Replace WAV or go a different route?

[Nathan Milender]

One of my WAVs stopped working. Neptune worked with me, but eventually it could not be salvaged. Admittedly, I got the WAVs off a going out of business deal and they were likely older. One is still working. I liked how they hooked into the apex with less wires. Apex gives an easy to read report on them and there were a lot of flow options. I did not like how they were huge, had a min flow of 1800 gallons, and one stopped working. Neptune offered a 20% discount on replacement which quite frankly is more then they really had to do in this situation.

Since the outage I have a large algae bloom on that side of the tank so I clearly need to get another powerhead. When I go to gravel vac it is much dirtier than normal. It's a 6 ft standard 125 gallon tank. Mostly lps and softies, but I have some sps up high where the return pump outputs are.

Reviewing various threads it seems the wavs have a rep for stopping. It is not clear if those are the only ones that do as I find most equipment stops at some point. Many seem to prefer to the ecottech pumps but they are pricey. I am most intrigued about some vague statements related to their ability to move larger volumes of water as a whole instead of the more pipleline'd or tunneled blast. This was a problem with the Wavs if I turned them up as the LPS did not like it if they got blasted.

I do not think a maxspect gyre or icecap type powerhead will work well. This is an older tank with the old twin tower overflows so it will likely get blocked (although I never tried one so who knows). I am also considering something smaller like the tunze or reef octopus powerheads for which I have seen almost no reviews. I am interested in any insight and experience, anecdotal is ok. Taste great vs less filling arguments are less helpful, but can be entertaining.

 

[road_runner]

I would invest in something heavy duty.
I like vortechs cause they are so modular if something went wrong you change the bad part only which is cheap
Otherwise I would go with gyre. Lots of good reviews.

 

[Nathan Milender]

I would invest in something heavy duty.
I like vortechs cause they are so modular if something went wrong you change the bad part only which is cheap
Otherwise I would go with gyre. Lots of good reviews.

thanks

 

[jda]

Tunze are like tanks, really flow well and have excellent service life and a warranty to back that up. Sometimes more expensive up front, but I have some running for almost 15 years which makes them pretty cheap. They have 6 or 7 different sizes of controllable flow pumps from nano all the way up. They are pretty quiet. IMO, these are the gold standard for performance and longevity.

Vortech are fine, but have never lasted long for me - 24-30 months without needing something. I expect more life span. If I got another one, I would plan on them not lasting long or build in a new wet side (or whatever) into your budget.. People complain about the noise, but I don't get that since everything makes noise. Some people really like the form factor of these with no wires in the tank... of which, there is nothing else like them. There is a big difference between a mp10 and a mp40... they need like a mp25 in there somewhere for medium sized tanks.

Gyres move a lot of water, but it is static and can cause corals to grow with a lean. I have a Max 350 on a 240g and I keep it turned way down and only use it for 8-9 hours and otherwise rely on the Tunze to move the bulk of the water since they are more random. I cannot hear my gyre at all. Despite what people say about needing cleaning and longevity, I have never cleaned mine outside of the tank in about 18 months, nor have I had any bearing or motor failures. It is weird because it came with backups which I have not yet to need.

Tunze and VorTech both can move a wide swath of water... or you can put narrower head (comes with the pump) on the Tunze and push more velocity. You can point the Tunze, but not the VorTech. The VorTech does not have cords in the water like the Tunze.

 

[road_runner]

thanks

You welcome
I own 4xmp10s and 11 x mp40. Some been working for 7 years..
The power head is solid they work for years. The most I have seen is the wet side get faulty for one reason or another, I just replace it for 50$.
If you maintain them well they do last long. I have them last on avrage 3, 4 years then I change their wet side 50$ and you have brand new power head..

 

[Nathan Milender]

Tunze are like tanks, really flow well and have excellent service life and a warranty to back that up. Sometimes more expensive up front, but I have some running for almost 15 years which makes them pretty cheap. They have 6 or 7 different sizes of controllable flow pumps from nano all the way up. They are pretty quiet. IMO, these are the gold standard for performance and longevity.

Vortech are fine, but have never lasted long for me - 24-30 months without needing something. I expect more life span. If I got another one, I would plan on them not lasting long or build in a new wet side (or whatever) into your budget.. People complain about the noise, but I don't get that since everything makes noise. Some people really like the form factor of these with no wires in the tank... of which, there is nothing else like them. There is a big difference between a mp10 and a mp40... they need like a mp25 in there somewhere for medium sized tanks.

Gyres move a lot of water, but it is static and can cause corals to grow with a lean. I have a Max 350 on a 240g and I keep it turned way down and only use it for 8-9 hours and otherwise rely on the Tunze to move the bulk of the water since they are more random. I cannot hear my gyre at all. Despite what people say about needing cleaning and longevity, I have never cleaned mine outside of the tank in about 18 months, nor have I had any bearing or motor failures. It is weird because it came with backups which I have not yet to need.

Tunze and VorTech both can move a wide swath of water... or you can put narrower head (comes with the pump) on the Tunze and push more velocity. You can point the Tunze, but not the VorTech. The VorTech does not have cords in the water like the Tunze.

Thanks for the info. I do agree a size between the mp10 and 40 would be more ideal for that 1500 gph range. I do not mind the expense up front if it lasts. You are the first I have heard endorse the tunze so it is good to hear. Mostly I have heard raving about the vortech. The tunze had a lot of great features with the multi aim and the the small size. I am not sure how awesome no cord would be, but it does seem better. It also seemed like the tunze did not have much for pattern features, just a straight pulse timer, which may or may not be as adequate. Pricewise the tunze and vortechs seem about the same depending on size. Nobody seems excited about the wav.

 

[Nathan Milender]

You welcome
I have owned 4xmp10s and 11 x mp40. Some been working for 7 years..
The power head is solid they work for years. The most I have seen is the wet side get faulty for one reason or another, I just replace it for 50$.
If you maintain them well they do last long. I have them last on avrage 3, 4 years then I change their wet side 50$ and you have brand new power head..

That is a decent track record. Wetside seems to have gone up a bit (78 bucks but I did not shop all that hard). I would be ok with that every four years. Every time I think I have nothing to buy there is one more thing.

 

[jda]

My only gripe with Tunze stuff is that the used market is nearly nil. People who have them seem to never want to get rid of them. They also seem to last for a super-long time so you can buy them without caring when the disposable parts were made. When they do come up for sale in the equipment section, then go in a few minutes.

You can use a tunze with the controller that it comes with, or you can also link a bunch of them together with their multi-controller or some people use an Apex. I just let mine run off of the controller that comes with them, but I do have some multi controllers from older models laying around if I feel the need. I do like that they do not flex you into buying new stuff when they release a new product... my multi controllers from 2005 still work on the new ones if you want to use them.

You will find plenty of people who have Tunze stuff. They are the most popular pump around me now that people have given up on the Chinese Patent-Stealing stuff.

 

[road_runner]

That is a decent track record. Wetside seems to have gone up a bit (78 bucks but I did not shop all that hard). I would be ok with that every four years. Every time I think I have nothing to buy there is one more thing.

You right I just noticed.
I think it's because of the new Quiet drive..the older one still 50.
Honestly i have had some mp40s last more than 4 years. Trick is the maintenance. I religiously clean them every 3 months. Very easy to clean.
If you do not, build up will get in the way, this will push the pump to generate heat and cause the common issues.
If you clean it, nothing will break it.

I still operate 11 mp40s on my 2 systems. 6 of these pumps are more than 5 years old, I think I have changed no more than 4 over the last 6 years...

I also like changing the flow over the day, I use different patterns every 2 4 hours and my sps seems to love that

 

[Nathan Milender]

My only gripe with Tunze stuff is that the used market is nearly nil. People who have them seem to never want to get rid of them. They also seem to last for a super-long time so you can buy them without caring when the disposable parts were made. When they do come up for sale in the equipment section, then go in a few minutes.

You can use a tunze with the controller that it comes with, or you can also link a bunch of them together with their multi-controller or some people use an Apex. I just let mine run off of the controller that comes with them, but I do have some multi controllers from older models laying around if I feel the need. I do like that they do not flex you into buying new stuff when they release a new product... my multi controllers from 2005 still work on the new ones if you want to use them.

You will find plenty of people who have Tunze stuff. They are the most popular pump around me now that people have given up on the Chinese Patent-Stealing stuff.

DO they directly connect to the apex and show up in fusion for programming?

 

[Nathan Milender]

You right I just noticed.
I think it's because of the new Quiet drive..the older one still 50.
Honestly i have had some mp40s last more than 4 years. Trick is the maintenance. I religiously clean them every 3 months. Very easy to clean.
If you do not, build up will get in the way, this will push the pump to generate heat and cause the common issues.
If you clean it, nothing will break it.

I still operate 11 mp40s on my 2 systems. 6 of these pumps are more than 5 years old, I think I have changed no more than 4 over the last 6 years...

I also like changing the flow over the day, I use different patterns every 2 4 hours and my sps seems to love that

Do you have any lps mixed in there? My tank seems to need that nutrient shake up as I indulge my fish. I wonder how the lps tolerate the heavy pulsing.

 

[road_runner]

Of course you should decide the flow based on your inhabitants.. good thing these power heads are highly controllable.

I run sps, scolys, Trachyphyllias and some acanthophyllia..

The reason why I change flow over the day so I kind of serve all coral. I have calm periods and turbulence periods that suits everyone ha ha ha
This is one of the systems.

 

[Nathan Milender]

Of course you should decide the flow based on your inhabitants.. good thing these power heads are highly controllable.

I run sps, scolys, Trachyphyllias and some acanthophyllia..

The reason why I change flow over the day so I kind of serve all coral. I have calm periods and turbulence periods that suits everyone ha ha ha
This is one of the systems.

I would say that looks pretty good. I never would have thought 4 in tank that size. My torch does not mind the turbulence but the hammers and even some of the zoas I have close up with high flow. That picture does suggest the vortech does not blast in a stream. The lps are definitely not hiding.

 

[road_runner]

I would say that looks pretty good. I never would have thought 4 in tank that size. My torch does not mind the turbulence but the hammers and even some of the zoas I have close up with high flow. That picture does suggest the vortech does not blast in a stream. The lps are definitely not hiding.

No question it's an over kill..
I think 2 would have done more than enough.
And yeh for sure, one of the nice things about this is the flow not narrow, as you said you can see the acanthophyllia right infront of it, its happy.

 

[ca1ore]

I ended up retiring my WAV pumps (in favor of two more vortech MP60 and a couple of the RPM pumps). I did have one WAV short out, which temporarily disables the others also connected to the 1link (unfortunate design); though it was still under warranty. Don’t ever volunteer that you’re not the original owner. My major gripe with them was buzzing cords though. Drove me nuts.

 

[Nathan Milender]

I ended up retiring my WAV pumps (in favor of two more vortech MP60 and a couple of the RPM pumps). I did have one WAV short out, which temporarily disables the others also connected to the 1link (unfortunate design); though it was still under warranty. Don’t ever volunteer that you’re not the original owner. My major gripe with them was buzzing cords though. Drove me nuts.

Thanks. Regardless of the reason, if you had wavs, went to vortech and are glad you did, I suppose that sums it up.

 

[Nathan Milender]

I ended up retiring my WAV pumps (in favor of two more vortech MP60 and a couple of the RPM pumps). I did have one WAV short out, which temporarily disables the others also connected to the 1link (unfortunate design); though it was still under warranty. Don’t ever volunteer that you’re not the original owner. My major gripe with them was buzzing cords though. Drove me nuts.

I had this problem as well. I found some buffer material to cushion them and it stopped. Of course, moving anything, including the lid, required a reset.

 

[Nathan Milender]

One of my WAVs stopped working. Neptune worked with me, but eventually it could not be salvaged. Admittedly, I got the WAVs off a going out of business deal and they were likely older. One is still working. I liked how they hooked into the apex with less wires. Apex gives an easy to read report on them and there were a lot of flow options. I did not like how they were huge, had a min flow of 1800 gallons, and one stopped working. Neptune offered a 20% discount on replacement which quite frankly is more then they really had to do in this situation.

Since the outage I have a large algae bloom on that side of the tank so I clearly need to get another powerhead. When I go to gravel vac it is much dirtier than normal. It's a 6 ft standard 125 gallon tank. Mostly lps and softies, but I have some sps up high where the return pump outputs are.

Reviewing various threads it seems the wavs have a rep for stopping. It is not clear if those are the only ones that do as I find most equipment stops at some point. Many seem to prefer to the ecottech pumps but they are pricey. I am most intrigued about some vague statements related to their ability to move larger volumes of water as a whole instead of the more pipleline'd or tunneled blast. This was a problem with the Wavs if I turned them up as the LPS did not like it if they got blasted.

I do not think a maxspect gyre or icecap type powerhead will work well. This is an older tank with the old twin tower overflows so it will likely get blocked (although I never tried one so who knows). I am also considering something smaller like the tunze or reef octopus powerheads for which I have seen almost no reviews. I am interested in any insight and experience, anecdotal is ok. Taste great vs less filling arguments are less helpful, but can be entertaining.

Thanks for all the replies and info. I replaced it with a vortech. So far I just have it set to tidal swell mode. These really do move water in much more diverse ways. It is almost like a power head that works in 360 degrees with the intake. Being right next to the glass helped with trouble areas. The water column is much wider than what I had previous. I still have not figured out how to access the increased user settings. Vortech promotes it's reeflink, but man it gets bad reviews and I do not want another wifi device to wrestle as this tank already has four running not including the L1 and this mp40. I am hoping to see how the apex can do that, but maybe I just let it run on tidal swell mode. Your information did help.