Saltfinsax Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 So one of my Karola's might be going down hill and was starting to look for some better random water movement. So tank is a 125gl, 6' long. I have lots of water turnover with my return pump. At one time I put a Wavy sea in the middle and it sucked to much of my return pump. It has since burned up. So not sure a Sea Swirl would be my best bet. So I was thinking if I put a MP10 on each side and had them working to gather to change up the water movement. Would this work or would I have to work the smaller pumps to much to get the movement? I just kinda like the smaller ones and don't feel like burning 800 bucks on 2 pumps. O and I kinda feel left out not being in the Vortevk club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Yeah getting into the cool kid vortech club is pricey. Steve I'm not thinking the mp10s are going to do much for a 6 foot long tank. Sometimes you can get them alot cheaper in a group buy situation. I got my first set when a fishstore was doing a customer appreciation day. I had a mp10 on a 34 gallon solana and it worked well but you're going to need at least a mp40. Lowman is doing a group buy right now. Pm him to see what a vortech would cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 I was hoping that if I had one pushing and one pulling at the same time that I would get the change. If one can move the water 3' feet till the other can kinda help push or pull. I do still have lots of movement in the middle of the tank now. Do you guys ever really have the MP40 running full power on smaller tanks like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Sounds like you should test this theory out so the rest of us with 6ft tanks can decide what to do. I was hoping that if I had one pushing and one pulling at the same time that I would get the change. If one can move the water 3' feet till the other can kinda help push or pull. I do still have lots of movement in the middle of the tank now. Do you guys ever really have the MP40 running full power on smaller tanks like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I was hoping that if I had one pushing and one pulling at the same time that I would get the change. If one can move the water 3' feet till the other can kinda help push or pull. I do still have lots of movement in the middle of the tank now. Do you guys ever really have the MP40 running full power on smaller tanks like this? That may work then. You wont get much flow in the middle of the tank. Even with our mp40s in the 150 gallon that is 60 inches long there is less flow right in the middle but we have a seaswirl going and a koralia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I would say their is no way a two MP10 will be enough. Not because bigger is better. These things work different than a traditional powerhead in the sense they creat a crazy undertow. So the entire tank is effected not just the direction the Powerhead is pointing. Hope this makes sense? I have two MP 40's (running at 3/4) and a mag 18 as a return on a 4' tank (120) and I feel it's perfect. You can just buy one at a time to lesson the pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I am running a single MP40 on the 6 foot 150, actually not to bad either, I have ordered another MP40 but thats because it was a great deal and could not pass it up. The way I have my returns (1 loc line splitting into a "Y" on each end of the tank) I am sure the 1 40 would suffice and would most likely stick with 1 if their was not a 400 gallon on the horizon which the 2 40's will be used for. If it was just the 150, IMO 1 MP40 would be good, and I run mine at about 85%. Unless you find a deal that makes getting 2 better start with 1. To bad they quite making the MP20's they would be perfect from what you describe, no way 2 MP10's (IMO)- Maybe my 20's have some increased value for being rare-(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 The reason I would think that the MP40 would be such a over kill is that on my 125 its only 16" wide. Minis the rock and corals and all I am left with is 6 to 10". Was kinda hoping if one pushed and one pulled and ran it like that for 6 hours then reveres it for the next 6 hours and so on. That it would give me the under toe at the bottom. But I might be dreaming. I have movement in the tank, but just trying to get stuff to move a little different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Maybe my 20's have some increased value for being rare- No your 20's are junk and need to be dropped off at my house to try my theory out. That way I know what to buy. wink wink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanktop74 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Steve, I have both of my mp40s running at 100% on my 150! Still have dead spots in the middle due to rock work! I think you would be lucky to get a ripple with an mp 10 or two! Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 No your 20's are junk and need to be dropped off at my house to try my theory out. That way I know what to buy. wink wink Agreed. and once steve is done with this garbage I will gladly recycle it at my place...(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I ran my 5ft with one Mp40 for about a year and it wasn't too bad. Now I added an Mp10. I also have 2 returns (about 1500gph combined). Two things you may want to consider about the Mp10: it can't be used on thick tanks (I forgot what's the maximum, but it wasn't holding well on 1 inch acrylic) it runs a little bit hot. In reef my Mp40 runs at 99f while the Mp10 is at 120f. If you need to run the pump at constant speed for a long period of time, the Mp10 is gonna heat up a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Yea I do kinda worry that I would have to run them to much and they would just burn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Yea I do kinda worry that I would have to run them to much and they would just burn up. Vortech are great except for 2 tasks: run at full speed: you have cheaper options for this waves (pulse mode): they tend to wear out quickly (wet side). You have better options on the market for this I suggest you to try with one Mp40 and see how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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