Long Term Vectra and VarioS users

[Amoo]

Ok guys, these two have been out a while now. I think we most all would agree many of the early Vectras had a ton of problems, which I'm hearing have been resolved?

Please don't turn this into a bash thread. Just looking for personal experiences, size pump you have and how long you've had it.

TYIA

 

[siggy]

I know you were looking for long term use but I'll trow this out.
I have two VerioS pumps, correction 1 pump and 2 controllers. 1 on a skimmer 6/months and a octo 2 wave maker 3 months. Love it !!! hope they last. My Mp40 is a year and a half no problems..... on a roll...Cor20 4 months and all's well.......TMI?

 

[Amoo]

I know you were looking for long term use but I'll trow this out.
I have two VerioS pumps, correction 1 pump and 2 controllers. 1 on a skimmer 6/months and a octo 2 wave maker 3 months. Love it !!! hope they last. My Mp40 is a year and a half no problems..... on a roll...Cor20 4 months and all's well.......TMI?

Hey as long as you're not bashing anybody and just being honest about your experiences I'm good with whatever folks want to share. Thank you.

What size is your VarioS?

 

[ca1ore]

I've had my Vectra M1 since the day it came out (3 years, maybe a bit longer). Not sure I'd call 3 years long-term, but perhaps it is for some folks. Running it externally on a closed loop - not a speck of trouble with it. If memory serves, it's the L1 that had most of the problems due to heat buildup.

 

[acro-ed]

I'm at a little over 2 years on an L1 and it is super quiet and never had a single problem.

-Ed

 

[kinetic]

I have the VarioS 4 and VarioS 2 for a year now.

The 4 is my return pump, and the 2 is an accessory pump.

Zero failures and they both have been working great (knock on wood). The low-level sensor has been great for peace of mind.

I have a spare Varios 4 just in case, but have never needed to take it out of the box yet.

I do notice that the flow of the VarioS 4 isn't always consistent. I'm not sure if it's because I'm controlling it with my Apex via a the VDM or not. I notice an inconsistency only because I have a herbie drain (Red Sea Reefer 170), and when I first turn on the pump the overflow/emergency drain will start taking in water. If I don't turn off the pump for a week, which sometimes I don't, I'll see the water level drop. It's not bad enough for me to be bothered, but it's something I've noticed that I've never seen on my old Eheim AC pumps.

I use the VDM to fine tune the return flow speed, but also when I "feed" or do any maintenance and need the return to be off, I have the flow at 9%, which stalls the water in the return. This keeps the water from back siphoning, and the water level stays high. When the return is back on, or flowing again, the outputs are still under the water level so no crazy gurgling / spraying.

These pumps are so quiet I can't even tell if they're on or not. They're absolutely quieter than any AC pump I've ever had. I tested with a dB meter and they output zero detectable noise in the cabinet.

I haven't done any maintenance on them ever. I don't have any corraline in the tank (weirdly), but will probably take them out for a clean pretty soon just in case.

What I like most is that I can control the flow with VDM, and the low level sensors.

 

[miPapareef]

Varios 2 been running since 12/31/17 without issue. 2 months in a tub of rocks 100%, 12 months main return pump 100%, 6 months as UV pump controlled at 60 to 100%.
Varios 8 been running since 3/1/18 without issue as main return pump at 60%.
Neither has the float switch enabled and I control them on and off with Apex EB 832.

I really like them. The only issue I have is on the Varios 8, it always blinks and won’t start for one minute after power is applied (like if I use EB832 outlet to remove power and switch back on). The Varios 2 does not do this and support tells me it normal, so deal with it. So now I just program around that 1 minute delay.

 

[siggy]

Hey as long as you're not bashing anybody and just being honest about your experiences I'm good with whatever folks want to share. Thank you.

What size is your VarioS?

v2 on reef octo regal 150 Love the skimmer. The various controller has the float sw input for the collection cup

 

[dbl]

I've been using an L1 for nearly two years. I wouldn't consider that long term by any stretch and I almost hate to say this, but I have had zero issues and it's super quiet. Working as a return on a 120g and feeding a manifold.

 

[TLeTourneau]

Not necessarily long term but my Varios-6 has been running for 10 months with no problems.

 

[jon99]

I recently upgraded my sump from a 55gal aguarium to a 90. With it I upgraded return pump for more flow. I wanted DC for energy savings and controlability but was concerned with reliability. I decided the best solution would be redundancy and plumbed two return pumps with independent plumbing. One is the Varios8 the other a Vectra L1. Here are some observations after running them side by side for almost a year now.

First of, both pumps have run flawlessly for almost a year with zero issues and zero cleanings.

I have to keep both pumps turned down to approximately half power. One is plenty flow for my system which is fairly large (210 dt, 40 frag tank, 90 sump).

The vectra is more controllable. Basically it has more settings (12) vs Varios (5). When turned up to max the vectra is also quite a bit quieter.

The Varios, although smaller proved to be more powerful (more flow). I was a bit surprised by this.
I don’t have any precise way to measure flow so what I did was turned one pump on at a time and turned it up from the lowest setting to the highest and while marking the water level in the sump on the outside with a marker. Basically the stronger the flow out of the sump the lower the pump would pull the water level down. Here is what I found:

Varios on speed 1 is about equal to speed 2 on vectra
Varios on speed 2 is about equal to speed 6 on vectra
Varios on speed 3 is about equal to speed 10 on vectra
Varios on 4 is stronger than vectra on 12 (max)
And Varios has a 5th setting which is even stronger (although a bit too loud to my ears)

I know this method was far from “scientific”. The plumbing for both pumps, for example, is very similar but not 100% identical which will obviously effect flow. However this should give you a general idea of flow for the 2 pumps when compared to one another.

End of the day if I had to just pick one it would be a very difficult decision.... but i’d probably go with the Varios simply because it’s less expensive. If cost is not a factor, go with the Varios if you need more flow, or the Vectra for more control and a quieter pump.

 

[jon99]

Double post

 

[Rex]

I recently upgraded my sump from a 55gal aguarium to a 90. With it I upgraded return pump for more flow. I wanted DC for energy savings and controlability but was concerned with reliability. I decided the best solution would be redundancy and plumbed two return pumps with independent plumbing. One is the Varios8 the other a Vectra L1. Here are some observations after running them side by side for almost a year now.

First of, both pumps have run flawlessly for almost a year with zero issues and zero cleanings.

I have to keep both pumps turned down to approximately half power. One is plenty flow for my system which is fairly large (210 dt, 40 frag tank, 90 sump).

The vectra is more controllable. Basically it has more settings (12) vs Varios (5). When turned up to max the vectra is also quite a bit quieter.

The Varios, although smaller proved to be more powerful (more flow). I was a bit surprised by this.
I don’t have any precise way to measure flow so what I did was turned one pump on at a time and turned it up from the lowest setting to the highest and while marking the water level in the sump on the outside with a marker. Basically the stronger the flow out of the sump the lower the pump would pull the water level down. Here is what I found:

Varios on speed 1 is about equal to speed 2 on vectra
Varios on speed 2 is about equal to speed 6 on vectra
Varios on speed 3 is about equal to speed 10 on vectra
Varios on 4 is stronger than vectra on 12 (max)
And Varios has a 5th setting which is even stronger (although a bit too loud to my ears)

I know this method was far from “scientific”. The plumbing for both pumps, for example, is very similar but not 100% identical which will obviously effect flow. However this should give you a general idea of flow for the 2 pumps when compared to one another.

End of the day if I had to just pick one it would be a very difficult decision.... but i’d probably go with the Varios simply because it’s less expensive. If cost is not a factor, go with the Varios if you need more flow, or the Vectra for more control and a quieter pump.

I had to reseal my 210, so replumbed with the ability to swap out Varios8 for Vectra L1 with same plumbing. I estimated 10' of head with the 1" plumbing to bulkheads from a tee in the middle. The Varios8 maxed out at 753 gph and stays around 750. Based on Varios8 performance curve, that showed 660 at 11.2 and 925 at 9.6, 753 would be about 10.2, pretty close to my estimate of 10' of head. The Vectra L1 maxed at 800 gph. The curve I found for Vectra L1 looked like it should be about 900 gph at 10' to me.
I was hoping either pump would be able to turn my tank over 5x an hour, but both come up a bit short.