need for 15 changes a day but some variability is nice.
So you are ok not needing to adjust your equipment, so others should overlook the programs shortcomings?

Not to mention there are zero Tunze pumps that work for my situation. I tried. I talked to Roger as well. He even said they have nothing to do what I want. So your opinion is to use the wrong tool just because they’re quality? Nah. That didn’t work at all.
This is between you and Roger. I find this hard to believe but perhaps Roger can chime in and explain how Tunze just wasn't an option for you.

 

[rtparty]

It literally does nothing. Tunze are great pumps but need a serious update. Which is coming with the new controller.
Oh if you are serious then you have never used the controller. It does actually do something.

You're correct. I never ran them. You won’t see them in my numerous build threads or anything.

What the controller actually does is let you select a speed and tune a wave if you want. You can kind of, sort of anti sync or sync with other Tunze pumps. Kind of. Unless you bought the now discontinued multi controller, the pumps can’t talk. That multi controller also brought MORE cords into the mix. It was so poorly designed and received, it’s gone now.

There is no lagoon, reef crest, child/parent, tidal swell, random flow, nothing.

Did I say they were bad pumps? You sure want to argue like I just kicked your dog because I pointed out the controller is dumb. It really is though. Maybe dumb is the wrong word. Let’s call it lackluster or featureless. Or for marketing terms we will call it simple.

The pumps are great. Bulletproof. I use them for all my salt mixing. I keep a 6095 on hand at all times as backup. None of them work for a 6 foot peninsula the way I needed. Why does Roger need to step in? My build thread documents my use of multiple Tunze pumps and how flow was always an issue since none can push water 6 feet except the Stream 3 with the narrow nozzle and that has a whole host of downsides. The wide nozzle on the Stream 3 can’t push past 4 feet on a peninsula. The water coming back impedes the flow and you get 2 feet of stagnant water at the far end.

So I asked Roger what other Tunze could work. He flat out said none. I’d have to put pumps on the far end. He even had a peninsula for years and said flow is the worst part about them and he never found a solution that didn’t include pumps on the far end.

So MP60s were my only choice and they have worked out great. I still think they’re overpriced and quality needs a major step up at their price point but to have a clean peninsula, it is well worth it.

 

[Sean Clark]

You're correct. I never ran them. You won’t see them in my numerous build threads or anything.

What the controller actually does is let you select a speed and tune a wave if you want. You can kind of, sort of anti sync or sync with other Tunze pumps. Kind of. Unless you bought the now discontinued multi controller, the pumps can’t talk. That multi controller also brought MORE cords into the mix. It was so poorly designed and received, it’s gone now.

There is no lagoon, reef crest, child/parent, tidal swell, random flow, nothing.

Did I say they were bad pumps? You sure want to argue like I just kicked your dog because I pointed out the controller is dumb. It really is though. Maybe dumb is the wrong word. Let’s call it lackluster or featureless. Or for marketing terms we will call it simple.

The pumps are great. Bulletproof. I use them for all my salt mixing. I keep a 6095 on hand at all times as backup. None of them work for a 6 foot peninsula the way I needed. Why does Roger need to step in? My build thread documents my use of multiple Tunze pumps and how flow was always an issue since none can push water 6 feet except the Stream 3 with the narrow nozzle and that has a whole host of downsides. The wide nozzle on the Stream 3 can’t push past 4 feet on a peninsula. The water coming back impedes the flow and you get 2 feet of stagnant water at the far end.

So I asked Roger what other Tunze could work. He flat out said none. I’d have to put pumps on the far end. He even had a peninsula for years and said flow is the worst part about them and he never found a solution that didn’t include pumps on the far end.

So MP60s were my only choice and they have worked out great. I still think they’re overpriced and quality needs a major step up at their price point but to have a clean peninsula, it is well worth it.

I like my stream3. To each their own.
Clearly you didn't kick my dog or we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Why does Roger need to step in? I only suggest to bring Roger into the conversation because you brought him into the conversation ("I talked to Roger as well. He even said they have nothing to do what I want") that was you not me.
You don't often see a company out right stating that their products can't help you.

Just because I reference your previous statements does not make me the progenitor of your statements.

You are making a lot of unverified statements on Roger's/Tunze behalf. Let him speak for himself and claim that there is no Tunze flow solution for a 6 foot peninsula tank.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

If you have money to shell outL Nero's, the same app interface as vortech, higher flow with a smaller footprint, less harsh flow, and about 1/2 the price.

If you just want the best bang for buck: Jebao, has had these pumps running for YEARS with no issues. Do the job, and can't complain about price

And if you want to keep up with the jone's I guess ecotech would be your best bet

 

[Wasabiroot]

gyres seem to be always breaking down from what I read on R2R

Yeah, it seems they are a "maintenance intensive" pump to keep them performing optimally

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Yeah, it seems they are a "maintenance intensive" pump to keep them performing optimally

that's what I think too. a bit to maintenance heavy for my liking.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I couldn't tell you how often these get a citric acid soak but it's not often. It's nice to move a wall of water at the surface.

 

[HBtank]

Never regretted purchasing any of the MPs and have owned many powerheads, all the MPs have been very important/solid components of my tanks for years. Not gonna sit here and say they are they only/best solution, but I love them and they have a great mesh of low visibility, flow, ease of maintenance, durability, and wave patterns and/or controllability. Zero cords in the display isn't just a small bonus/goal either. Mobius is a negative overall relative to some options, but I have mine on Reef link (which is OK for me) and waiting for the APEX module.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I couldn't tell you how often these get a citric acid soak but it's not often. It's nice to move a wall of water at the surface.

View attachment 3070751 View attachment 3070753

if it works that's awesome. yours is actually the most covered in coaline algae I've ever seen. I wanted one of these forever, but the high maintenance that I've read about keeps me away lol I'm a lazy m o fo

 

[VanDalsenReef]

I need some new pumps and I’m having a horrible time deciding.

I know many love the MP40s, but man, $500 a pop?! Are they really worth that crazy price tag?

The other pumps I’m considering are:
Maxspect 4000 gph Jump Gyres
AI Nero 5’s
Res Sea Reef Wave 45 Gyres

What say you?

My tank is 60”x24”x25”, 150 gallons.
Here is a pic of my rock work.
View attachment 3069689

I use Nero 5, mp40 and gyre. They all give different types of flow. All have pros and cons

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

if it works that's awesome. yours is actually the most covered in coaline algae I've ever seen. I wanted one of these forever, but the high maintenance that I've read about keeps me away lol I'm a lazy m o fo

$#!+ me too, lol but honestly I haven't had issues with them other than small trochus snails finding a way in. I have two reef wave 25's also and I would pick these every time over them. They are a bit of a pian to reassemble and to clean, that's why mine look like that most of the time lol