Vortech or Ocean's Motions closed loop

[Anonymous]

I thought it would be worthwhile to start another thread.

I am settng up an Oceanic 37g for sps and clams. The tank is somewhat cube-like in shape with a 24" x 18" footprint (21" tall).

In addition to about 600 gph flow from via a sump, I would like to add the random circulation. For various reasons, I have narrowed my options down to the following:

1) A closed loop having a flow of about 1000 gph through an Ocean's Motions Squirt. 2 outputs will be along the back of the tank about 3-4" above the sandbed, pointng forward through the rocks. The other 2 outputs will poke up through the sandbed near the front corners of the tank, and point rearwards and upwards at a 45 degreee angle. The OM Squirt will send flow to 1.5 outlets at a time in a sequential manner. I am told by OM that this will create a rolling, surging motion throughout the tank. Total cost is about $300.

2) A single Vortech propeller pump on a wireless controller. The pump is adjustable from 500-3000 gph. Ideally, I would like to place this pump somwhere along the back wall so that is not particularly visible and so that I can contain any noise generated by the external motor. Most of the set-ups I have seen place these pumps on one or both ends. I'm not sure how my prefered placement will effect the pumps wave-making performance. Total cost is about $420.

Option 2) is a more expensive, but avoids the need to drill a bunch of holes in the back of my tank and eliminates a lot of plumbing inside and behind the tank.

Any input?? Thanks.

ghostofmilz

 

[Anonymous]

You know my vote.

I also vote for back of tank. Putting it on the side of such a small tank would look clunky and awkward.

 

[Len]

I'm for option 1 if you can't go with two vortechs (much more money). Please note though, that the Ocean Motions is not dead quiet. In fact, mine is just as loud as my Vortechs. And I've never been able to get the OM to do any surge effect since you can't adjust the timing/frequency.

 

[camaroracer214]

look into the energy use of both setups. option a uses more energy while option b uses less. for option a, you get energy expenditure via external pump and an ocean motions squirt. in option b you only spend energy on the vortech.

 

[Anonymous]

vortech. I put a closed loop on my 58. If I figure out plumbing parts, pump, OM 4way, lockline, ect. I'd rather have a vortech. It would have been cheaper.

Plus, with the battery backup, you have a safety feature built in.

B

 

[Anonymous]

The vortech at less than 70% power or so will be silent, and since your tank is small and will probably run it lower, yeah it'll be a nice quiet add on.

Closed loops are nice, but the pumps that run them have always made too much damn noise for my tastes.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm leaning towards the Vortech option. It aloows me to add a battery back-up at a later date, and alos allows me to move the pump around to optimize flow.

I'm going to give the manufacturer a call and see what they think of using only one Vortech on the back of the tank. I will let you all know what they have to say.

 

[mr_X]

The vortech at less than 70% power or so will be silent, and since your tank is small and will probably run it lower, yeah it'll be a nice quiet add on.

Closed loops are nice, but the pumps that run them have always made too much damn noise for my tastes.

my oceans motions 4way is completely silent. so is the sequence dart pump powering it. i have to check it every so often to make sure it's still on :?
i don't have experience with the vortech, but i am glad i have the OM and Dart combo on my 200.

 

[Anonymous]

I talked to the manufacturer of the Vortech pump (Ecotech). The customer service/sales rep thought that the Vortech pump would work for my tank, but that I should try and mount the pump about 3" below the waterline. If I mount it any lower, such as below the overflow box, then I will likely end up blowing most of the sand from the sandbed around the tank.

To do as suggested, I need to mount my overflow box off to one side. For example, I could mount a 8" wide overflow box 2" away from one side of the tank, and the Vortech could be mounted about 10" away from the other side of the tank. Since the tank is 24" wide, this would leave a 4" gap between the Vortech pump and the overflow box.

 

[Nemo2007]

I think a single vortec would work very well from the back wall of a realively small cube shaped tank.

 

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I am still planning on using the Vortech pump.

I am, however, looking into an alternative design for my overflow that will eliminate the need for an internal (or external) overflow box. This will allow me more flexibility in the placement of the Vortech pump along the back wall of the tank. For those interested, my tentative overflow design is described in the DIY section.