Icecap Gyre pump/ apex wav/ ecotech MP40

[Jblaine]

Looking to get new power heads. Looking at Icecap gyre 4K, apex wav, and ecotech MP40 powerheads. I have a marine land 75 gallon tank and am looking for more flow in my tank. I have mostly LPS corals and thought about getting so Acros. Currently I’m using 3 current USA eflux pumps and they seem to not be pushing as much water as when they were new. What is your opinion?
Thanks

 

[blaxsun]

What's your budget?

 

[vtecintegra]

It all comes down to the same old thing. Probably been asked a hundred times. Cord and money. Can you tolerate a cord in the tank, and are you rich enough that an over priced pump at $399 is of no concern to you? If price is no object, which seems to be prevalent in this hobby, get the MP40. If you can't stand cords and price is no issue, get the MP40. If not get a gyre. WAV is somewhere in the middle with thin cord and Apex controllability, but I'm not sold on their reliability. I like the wide flow of the gyre. It's like two pumps in one.

I've got three MP40s. Two I bought probably 8 years ago when they were much cheaper. I've upgraded the drivers, wetsides, and put new bearings in them. When I needed the third, I picked it up on sale, so I didn't pay the $399.

 

[Jblaine]

What's your budget?

I would like to stay under $500 if possible.

 

[Jblaine]

It all comes down to the same old thing. Probably been asked a hundred times. Cord and money. Can you tolerate a cord in the tank, and are you rich enough that an over priced pump at $399 is of no concern to you? If price is no object, which seems to be prevalent in this hobby, get the MP40. If you can't stand cords and price is no issue, get the MP40. If not get a gyre. WAV is somewhere in the middle with thin cord and Apex controllability, but I'm not sold on their reliability. I like the wide flow of the gyre. It's like two pumps in one.

I've got three MP40s. Two I bought probably 8 years ago when they were much cheaper. I've upgraded the drivers, wetsides, and put new bearings in them. When I needed the third, I picked it up on sale, so I didn't pay the $399.

Thanks for your response. Cords don’t bother me to much. Now that I have been doing this hobby for almost 2 years, I would rather go with quality and functionality over anything else.

 

[jmichaelh7]

i have two gyre 330xf on both side of my 150.

lots of flow and not a single dead spot.

however, i do have to clean every 2 months in citric acid otherwise the pumps decrease in power. i hear mp40 are good too.!

 

[blaxsun]

I would like to stay under $500 if possible.

You could go with a pair of Maxspect XF330s (I have these as a backup on my tank).

 

[jmichaelh7]

You could go with a pair of Maxspect XF330s (I have these as a backup on my tank).

Your looking at $350 for one.

One may be doable ??

 

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

Looking to get new power heads. Looking at Icecap gyre 4K, apex wav, and ecotech MP40 powerheads. I have a marine land 75 gallon tank and am looking for more flow in my tank. I have mostly LPS corals and thought about getting so Acros. Currently I’m using 3 current USA eflux pumps and they seem to not be pushing as much water as when they were new. What is your opinion?
Thanks

I own all 3. Icecap 4K produces the best flow, but is by far the hardest to maintain. Seriously, look into how to disassemble the thing and you’ll think that it’ll break when you finally get to taking it apart. MP40; I’ve had questionable results with it and don’t currently run it. Anything from the guard coming off multiple times (apparently this is a common thing on the newer ones and seems to be a design flaw) to it being noisy (I use molycote for lube) . I use an apex and 2 wav pumps and they are much more reliable, and very powerful, less expensive and controllable. They are actually Sicce’s which a lot of people don’t know. This is by far and underrated option and you can get 2 for less than the price of one mp40. I do run a battery backup to my icecap gyre, which comes in hand for power outages tho. Don’t have that option on the wav. IMO the wav is the best value.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Maspect Gyre is similar to Icecap however cleaning is a breeze that I clean once a month. I have it 100% for the sps on top and the Gyre flow moves like a circle and comes around to hit all dead spots on the bottom of tank. This is where my LPS get flow.

I would like to get another set of ecotech mp40 one day as they are popular. Not sure about performance and longevity. A plus that I’m not sure you care about, but is the mp40 wires are on the outside of the tank and aesthetically that is pretty awesome. Not to mention how they just pull the wet side off to clean it and plug a spare in while it’s being cleaned