EcoTech vortech mp40 review

[OrionN]

I have 5 MP10 and 4MP60. I bough these years ago and never look back. I have spare wet sides so when I need to clean the wet side, I just swab it out, then clean it at my leasure. All my light are Radion also. Recently I need return pumps and like/need the varible speed and efficiency DC pumps have to offer. I did not think Ecotech got all the bugs work out of their DC pumps so I got the Jebao pump but I got a spare one incase it fail. So far I am only unhappy with the flimsy plastic head cover. The plastic hook of the Jebao head cover broke and so I have to drill 4 holds and use zip tie to attach the head cover to the pump body. It work fine, but just this point show that the quality of Ecotech is so much better than Jebao.

 

[litenyaup]

Switched to them years ago and have had amazing luck. Also any issues I ever had customer service took care of it.

 

[reefer1]

I bought three used MP40's several years back and they ran flawlessly. They had to be 6-7 years old by the time I upgraded a year ago to the MP40QD's. These are a little quieter and the wet-side/dry-side seem to line up a lot easier.
The ecotech Vortech pumps are a little expensive but you get what you pay for. High quality without any worries.

 

[zzl630]

Had 1 Mp40QD wet side magnet cracked and rusted out. Nook the whole SPS tank and killed all fish. EcoTech sent me a replace wet side. It cracked again.... Maybe something wrong with the dry side. I won't use it again.

 

[AlexStinson]

I still run a first gen mp40 on (I believe) the original wetside, no problems. I run it on the pulse/wavemaker mode at 100%

 

[Kevinkmk]

It seems like the new gen has some quality issue with the wet side. Worst thing is would happen is rust and kill all sps

 

[Dawgvet]

I have 2 mp40 QDs and they are VERY quiet. I had 2 older mp40s before those, and yes, they were noisy. The only thing I hear from my tank is the fan noise of the two new XR30w G4 pro LEDs , which I thought were supposed to be quiet!

 

[Ross Petersen]

Aside from having the cord outside the tank (super nice) and good reliability, are they worth the money? They don't rotate/pivot on the glass, have a 1-year warranty, and to my understanding (please correct if wrong), there is no wireless feature without paying extra money for either A) Ecosmart Reeflink wireless or B) Neptune Apex WXM module. This is A LOT of money... does anyone just run their Ecotech by manual control (i.e., no wireless)? Or... with a Neptune EL controller with simple on/off controllability? I'm trying to justify these over the Reef Octo Pulse wave pumps... as well as the new Maxspect Gyre 330. Cheers

 

[AZMSGT]

Aside from having the cord outside the tank (super nice) and good reliability, are they worth the money? They don't rotate/pivot on the glass, have a 1-year warranty, and to my understanding (please correct if wrong), there is no wireless feature without paying extra money for either A) Ecosmart Reeflink wireless or B) Neptune Apex WXM module. This is A LOT of money... does anyone just run their Ecotech by manual control (i.e., no wireless)? Or... with a Neptune EL controller with simple on/off controllability? I'm trying to justify these over the Reef Octo Pulse wave pumps... as well as the new Maxspect Gyre 330. Cheers

I went all Ecotech on my tank. I wanted to control everything from one App. For me this was important so I ponied up the cash for it. I have little experience with the MP40s at the moment but they do create good flow in my tank. See my build in my Signature block for more info on what tank and how many MP40s.

This hobby isn't cheap, there are other alternatives that will give you flow too. You don't say what tank you are running so offering thoughts on anything else and what might work for you is tough to do.

 

[Reefer_Rob]

I can speak for the customer service under warranty.

One of my MP40s started shuddering on the dry side after only 2 weeks regardless of position. I called, sent a video clip as requested and they are sending me a new one. It should arrive Wednesday 8/7 with a prepaid box to send the old one back in. Its been a pleasurable warranty experience so far.

 

[litenyaup]

Aside from having the cord outside the tank (super nice) and good reliability, are they worth the money? They don't rotate/pivot on the glass, have a 1-year warranty, and to my understanding (please correct if wrong), there is no wireless feature without paying extra money for either A) Ecosmart Reeflink wireless or B) Neptune Apex WXM module. This is A LOT of money... does anyone just run their Ecotech by manual control (i.e., no wireless)? Or... with a Neptune EL controller with simple on/off controllability? I'm trying to justify these over the Reef Octo Pulse wave pumps... as well as the new Maxspect Gyre 330. Cheers

All I have is ecotech for flow. Could not be happier with what they produce for flow and reliability. Customer service is on point as well, any issues they take care of it. I have had a couple wet sides go bad and they replaced for free. Your statement is correct about being controlled wirelessly, but they will communicate with each other for different flow patterns you set them to. My biggest reason is no electricity and added heat in the tank. If you have a cord going into your water, over time it will fail. The motor that produces heat is now on the outside of the tank. Find used ones if you don’t want to spend the money on new to try them out. Worst case is you sell it and get something different.

 

[ca1ore]

Aside from having the cord outside the tank (super nice) and good reliability, are they worth the money? They don't rotate/pivot on the glass, have a 1-year warranty, and to my understanding (please correct if wrong), there is no wireless feature without paying extra money for either A) Ecosmart Reeflink wireless or B) Neptune Apex WXM module. This is A LOT of money... does anyone just run their Ecotech by manual control (i.e., no wireless)? Or... with a Neptune EL controller with simple on/off controllability? I'm trying to justify these over the Reef Octo Pulse wave pumps... as well as the new Maxspect Gyre 330. Cheers

Value is, of course, subjective. Vortechs are my favored flow pump and have value commensurate with the cost …. to me. You may make a different calculation, which is why there are myriad options on the market. Other than the MP10, which comes either wireless or non wireless, you do get wireless capability with all the models. You can synch them together, though if you want a more complex run pattern over time, then yes do do need something like a reeflink or WXM.

 

[Ross Petersen]

Value is, of course, subjective. Vortechs are my favored flow pump and have value commensurate with the cost …. to me. You may make a different calculation, which is why there are myriad options on the market. Other than the MP10, which comes either wireless or non wireless, you do get wireless capability with all the models. You can synch them together, though if you want a more complex run pattern over time, then yes do do need something like a reeflink or WXM.

Appreciate it - cycles of night, day, and feeding etc. are desired right off the bat. I might just get one MP40 to start with as I get my tank going (cycling, minimal livestock, no coral, etc.) and save money. It's a peninsula 48x22x23 with mixed reef intention (I do want a few SPS eventually). The alternative to MP40s are the AI Neros (ready to program out of the box, no additional hardware), Neptune Wav (also plug-and-play ready w/ my ApexEL), or the Reef Octo Pulse (very similar to Ecotech in needing WXM). This hobby is fun to meander

 

[Ross Petersen]

I went all Ecotech on my tank. I wanted to control everything from one App. For me this was important so I ponied up the cash for it. I have little experience with the MP40s at the moment but they do create good flow in my tank. See my build in my Signature block for more info on what tank and how many MP40s.

This hobby isn't cheap, there are other alternatives that will give you flow too. You don't say what tank you are running so offering thoughts on anything else and what might work for you is tough to do.

Peninsula tank (49x22x23) with internal overflow. Mixed reef w/ a few nice stony corals. Bare bottom or a small amount of course sand/crushed coral. Relatively high flow in the tank (20-25x turnover). I'm currently thinking of two pumps on the butt-end beside the internal overflow to create a large gyre. I may put another opposing pump in on the viewing end as well. I've seen a few guys using the Neptune Wav's and Octo Pulses to angle water flow in a peninsula. I like that functionality. Always interested to get more insights from the reef2reef community. Cheers

 

[lakai]

I did not think Ecotech got all the bugs work out of their DC pumps so I got the Jebao pump but I got a spare one incase it fail. So far I am only unhappy with the flimsy plastic head cover. The plastic hook of the Jebao head cover broke and so I have to drill 4 holds and use zip tie to attach the head cover to the pump body. It work fine, but just this point show that the quality of Ecotech is so much better than Jebao.

Pump

Vectra L1 without the fancy control modes. Literally the same pump but in a black housing. $125