circulation pumps and skimmer thoughts....

b-o-b-s · Apr 8, 2013

What is a better quality product the jbj oceanstream 1600's with wave controller or the hydor koralias with their cheaper wave maker? I have two maxijet 600 now and needles to say I'm not happy with them. Obviously the vortech mp40 is what I would like to get but price is a key factor at the moment.

Also I'm looking to upgrade to a diff skimmer as my sea clown isn't cutting it any more. I'm looking at the vertex omega 150 but I'm having a hard time swalloing the price at the moment. Any thoughts and suggestions are appricieated, thanks.

90 gallon with 29 sump. Fighting cyano atm. This is why I need to upgrade the listed items

AZDesertRat · Apr 8, 2013

I have two Evolutions 1400's but rather than their controller I opted for a Reefkeeper Lite due to its functionality and low cost. You can monitor, control and alarm much more than just the powerheads even with the most basic RKL.

Reefing Madness · Apr 8, 2013

Hydor is a good Powerhead. E-Bay has a bunch of goo knock offs, I 've got them both and have no issues or complaints with either one. As Rat states, the RK would be a good buy also.
Bubble Magus BM-NAC7 Cone Protein Skimmer - Bulk Reef Supply
Reef Octopus NWB200 8? Pinwheel In Sump Protein Skimmer - Bulk Reef Supply
Reef Octopus DNW150 6? Recirculating Protein Skimmer - Bulk Reef Supply

b-o-b-s · Apr 8, 2013

I wish that rkl had a ph option

AZDesertRat · Apr 8, 2013

It does. You use the SL-1 module and a pH probe, I have it on mine controlling my calcium reactor.

b-o-b-s · Apr 13, 2013

Picked up a pair of the koralia 1500s and I thought they would move more water than they do... Nice pumps I guess I will see how a wave timer works out in the next couple weeks

Dave A · Apr 13, 2013

I have a standard 90 with a 20H sump so my setup is pretty similar to the OP's setup. I have the JBJ Oceanstream 1600s and absolutely love them. Mine are running on a Red Sea Wavemaster Pro and they are absolutely silent, as in; you hear only water moving, not the powerheads, if everything else is shut off. They are also 100% reliable so far, I've had one of them get stuck once but that was after 6 months without any cleaning or maintanence at all. They are designed so they can't start up in reverse, like some other brands and seem to be well built, by comparison the mount's and magnets on the little Tunzes in my other tank look cheap. I would not trade them for an MP40, controllable Tunzes maybe, but that's the only way they'll be coming out of my tank.
Using a controller instead of a wavemaker is a good idea. In the case of the JBJ's, I've seen some great prices on a package so the wavemaker only set's you back about $30 but anything else would be better invested in a controller. I wouldn't wast the money on the RKL, it doesn't do much, the cost for add-ons is too high, it only accepts a few add-ons and by the time you get it to do what you want it's maxed out and cost more than you would have spent on a better controller. Worse, DA is known for their lack of support and for releasing new products that don't work. I guess they've solved that last problem, they haven't released anything new in a couple years. Now their competition is miles ahead of them and DA looks like a company that's struggling to stay in business. If you're going to go with a controller, go with a Reef Angel or Apex product instead, that way you'll get good support and a controller with a future that doesn't involve a box in the back of a closet.

b-o-b-s · Apr 13, 2013

Awesome post, thanks

b-o-b-s · Apr 30, 2013

Picked up two koralia evo 1500's and vertex omega 150 should be here next week

navila06 · May 1, 2013

I use korilias at the moment, but I have a mp 10 coming this week, I hope it's worth the money

b-o-b-s said:
What is a better quality product the jbj oceanstream 1600's with wave controller or the hydor koralias with their cheaper wave maker? I have two maxijet 600 now and needles to say I'm not happy with them. Obviously the vortech mp40 is what I would like to get but price is a key factor at the moment.

Also I'm looking to upgrade to a diff skimmer as my sea clown isn't cutting it any more. I'm looking at the vertex omega 150 but I'm having a hard time swalloing the price at the moment. Any thoughts and suggestions are appricieated, thanks.

90 gallon with 29 sump. Fighting cyano atm. This is why I need to upgrade the listed items

b-o-b-s · May 1, 2013

I'm not very impressed with koralias mine aleady started knocking and I'm not even using a wave controller.

bct15 · May 1, 2013

Koralias are decent as long as they run continuously, if they switch on a controller they will eventually spin backwards.

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oceanparadise1 · May 1, 2013

bct15 said:
Koralias are decent as long as they run continuously, if they switch on a controller they will eventually spin backwards.

Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

+1 to this

Mike J. · May 1, 2013

I've owned hydor koralias for years. I have a couple that are five years old and still working (older type with the steel rod in them). Bought two new 1600's about eight months ago along with the smart wave. What a total waste of money! They clunked and chattered and ran backward. Took them off line after a few days. Then about four months ago I bought two Sicce Voyager 4's. They are nice, quiet, and never run backward. Then, on a thought, I hooked them up to the smart wave that was laying around collecting dust. Well, I am very pleased with both the Sicce Voyagers and the smart wave.