siskiou Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I've been thinking of what to use for water movement in my future lager tank and there are so many different options! What do you all use and have had good or bad experiences with? OM? Wavysea? Sea Swirl? Wave box? Tunze stream? Ignoring the price for the time being, what would you consider the best option currently available? -Susanne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sknoch78 Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I have used several different things over the years. I would say you could not go wrong with any of the Ocean Motions products. I have owned a squirt, 4-way and an 8-way. There omni nozzels are also very cool. I had palnned to use the 8-way on my 240 but ended up selling it when the Vortechs came out. If you are not looking to buy today, I would say these would be a great solution for most any size tank. I have one on my 20 frag tank and two in the 240(the third will go in when I move the frags over to the main tank). They have had a few problems with the early production units, but I think they have got all the bugs worked out now. They move a ton of water. Hope this helps. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 At this point i wouldnt consider anything but OM. Just built one tank with a 8 way and starting another...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 I have one on my 20 frag tank and two in the 240(the third will go in when I move the frags over to the main tank). They have had a few problems with the early production units, but I think they have got all the bugs worked out now. They move a ton of water. Hope this helps. Shawn You are talking about the Vortechs, right? Did they come out with their controller yet? Or is that still in development? Does one of them actually create a back and forth wave motion? Thanks, Susanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sknoch78 Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Yes, I was referring to the Vortech. The controller is scheduled for early 07'. I can hardly wait! I think this will be the finishing touch on a great product. As for the motion, it is not like a wavebox, but it does create an over/undertow. In my 20g, it is centered on one end running at about 1/4 speed and as it is pushing water out the center, it is pulling water back in around the sides, in effect it has a strong undertow. In the 240, I am running one in each rear corner, the are attached to the back facing forward, approx 1/2 way doen a 26" deep tank. Currently the tank has no substrate in it but there is some debris from when I drilled my rock and from what I can tell, it is doing the same kind of undertow thing except much more random with the two in the tank, I am curious to see it with three. As it stands now at about 2/3 power, 1/2 way down in the tank, it creates a nice surface disruption. IMO if you are looking for ease of setup, then go Vortech, if you like to do plumbing then go with the OM. Either way, you will get great water movement. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I have 2 Tunze 6100 streams and they create great water movement without the blasting that you can get from a closed loop. Plus I have complete control over how much is put out and how often they change the output or if they change at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 I'd suggest OM device or Tunze with controller. OM devices are great at simulating that wave effect. Plus you don't have bulky looking pumps in the tank. If money is an object, MJ mods are a great alternative. Lots of water movement, low cost and low power consumption. Obviously i'm into DIY stuff, so i'd either use an OM device, or opposing MJ mods with swirlersteins (DIY seaswirl) to create the ultimate chaotic flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Obviously I am a little biased here but don't forget about the seios for a lower priced option and their controller will be officially unveiled at the Super Zoo show in Vegas at the end of September. They were supposed to be out by now but had some issues with the programming and had to push it back to make sure that it was right when they released it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Yah that controller looks promising. I'd like to see it in action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Im building my new personal tank with a 4 way OM and a wavysea. Im not a fan of Tunze, they are a great product, But I dont like looking at powerheads in the tank. Seios are a great inexpensive alternative, Maxijet mods break (from what Ive heard, no personal experience) Seaswirls break, I had 4, in 3 years I replaced 4 motors, one caught fire and melted and in the end only one was still working. Not a very good return on my investment. I never messed with them, so I know I didnt break them (you cant manually turn them). Ringworms wave box looks cool, although its a bit fast for my liking, it almost makes me anxious, not relaxed. I would also worry about the life of the tank taking a beating like that every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Yeah I think I am going to try to go to Vegas to try to grab one up at the show. Really it is just an excuse to go to Vegas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted August 17, 2006 Author Share Posted August 17, 2006 Does anyone here use penductors to increase the flow? Or is there too much of a danger to small fish being sucked in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I have 2 Tunze 6100 streams and they create great water movement without the blasting that you can get from a closed loop. Plus I have complete control over how much is put out and how often they change the output or if they change at all. if you hook up some loc-line with the triangler looking attacthment you will not get the blasting effect and will get some good random flow. OM is the only way to go IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I just setup 2 for my 3/4" returns and they are AMAZING, the flow has to be atleast 20 to 40% increase. The trick to them is to use a pressure rated pump, I'm using a Pan World 100PX (around 800 gph). The thing that you will want to watch with them is that the output does NOT hit any corals because it would most likely damage them. My are up quite high and on 3/4" sea swirls so they are not constantly hitting the same spot, plus I'm not using sand so I don't have to worry about it blowing everywhere. Another under rated and amazing flow device is the Tunze Wave box, I've seen videos of it creating a 1 to 2 " wave in a 180g tank with no problem. They are like most Tunze products and they are not cheap, but for what you get out of them it is worth every dollar... Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Brandon, Come by sometime and you will be quite suprised with the volume of water the Tunzes move compared to the very low pressure. Each one moves over 3000gph. if you hook up some loc-line with the triangler looking attacthment you will not get the blasting effect and will get some good random flow. OM is the only way to go IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I just setup 2 for my 3/4" returns and they are AMAZING, the flow has to be atleast 20 to 40% increase. The trick to them is to use a pressure rated pump, I'm using a Pan World 100PX (around 800 gph). The thing that you will want to watch with them is that the output does NOT hit any corals because it would most likely damage them. My are up quite high and on 3/4" sea swirls so they are not constantly hitting the same spot, plus I'm not using sand so I don't have to worry about it blowing everywhere. Another under rated and amazing flow device is the Tunze Wave box, I've seen videos of it creating a 1 to 2 " wave in a 180g tank with no problem. They are like most Tunze products and they are not cheap, but for what you get out of them it is worth every dollar... Rich I think the tunze wave box is worth the money...I hope a company comes out with something similar but cheaper. but right now i think that is worth the money combined with an OM, that is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Yeah I really debated between the Wave box and a stream or something else. I decided against the wave box after I found the killer deal for my streams used, plus I wasn't sure I wanted the wave box with my setup in the display. I think they would be awesome in an in wall tank or something like that to hide the device. The Streams are easy to hide because they completly blend into the tanks background. But for my new tank I really didn't want all of the plumbing all over the place and I really wanted to fit everything under my tank and a big pump would have taken up a HUGE piece of space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted August 17, 2006 Author Share Posted August 17, 2006 Eheims are not pressure rated, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 No, but they are a LOT better the other non-pressured ones. Check out Marine Depot's site under Pumps External, they have a bunch of different ones and they tell you if the are pressure rated or not. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 i posted this already, but for anyone who hasnt seen it it is pretty cool i think. the bubbles arent usually there, i turned off the sump return pump so that the cls returns catch air and create bubbles so you can see the flow. the gorgonia front right center is a pretty good indication of the random flow as well....... ive got 2 spraybars and 6 omniflex outlets across the top back of the tank being run by a OM 8-way and a barracuda. the cls is moving about 4200 gph. The return moves another 3000 or so. Tank is a 225. Only plumbing in the tank are two spraybars which of course are covered by reef............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 I think I might try a Wavy Sea. I saw one at Joels and they are awesome. Nice and compact compared to the Seaswirl. They also come with all the controller stuff which is cool. I heard they can also handle like 2000+ GPH. Seem pretty sweet. Anyone got any info on them? Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 2300 gph on the wavysea,, Sold one this weekend, one left instock! More to come when that one sells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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