I decided to add one of these to my new 40 gallon tank. The suggested price tag on them ($345) is hefty and I seriously considered just modding a maxijet with a propeller, but the Vortech has one thing the MJ Mods can't compete with: adjustable flow rate, from 100 gph to 3000 gph. Since I have a smallish tank I find the ability to tweak the flow to what I want, not too weak, not too overpowering, to be priceless.

I can't tell you how impressed with this pump I am. Anyone who's ever seen any propeller pump work can tell you how much more effective at moving water they are then a traditional impeller pump. Setup took just a couple of minutes and mine runs virtually silently. Some others who have them have had difficulties with noise and vibration, but my experience has been truly noise free.

The propeller inside the tank is much less intrusive looking then the modded Maxijet propeller pumps, and the pump's motor is mounted outside the tank so it contributes no excess heat to the tank. The variable control for the flow is very responsive making it very easy to fine tune the output to just where you want it to be.

If you can get past the price tag this is a great piece of equipment for any tank, but even more so for small tanks.