Tank Journal Archive

[NiCd]

The Tunze Stream Turbelle 6105 can be considered as the main product of the lineup of the Tunze pumps. This is because they can be used in aquariums from 300 to 400 liters, which are the ones most advance aquarist chose to use today. These are those aquariums that are larger than a nanoreef but smaller than a 500.


In this way they can still provide a decent catchment area, especially if we consider that 120cm aquariums of length are the ones which have the best ratio among quality/price/performance for keeping sps corals, which is reason why aquarist buy these pumps.

These pumps are electric and in order to be controlled with precision they work between 12 and 24 volts and are capable of giving a declared flow rate of a minimum of 3.000 liters per hour and a maximum of 13.000 liters an hour. The maximum power consumption indicated is of 22 watts. Without any further data we can say that the maximum power is set to be 591 liters for every watt consumed. It has a very respectable performance. When looking at the pump from another perspective, we can see that the cost of the unit is of 274,30 euros, so we can say that it has an economic efficiency of a movement of 47 liters for every euro spent. Obviously the pump can be sold at lower prices on the market; this means that the efficiency for every euro spent will be a bit higher.



In order to fairly compare the tunze 6105 to what we can find around in today’s market we can look at its sister pump, tunze 6205 of 20.000 liters per hour and a consumption of 48 watts, which has an economic efficiency of 458 liters per watt and a cost of 436,60 euros which means an economic efficiency of 50 liters per euro.

If instead we decide to compare the direct competitor of the Tunze 6105, the Ecotech Marine mp40, which states that it has a consumption of 13.000 l/h and a consumption of 28 watt and so it will be less efficient as it will have 464 liters for every watt consumed. This is mainly because it has a “magnetic drive motor”, but we will talk about this matter further on when we will be doing full comparison between the two pumps.
The economic efficiency is not easily quantifiable if we do not also consider the Tunze Stream multicontroller. Its efficiency will increase as the number of pumps plugged into it increases. The multicontroller can control up to 4 pumps meanwhile the Vortech pumps have the controller within each pump.



In the configuration I am going to illustrate a compare 2 6105 pumps with the new multicontroller 7096, with a total price of 687 euros according to the price list. On the other hand, the 2 Vortech pumps mp40’s would have a total cost of 439 per pump, which would mean a total amount of 878 euros. When comparing the economic efficiency of the two pumps, Tunze would have 38 liters per watt and Ecotech Marine would have 30 liters per watt consumed.

Also if we have seen the extreme differences between these two products, the economic efficiency would be the last parameter of interest to consider.

The two Tunze Stream 6105 have been running in my aquarium for 7 months, a period I consider important to learn and understand in depth whichever product.

Tunze’s Stream pumps have always been considered very reliable products and since 2001, the moment I became passionate for the aquatic world, I have always herd that Tunze were the best and those were the time when we used to talk about remarkable Tunze 6000 or 6001. The new 6105 from this point of view, are no exception; it illustrates a long lasting operation without any problems functioning. Neither of the two pumps I have showed or gave any malfunctions or failures, they always worked with perfection.



The exterior part of the pump has a spherical body and it can adapt to any possible situation it is put in thanks to its magnet that it comes supplied with. The stream is made possible by a grid placed on top of the head of the propeller of the impeller, which roughly has the same size of the impeller. Meanwhile, the water intake is placed anywhere behind the grid, which makes it a lot more difficult for the pump to get clogged. From this perspective, there have been a lot of improvements from the older 6000/6001 pump, which took a lot more space and had a lot less water intakes.



Another important addition is the adoption of the magnet as standard method to attach the pump to the glass, it is set to be a revolutionary method, also if today it can be seen as a typical standard. This eliminates the need of other equipment which was needed to position the pump on the glass of the tank, making the pump simpler and more freedom of positioning the pump in the aquarium, which is something that could have not been done before. Remembering this today seems irrelevant, but I believe that it helps us remember the history of the evolution of pumps over the years for who have lived during these fast changes in the technology.



The Tunze 6105 is composed of a spherical body, a 220v/12-24v transformer, a mechanical potentiometer that allows us to set up the pump power between 3,000 and 13,000 liters per hour, a two part magnet which keeps the pump positioned of which one is positioned outside of the glass and the other one inside the tank. The magnet inside the tank has four blue pin attachments which are called silent blocks; these connect the magnet to the structure of the pump, they has the specific task to keep decrease the vibrations of the pump, which I can say is a task performed in an outstanding manner by the unit.



As we have seen previously, power is irrelevant if you do not have control over it. The two pumps go along with the new four-channel multicontroller 7096 which distinguishes itself from the previous model, the 7095 for totally being controlled by a computer with a usb cable. The physical device is much smaller and is able to offer a wider range of programming and customizations. The device is a lot smaller and it just has one button to temporary switch the pump off in order to feed the fish. By pushing the button the multicontroller automatically turns off the pumps for the period which has been set forth by the user. The multicontroller is also equipped with an ultra-bright white LED light that acts as moonlight, which also has a light meter, which can detect light brightness and reduces the flow of the water through the pumps at night. Further on we will cover more details on the multicontroller.



There are only two test measurements I could analyze for this experiment: one relative to the noise the pump makes and one relative to the pumps consumption.

I recorded the same value from the sound level meter for both pumps when they were on and off. The meter has always recorded a value between 40 and 40,5dB, this performance recorded can be considered extraordinary since I got the same level of noise when the pumps were not in motion.
What is more complicated to understand is the detection of the instantaneous energy consumption.

In order to measure the consumption of the pump, I got a amperometric pliers which recorded a stream level of 0.072 when the stream level was at a minimum and of 0.156 when the stream level of the pump was put to its maximum. Unfortunately, in this particular case it was not possible to detect the power factor , but I presume it is around 0.8. This means that the recorded value of the current absorbed, thus of the power it has would be the following:
Stream Pump 6105, engine at the minimum has a capacity of 3.000 l/h: 0,072A x 220V x 0,8 (cosfi)= 12,67 watt
Stream Pump 6105, when the engine is at its maximum it can have a capacity up to 13.000l/h: 0,156A x 220 V x 0,8 (cosfi)=27,45 watt
The values appear to be slightly higher from what Tunze declares, but by not being able to measure the shift, the value will only be useful when comparing this pump to other pumps with the same measuring criteria.



As already stated the pump has proven to be very reliable, the flow is well balance and evenly distributed, although when the pump is set to its maximum and there is fine sand on the base this is likely to move. As previously shown in the measurements above, when the pump operates it is extremely silent, even if the sound of the motor can be herd when the pumps are working simultaneously with a very low wave time, in the order of 1 or 2 seconds.

A negative aspect when comparing the new to the old 6000/6100 stream is that they no longer present a whistle alarm. This was very useful as it signaled when the pump was blocked. It give the person the ability to act quickly to repair the malfunction, meanwhile today it is important to keep an eye on the pump in order to make sure it is properly functioning.

Apart from this the pumps are virtually non-noticeable, as they do not transmit any perceptible vibrations to the glass as they are equipped with pins called silent blocks which have a blue color and do their job very well.



The flow of the pump is quite narrow, also if it is wider than the stream generated that the Stream 6×00 would generate. Although, today the comparison should be done with the flow created by the Ecotech Marine Vortech MP-40W, which has a wider flow than the one generated by the 6105.

In order to address this problem and to widen the flow of the stream it possible to change the cover of the front part of the pump with the one used by the bigger Tunze pump, the 6205. This can be seen in the picture below.



The surface of the original dome measures approximately 16,6 cm squared, meanwhile the surface of the dome of the 6205 measures 27,3 cm squared. The surface of the pump has been increased by 64%, which makes room for a wider stream range.

This will inevitably lead to a much wider stream, although it will not be at Vorthech’s level, but it will certainly be more powerful. Limiting ourselves to the comparison of the two structures of the pump, we can perceive that a reduction in the range and a greater smoothness. In my tank which is full of hard corals I have to lower the flow of the water with the original body structure because at it maximum the flow would be too strong, while by having the wider cap I can manage to keep the flow at its maximum and maintain a good water circulation.

I would like to remember that my tank measures 130x60x50h cm, not that small of a tank.

In any case I never felt that the flow of the water was insufficient, actually the flow of the water has always been quiet strong… sometimes it could have been a bit too strong as the sand would lift up from the bottom of the tank and some frags could fall off.


Another difference between the two caps of the pump is the presence of a security grid which is provided in the original cap, that when used will slightly reduce the flow of water.

The magnet kit provided with the pump should be sufficient to be used for glass with a thickness up to 19mm. Because of the growing problem with the increase in price of neodymium , in the future the pumps will be sold with a smaller magnet that can keep the pump positioned on glasses which are up to 15mm thick. Since my pumps still have the old 19mm magnets I will show you the pictures…



Something to note are the four small rubber pads which are placed on both magnets in order to prevent the glass from any damage.



The back part of the magnet will remain the same and I can ensure you that the statement on the magnet “very strong magnet” is absolutely true. If they were to attach outside of the water it would be extremely difficult to separate them.

The pump consists of a 24v power supply, the structure of the pump and a multipolar connector which serves to connect the power supply to the pump’s body. Then there is the outlet to connect the pump to the multicontroller (or just a normal controller).



On the cable connector there is a white knob which can be used to adjust the flow of the pump from 3.000 up to 13.000 liters/hour but with not much accuracy. However, this can be very useful if you decide to use the pump without the Tunze controller.

The pumps are compatible with virtually every controller Tunze has released on the market, however I have chosen to purchase the 7096 multicontroller which is the latest model presented by the company. The 7096 multicontroller which is known because it is particularly small only has one button to stop the pumps in order to feed the fish and a USB output in order to connect your PC and set it up with the software provided. Inside the package there is also a 5 meter USB cable to make it easier to connect your PC to the multicontroller.



In this picture we can see the interior of the cabinet next to the aquarium where I set up the multicontroller and a box containing the two transformers.
The green LED’s on the multicontroller indicate which pumps are currently operating.

The software that manages the multicontroller is both compatible for Windows and for MacOSX, this is something which seems to be appreciated, as this is something uncommon to find in the market for controllers for aquariums.



Illustrated above is the program’s interface for Mac, although the interface for Windows appears to be identical.
Shown above is the setting used for the past 3 months. There are 3 modes: pulse, interval and sequential. With the last software update (unfortunately not available yet for Mac), there also is the interval 2 mode. The pumps run with a pulse mode function with an overlapping sequential or with sequential intervals. Lastly, the last mode is interval mode in which the pumps that are part of the second sequence perform at their minimum.
In the “power control” group are indicated the powers of each individual pump, from the minimum to the maximum, the pulse interval, the sequence activated or the casual currents depending on how we have set up the settings of this particular mode.

In the “options” there are a variety of choices you can chose from to set up the time in order to manage the time set to feed the fish, there is also the possibility to set up when the night mood should be turned on in order to switch the LED moonlight on, the possibility of setting the option to lower the flow of the pumps during the night according to what the light sensor is measuring and the last option (storm cycle) which consists of bringing the flow of each pump at its maximum for 15 minutes at each interval (for me it was every 8 hours) in order to move the sediments that accumulated on the rocks off.

Then of course there is also a mode for operating the wave system.

The controller resulted to be an extremely valid product which can be configured very well. Obviously, in order to configure it properly and accurately you will need to use a computer. Once it has been configured we will have simple controller with only one button to use, the most useful button, that will be pressed every time the fish have to be fed.



CONCLUSIONS:
These pumps are one of the best products that are available on the market today. They are produced by a company which has been a leader in the industry already for several years, they are manufactured with great attention and they do not have any inherent weakness.

Their flow is fairly distributed and is wide, furthermore the 7096 multicontroller illustrates many varieties of options that can be customized.
Can we say they are perfect? Unfortunately not. If had answered this question without knowing about the Vortech, I would of definitely said: yes! But on today’s market the Vortech are present… which can be considered a complementary product to the Stream. The weaknesses that can be considered venial for one can be considered the strengths for all the others.

In fact, the only major weakness of the Tunze Stream 6105 is the space they occupy inside the tank, which unfortunately has not decreased and that certainly does not look good when comparing themselves to their direct competitors, Vortech. However, we have to recognize that the Stream 6105 is incredibly silent.

Within a few weeks I will also publish a review of the Vortech mp40w pump, then I will publish an article doing a direct comparison between the two products, so I do not want to anticipate much yet on comparing the two products as this will be shown in the last article I will reveal on this topic.
I believe that the Tunze Stream are a good buy, they have a modular flow, yet very powerful which does not have any problems to take account of a tank that is 130 cm containing hard corals. When making the final purchase between the 6105 and the mp40 it is really a subjective choice the customer has to make considering his needs and wants.

 

[NiCd]

When EcoTech Marine presented the new Vortech MP40 to the aquarium market, a new era began. This product was very nice and soon acquired a lot of interest. It quickly became the “king” of the pumps even before it started functioning. The pump has an external part which incorporates the motor of the pump, this finally crates a pump that almost not noticeable in the tank. At those times it was something incredible.



And today? After many years that the pump has been released on the market, no one has had the courage or the patents in order to develop something similar to it. So up to now it remains the only external magnetic drive pump available in the aquarium market. Still today it remains a dream for many aquarium hobbyists.

Now let’s look at it in detail starting from the technical specifications.

Obviously the pump is electronic, in order to deliver maximum versatility. It is capable of delivering between a declared minimum of 3,800 liters per hour to a maximum of 12,100 liters per hour. The minimum energy consumption is of 9 watt when functioning at 3,800 liters, meanwhile the maximum energy consumption declared is of 28 watt. In absence of further data we can say that when the pump is operating at its maximum its efficiency is about 432 liters for every watt consumed. When comparing it to other pumps in the market from what is declared from the companies it appears to be less efficient compared to the Turbelle Stream 6105, placed at 458 liters for watt. Looking at it from another point of view, considering that the pump appears to be of 442,65 euro according to the price list, we can say that the economic efficiency is of 27 liters of water flow for every euro spent. Obviously included in the price is also the pump controller, which has to be bought separately from competitors which sell these types of pumps.



When looking with what the pump is equipped we can say that the MP40 is really equipped with everything, with a controller which is extraordinary.
When unwrapping the box we can see that the pump is divided into two parts, the wet side which is the part to insert inside the aquarium and the dry side which is the part outside of the tank with the engine of the pump, than the controller, the transformer and a manual sparse which allows you to download the full manual from internet.



A pump which has an external engine has many advantages and many disadvantages, let’s look at these together.
First of all, like we have previously stated the space it occupies inside the tank is minimal. Ecotech Marine states that now it’s possible to concentrate one’s sight on the corals rather than on the pumps.



The engine of the pump is on the exterior side of the pump, this means that it could possibly be subject to accidental falls, for this reason Ecotech Marine suggests to fix the power supply of the pump to the glass of the tank with adhesive cable that comes supplied with the pump. The nice thing of having an external engine is that there is no electric cable coming out of the tank and also the reassurance that water and electricity will never touch, which creates a safe condition for the person. However, the external engine does not permit a flexible positioning of the pump, this is because the pumps cannot be oriented and has to be placed in a position studied purposely for them. Unfortunately, it’s a noisy pump, it emits a sound that for some can be considered as disturbing, but we will analyze this matter later.

Another important aspect which should not be underestimated is that it does not emit heat inside the tank since the engine of the pump is outside. So during the summer the problem of cooling down the tank appears to be inferior, but in the winter there would be more need to warm the tank. Considering that 2 pumps like this, or equivalent, with a consumption of 30 watt for each one acts as a 10 watt heater when it remains on 24 hours.


Still tied to this subject there is the great advantage that once the pump is switched off from the multicontroller by pressing the right button, it takes just a moment to take it out of the tank and to clean it, without the need of cleaning the pump on the side of the tank or without the need of taking all the cables apart as it is often done with traditional pumps.

I have been using a VorTech pump in my tank from 2008 till 2010, with the exception of last year when I decided to insert two Tunze Stream 6105. But for the last 4 months I have decided to reinstall the VorTech pump in my system after inserting a second one. I believe that I can say that I know them pretty well, also because I have passed from the first generation controller to the one that is currently on the market and I really have been using them a lot.



The first problem one has to set forth when you have a pump like this one, which I consider a beauty just to keep in my hand, is the need of carefully positioning it in the aquarium in order to prevent that vibrations propagate on the glass making the vibrations sound loud.

The flow between wet-side and dry side

The first time it can seem difficult, and the result obtained can be questionable, but it can be quiet simple, the important thing is to follow simple rules. First of all it is important to decide what is the correct position the pin spacer has to be put in, in order to understand how far the external engine has to be distanced from the glass in order for it to be correctly placed and not risk falling. Following the instructions we can see that it simple to extract the pin spacer from the electric engine, rotating it and reinserting it with the correct dimensions. Once this is done, and after having well cleaned the outside glass, and not the internal one, you can then position the rubber gasket, a protective plastic cover on which the external engine will be placed upon while the wet side of the pump is placed inside the tank. This operation has obviously been conducted without any electrical power.



The maximum care has to be taken in order for the two parts of the pump to perfectly position themselves, in order for them to no longer move. I usually keep the close part with the grid turned towards the top, in order to avoid the any air suction, also because I keep the pumps high up. For whom has the necessity to position the pumps further down, perhaps near the bottom of the aquarium and does not want for this to be sucked by the pump, you could decide to invert the positioning of the plastic grid, in order for one to find the closed part turned towards the bottom.



At this point it is possible to insert the plug and by clicking on the mode button the current will become constant, the one indicated by the green color on the controller. The power is set to its maximum by rotating the flow button clockwise, it will be possible to control the increase rotation of the impeller by looking at the blue LED’s. At this point it will be possible to conduct small shifts from the wet side and keeping the external part still. I suggest to try to slowly shift the knob and try to lower and raise the pump, but we are always talking of micro movements, not any more than those. Usually, after less than a minute it is possible to find a point where the paring of the two parts appears to be perfect and any vibrations are no longer herd. In case the pump is no longer new it is also possible that after the positioning you can still hear a slight hear the sound of the vibrations, if this is the case or if this were to be the best position found to place the pump don’t worry and just let the pumps run for a couple of days. Usually the noise that comes from the vibrations will tend to disappear by its self very soon.



Once the pumps are installed it can be fun to play around with the two controllers. How it has been explained and how we have also seen, each pump is sold with its own controller, which communicates wirelessly with the other controllers in its range. Up to 8 controllers can be connected, which can be considered an amount more than sufficient to cover the expectances of whichever domestic tank.

If you own at least a pair of the pumps it is possible to obtain the maximum regulation by connecting them between each other. It is important to decide which of the two has to be the master pump and the other the slave pump. It really does not matter which of the two adopts which position, but one of the two controllers has to be the one to set the orders to the other one(s) becomes controllable only as power of the pump depending on the mode set in order to vary the scope of the single pump which is directly connected to it. All the rest will be automatically defined by the master controller.



The first choice one has to take is the one relative to the synchronous or asynchronous operation between the master pump and the slave pump. If they are connected in a synchronous manner the pumps will have the same settings among them, this means that the power will vary for all in the same way. If, on the contrary, they are connected on asynchronous manner, they will work in the opposite mode, if the power is increased on one the other pump will respectively decrease power and so on.

The operation mode

At this point it is possible to start to play with all the different modes present, I advise you to try them all, because every single mode is interesting and presents great advantages for the aquarium. Obviously apart from the green mode which presents a constant power, which is to be used when testing or in very particular situations.

The first two modes we can find are new modes, which can be defined as EcoSMART. These are present only in the new controllers, which can be divided in TSM (Tidal Swell Mode) and NTM (Nutrient Transport Mode).

The first one is represented in the figure above and works at its best using three pumps, two of which are positioned on the two side glasses and one on the back glass of the tank. Together they will simulate tides, gradually increasing the flow on one side while the flow diminishes on the other, with an average flow rate greater than 70%, but without the wave effect. It is perfect in order to keep moving a large mass of water and therefore to ensure an optimal motion of flow of water in each point of the tank. Ecotech Marine recommends this product for aquariums which have sps corals, but I think that it is a product more indicated for LPS, when the stream of the pump is lowered in order to not damage the corals.

The second mode, the NTM is the second mode illustrated on the diagram above, it is the one which I prefer the most to use. This mode alternates a pulse phase and a phase which transports nutrients to the waste when the flow gradually reaches the maximum power. Compared to the previous mode we will have a scenario where waves a formed, which will be optimal in order to transport nutrients towards the corals instead of from the coral, but with this method there will be a lower flow compared to the previous method illustrated. We could say that there could be a greater variation with this type of flow but less power in play. In my opinion this is the best possible method for the SPS corals.

Then we can see the two classic modes which were born with the pump. These are Reef Crest and Lagoonal, the first is a mode with a lot of energy; it alternates periods with intense energy with periods of really low energy which is considered to be optimal for SPS corals. Meanwhile, the second mode has an overall average flow rate which is much higher, but it does not illustrate significant variations and this makes it ideal for LPS corals.



Since that in both modes of movement in order to obtain a greater variability there is the need to go from low to high flow rates, it might be absurd that in tanks full of SPS it may be most appropriate to use a mode with less variability and less energy but with a higher energy capacity to get a better flow of water in the aquarium. We are obviously faced at an extreme scenario but that has to be considered in the aquarium.

Finally, we are left with the two pulse modes which can be divided into short and long. The pulse rate of the single pump, in one case less than 2 seconds and in the other up to 1 minute. It is possible to have a wave effect or a reverse current effect.

As previously mentioned I would advise you to try all the modes for at least a week before deciding which one best suit the needs of your reef. It is obvious that in a week it is possible to see the effects on the aquarium, but this can give an idea to aquarium hobbyist to decide what is best for them.



Furthermore, this controller has a button dedicated entirely to feed the fish, which lowers the power of the flow to a minimum for a couple of minutes. It can also be configured in order to lower the flow during the night to a value that we can choose between 25%, 50% which is considered to be the value of default or 75%.

The power consumption
For pumps that have to be left on all day it is important to know the consumption. In order to calculate it, I got equipped with a clamp meter that recorded a current of 0,176 A at its maximum power.



Unfortunately, it is not possible to record the power factor, but I think it should be around 0,8, this means that the calculation of the current absorbed and this means of the power is as follows:

VotTech MP40 Pump, motor at its maximum capacity 12,100l/h: 0.176 V x 0.8 (power factor) = 30.98 watt
It is a very similar value to the one declared.

What does this mean? That with a similar pair of pumps, supposing they work 50% on average in a day, consuming 31 watts per hour, have to have a total annual consumption of 31*0.5 (because on average they go 50%) *2 (because they are 2 pumps) *24 (hours a day) *365/1000 (number of days in a year and divide it to get the number of kWh) =272 kWh a year. With a current cost of 0,26 euro for each kWh, in Italy, it will make a total of 70,6 euros of electricity consumption with the highlighted conditions.

The Noise
The big problem with these pumps, or at least the most known complaint from the customers who have already used them is the noise. Because VortTech are external pumps and they need to drag a magnetic disk which is placed inside the aquarium can generate more noise than in traditional pumps.

In order to quantify the noise generated from the pump I measured the level of noise with my sound level meter, a VOLTCRAFT 320, IEC 651 Digital Sound Level Meter Type II, which has an attainable recording of the values when measuring objects. Given the nature of the noise to measure all the measurements were performed with a curve of attained dBA, were carried out with closed double glazed windows, with the sound meter placed on a tripod one meter away from the pump, and with a minimum interval of 120 seconds, where I have registered the LOWEST value recorded, in order to not record the noise peaks.

Aquarium when the VorTech is off: 39.9dB

Aquarium with VorTech on, with constant flow mode (green) at maximum power: 46.9 dB

Aquarium with VorTech on, with constant flow mode (green) at two-thirds of its power (8 dots): 44,2 dB

Aquarium with VorTech on, with constant flow mode (green) at the third power (4 dots): 42,3 dB


These are the results of what I have recorded, in summary:
Power Measured Noise
0 % 39,9 dB
33 % 42,3 dB
66 % 44,2 dB
100 % 46,9 dB

On average the pumps appear to be quite noisy, on average the sound pressure is four times higher than that found in aquariums without these pumps. But the real question that one has to ask himself is how noisy are these pumps for ones ears. As each evaluation of noise could be considered differently, as what could bother a person’s ears could perhaps not affect another person.

I can say that I can stand the noise pretty well as during the day at home it always appears to be pretty noisy, from to music or people keeping me company at home. Meanwhile, at night there is a closed door between my bedroom and the room the aquarium is in, furthermore my aquarium is quite far away from the sofa, also if I would prefer for the pumps to be completely silent. But I can totally understand those that decide to buy another product because of the noise.

In order to find a remedy to the problem, some friends keep the pump power at two-thirds of its maximum power, which can be considered the acceptable noise level for the undeniable advantages this pump has.



In any case, it is obvious and it should be stressed that this is the maximum noise level when the pump is set at its maximum power, which is a condition which rarely occurs. In fact whichever program one decides to choose will then vary the power of the pumps in order to lower the noise perceived by one and this will be lower than the noise level registered on our test.

The pump flow

From the moment the VorTech pumps are inserted inside the tank it is immediately possible to notice that the flow is very large and well distributed, and compared to its direct rival, the Tunze Stream 6105, it behaves in a completely different way, almost opposite to the other. The VorTech has a gentle and fluid flow, it appears to work on a large mass of water, meanwhile the Tunze appear to have a violent jet stream. Also if both perform, I would say that they do a wonderful job, for what they are born to do, but the two products do it in two completely distinct ways. These are two ways for achieving the same result, where only the final user can best judge what he prefers.

There was a strong controversy in this regard a few months ago from a study done by the University of Pennsylvania, which had measured the pump flow movement through a velocity-coupled noise (read more).

From this study they found that the VorTech MP40 had a measured flow that was greater than the one declared, meanwhile Tunze 6105 had a lower flow of at least one-third. This means that the VorTech has an advantage on the total flow raised.

What is certain is that the velocity profile measured at a distance of a diameter form the impeller assumes this trend for the VorTech pump:

It has a very delicate and well distributed flow, which are characteristics that allow us to have corals quite close to the pump and not to be ruined or damaged.

Possible options
As we have previously stated the pump is absolutely complete with what it comes provided of, however it can be still improved, in fact there is a battery backup which can be added on. Who regularly reads my articles knows very well the importance I give to a backup system for our aquariums, and in this case Ecotech Marine has provided a module with integrated battery which is directly connected to the pump and has the task to keep it working in case of a blackout, in a simple and functional way.

If in an event of a power failure the controller will lower the power of the pump in order to increase the operating time of it, this great invention will lower the power of the pump based on how much time we want the pump to run for. Obviously the time frame is short; the longer we will want the pump to run for the lower the flow and vice versa.

Unfortunately I have not been able to prove it, but at the minimum power Ecotech Marine says 36 hours of operation, mybe a little bit too much, so that we can choose to cut the time by increasing a little the flow.

Maintenance
Because of the particular way the pumps have been constructed, the pumps have to be subject to frequent maintenance and it is absolutely necessary to verify the coupling between wet-side and dry-side, because if there is slight offset the plastic components of the pumps could deform and lead to an increase in the level of noise or a stall of the pump.

For this reason there is a website all the necessary parts for every VorTech: Parts-Store.

Impossible is to not notice the difference of how much space each pump occupies inside the tank
Conclusions

We are undoubtedly in front of one of the best circulation pumps for the aquarium market, there is no doubt about this. It’s a very powerful pump, with a very good flow, very broad and highly customizable thanks to the powerful controller it comes supplied with, which can be easily expanded with its backup module. It is a pump that is also very beautiful to see, it does not release heat in the aquarium and takes up very little space inside the aquarium. It does all this for a very expensive cost, which not all can afford, as 440 euros for a single pump is quite a bit of money to spend for a single pump. Furthermore, there are also other problems as the difficulty of positioning of the pump in some aquariums as the flow cannot be oriented, to arrive to a big problem like the amount of noise it produces, which can be considered a real obstacle for some people to purchase.
What are the alternatives? The usual Tunze Stream 6105 is definitely the most credible alternative to it that puts on the table a similar product with a similar flow but that is a lot more concentrated. The Tunze can be easily oriented and are inaudible, at a cost which is almost half compared to the competition. The differences between these two pumps, deserves to be analyzed in further depth, and I will do so in a future article.
I would totally recommend this buy as it is a great product for aquariums with SPS corals and also perfect for an aquarium with LPS corals, where these pumps will be able to create a perfect water movement within the aquarium without disturbing the corals.

 

[NiCd]

Sorry for making this one of the longest pages in history

 

[MTG]

has he done a writeup on the mp10? :cool:
are the mp10s silent or same as the mp40?

 

[NiCd]

No he hasnt, but the mp10's are quieter on the same settings compared to the mp40 but are obviously moving alot less water on that setting.

Im wading through a few hundred pages of information on sounds "loudness" at the moment as I am interested to see the effects of multiple sourced at the same pressure volume. Eg. running 2 x mp40's in sync at between 0 and 30%

 

[NiCd]

ok for comparison on DB levels
60 dBA Noisy lawn mower at 10 m distance
55 dBA Low volume of radio or TV at 1 m distance, noisy vacuum cleaner at
10 m distance
50 dBA Refrigerator at 1 m distance, bird twitter outside at 15 m distance
45 dBA Noise of normal living; talking, or radio in the background
40 dBA Distraction when learning or concentration is possible
35 dBA Very quiet room fan at low speed at 1 m distance
25 dBA Sound of breathing at 1 m distance
0 dBA Auditory threshold

 

[NiCd]

ok so

subjectively perceived loudness = volume
Level Change (db) Volume *units of perceived level
+10 dB 2.0 = double
+6 dB 1.52 times
+3 dB 1.23 times
- - - - ±0 dB - - - - - - - - 1.0 -
−3 dB 0.816 times
−6 dB 0.660 times

 

[NiCd]

So an mp40 at 100% will seem as though the tank is twice as loud as a quiet room, but at 30% will seem only 20% louder at a distance of 1m

 

[NiCd]

so dampening of sounds with distance seems to be the controversial issue
Sound level difference
Δ L = L2 − L1
Seems to be the most accepted formula which states at 42db @ 1 m = a 14 db drop a 5 mtrs which puts it below ambient again?

Can some physics guru confirm?

 

['vspec']

apprently there was alot of requests for more pink bits from australia

Of course, we're are naughty race!!

 

['vspec']

Algebra ~ ahhh! :confused:

So in other words, have your tank in the other room, that way you cant hear it??

 

[NiCd]

I have a tank in the other room i want to make sure i dont hear, so im trying to test that using algebra and fancy words

 

[parrdog]

Just come over and check out mine mate.

 

['vspec']

Nice reviews though,make it a pleasure to read

 

[NiCd]

Just come over and check out mine mate.

If you can put up with an Adam sticking his head all around your tank with a DB meter, that would help

 

[NiCd]

Nice reviews though,make it a pleasure to read

I think Dani writes some of the best details reviews in the industry

 

[parrdog]

More than welcome Ads, let me know when you wanna drop in :).

 

[NiCd]

ok Im armed with a DB meter and am going around measuring everything, its pretty cool but im sure I will get over it in under a day.

Ambient noise in my house during the day is 33db with birds flapping and chirping outside, which by all accounts is very quiet.

my system fitted with an mp10 in the garage, which does sound really noisy at the moment (since the move not sure why, wanted to strip down and have a closer look) is 50db without the vortech running and 56db with it running flat out :confused:

So the nano is 16 times louder than my current background noise :eek

 

[NiCd]

ok side notes, I have decided to go the elos controller for the lights as well as a play around with a few other things once the budget permits

The Evision has been explained by Jesse from Elos as below;

The E-vision is a different type of controller than what is currently available.

When people ask what it can do, my typical answer is to explain the concept of the E-vision first.

All controllers that are commercially available are what I call, " built from the top down" and the E-vision is built from the bottom up. By this I mean, the other controllers you typically buy a, "head unit" that all of the modules work with the head unit and only work with the head unit. With the E-vision the modules are stand alone items and the touch screen can be added to make an easier to control "network of modules" along with adding some programming benefits.

The reason this was done is because we noticed with the Biotopus and the Biotopus II that many customers would never use the vast array of options that came standard with the basic system and given the price, it was not a good option for customers with smaller or more simple setups. As an example, my old office MINI really only needs a few timed switches and control for the lights. So with the E-vision I could buy the E-vision Tempo and a junction box and control my light and control a few other timed switches such as dosing pumps. If I wanted to later add a heater and a chiller, I would add the Elos Clima and this would control both. If I wanted later to add a salinity module, I could add this, ph add this, etc.

All of these items would work by themselves. Now if I wanted to have touchscreen control for all of these modules I could then add the E-vision Control Center. When adding the Control Center you have a few options. The easiest way is to just take the included cords and daisy chain all of the modules together and now you have a network of modules that can now work as a unit and not just as individual parts. The other way is to add a DIN rail or one of our module boxes, both under $40 and each module can connect without the need for cables between them. That is a very broad description of the concept but later I can discuss the actual hardware, which is also interesting.

I should also mention that the E-Vision will see quite a few new items around Interzoo and this is when I really plan to add the E-vision to the US site along with offering to authorized Elos dealers. With Interzoo being a few months away it is also a good time to see some new products, particularly in electronics for our aquarium from all different companies.

 

[NiCd]

So basically I can get the tempos and a junction box and that will control the lights but if i grab the Evision it jumps into this and can control these (with the tempos) amongst other things and I can grab sms units and online connectability etc