Gyre Wave Maker. Worth it?

[dhnguyen]

I have an icecap 2k and I love the flow this thing puts out. Looking for another one in fact.
It's just one big sheet of water moving across the tank and even with just one 2K I am seeing flow everywhere.

Look for a used one. If you don't care for wifi you can also get the cheaper Jebao gyre pumps

jebao SCP-70

 

[iMi]

Well, I installed the RedSea ReefWave 25 and here are some impressions. First, it's in the RedSea Nano Max and that right there seems to be the main problem. I've got some more SPS corals coming once the tank matures a little, so I wanted more flow but have underestimated the size of this thing and how power it is...

The coral I have now that is probably least in favor of strong current are the hammer and the frogspawn. Both freaked out, more or less, when the gyre was first installed.

I have to keep it at 10% and maybe 20% in order to keep them happy and puffed up.

As of this morning they are both "waking up" looking happy and extending.

Everything else is looking happy even with a higher current. So it seems like these two are the lowest denominator if you wish.

I am not sure if I'll keep it. It's bulky and seems to be too strong.

I do really like the following though:

- Sand seems to stay in place even at 40% forward and 60% reverse setting.
- Detritus rises slowly and stays in the water column, which is fantastic. I thought I had a solid flow through the tank already but watching stuff float out of rocks when I first installed the gyre was a sight to see.
- It's incredibly quiet. Absolute silence.
- App connectivity and options to build a complete daily schedule are much appreciated. You could do fun things like set the light to "clouds" and the pump to random, stronger flow to simulate a little weather effect at a certain time of day. Super awesome. I might do that.
- Redundancy in terms of being alerted to any power outage is appreciated.

Some concerns...

- I already run the tank "clean" as is with Phosphate around 0.1 and Nitrate around 0.5 and worry that keeping the detritus out of the tank will push the nutrients even lower. I clean the sock daily or every other day. I could increase feeding across the board but it seems easier to maintain water quality by feeding less on a solid schedule.

I'm currently in the "ugly stage" and the tank is about one and half to two months old... I'd like to keep things looking this "ugly" during this time, but I don't want to bottom out on nutrients and deal with the devil of which name I will not mention.

So, I don't really know what I'll do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping that as everything grows the flow will be okay and more turbulent as opposed to now, since there is more open space.

Any ideas?

 

[iMi]

I've decided to keep it and the reason is simple. The sock is full of detritus on the daily basis. It's clearly keeping it suspended and removed. Fewer water changes and ideal water specs are simply worth it.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I've decided to keep it and the reason is simple. The sock is full of detritus on the daily basis. It's clearly keeping it suspended and removed. Fewer water changes and ideal water specs are simply worth it.

Thanks for the breakdown on your unit. Was considering a Gyre, now not so sure. I've got a 90 gallon currently with 3 Hydors, a small Jebao wavemaker, and a polishing powerhead....your description on flow, that you keep it considerably dialed down. What is your tank size, and do you feel the 25 is enough for a 90-gallon based on what you are seeing ? Red Sea says up to 4ft long which mine is, and the next model up seems to be mighty powerful in description on their site.
I need a bit more flow since ditching my skimmer, and I don't run a canister, no sump. Was considering another small Jebao but not sure it will pack enough punch.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[iMi]

Thanks for the breakdown on your unit. Was considering a Gyre, now not so sure. I've got a 90 gallon currently with 3 Hydors, a small Jebao wavemaker, and a polishing powerhead....your description on flow, that you keep it considerably dialed down. What is your tank size, and do you feel the 25 is enough for a 90-gallon based on what you are seeing ? Red Sea says up to 4ft long which mine is, and the next model up seems to be mighty powerful in description on their site.
I need a bit more flow since ditching my skimmer, and I don't run a canister, no sump. Was considering another small Jebao but not sure it will pack enough punch.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I have the Max Nano, so in my case the pump is more than what I really need. I tried to find something physically smaller but couldn't really find anything I liked. I have it now dialed in at 20% forward and 80% backward with random wave pattern and it's plenty of flow. Works great. I would say one would be enough to create gyre movement in 90 gallons, especially if supplemented with strategically placed Hydor pump or two. Ideally having two opposite of each other for a strong turbulent current would be fantastic.

Edit to add this, and take it with a grain of salt as the tank is fairly new, but I've noticed corals taking off since I got the gyre pump. It's probably correlation rather than causation as they say but worth noting it.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I have the Max Nano, so in my case the pump is more than what I really need. I tried to find something physically smaller but couldn't really find anything I liked. I have it now dialed in at 20% forward and 80% backward with random wave pattern and it's plenty of flow. Works great. I would say one would be enough to create gyre movement in 90 gallons, especially if supplemented with strategically placed Hydor pump or two. Ideally having two opposite of each other for a strong turbulent current would be fantastic.

Edit to add this, and take it with a grain of salt as the tank is fairly new, but I've noticed corals taking off since I got the gyre pump. It's probably correlation rather than causation as they say but worth noting it.

Ah, this is good. Congrats on the corals perking up. Its between the one you've got and another small Jabeo at this point. Thinking the Red Sea may be the better answer, and I could dump a hydor if not needed. I know its early but cleaning? Reading a few reviews and one person said they clean every 3 or 4 months. That's right up my alley vs a bi weekly thing....

 

[iMi]

Ah, this is good. Congrats on the corals perking up. Its between the one you've got and another small Jabeo at this point. Thinking the Red Sea may be the better answer, and I could dump a hydor if not needed. I know its early but cleaning? Reading a few reviews and one person said they clean every 3 or 4 months. That's right up my alley vs a bi weekly thing....

I have not cleaned it yet, but it looks pretty straightforward and the way everything is color coded should make the reassembly a breeze. They include a bunch of spare parts and mesh covers. I would guesstimate maintenance to be done every 3 months sounds about right. I'll let you know when I need to clean it and how it goes.

 

[Rey "deep sea" Manta]

Thanks for the awesome breakdown. I am also considering a gyre for my 36G tank. The only thing I don't like about Icecap is that I cannot pause or enter feeding mode with one button. That's why I start considering ReefWave.
How do you like the experience when you turn off your ReefWave 25 when feeding? Just press the pause button?

Also, how do you like the maintenance experience? I kept hearing ppl complain about this.

Cheers.

 

[Icryhard]

I'll report back on how well the RedSea one is working. Should be here next week.

2 years later... any update?

 

[One Reefing Boi]

Well, I went for it... I have the ReefWave 25 arriving hopefully by Monday. I guess I'm all in with Red Sea now. We'll see how it plays out.

Any updates??