New pump from Coralbox looks great

Ardeus · Apr 4, 2017

I am thinking about giving these new pumps from Coralbox a try.

I have a 400 liter square based aquarium (why are they called cubes?) and circulation is a bit of a challenge.

I currently have a jebao rw-8 working as a wave maker and a rw-4 increasing the flow in random mode.

The tank is 90cms wide, so a strong flow easily starts moving sand around.

The Jebao pumps are doing the job but they are not that silent, especially when you have them on pulse mode or random. That's what caught my attention about these new pumps from Coralbox. They are supposedly half as noisy as the Jebao ones.

They also claim that they will last much longer.

mcarroll · Apr 4, 2017

A set of Tunze pumps would be the way I'd go. Lots of choices – all of them top notch.

One or more of any of these pumps, for some examples:

Turbelle® nanostream® 6045 ($78) – AC powered; tiny; 4+ could handle the tank
Turbelle® nanostream® 6055 ($185) – DC powered, controlable; 2+
Turbelle® nanostream® 6095 ($230) – DC; 2+; extra-wide flow
Turbelle® stream 3 ($345) – DC; Gyre pump but stronger, more durable and more flexible than others. 1+

This might help your decision:
Flow reach by pump model?

My Suggestion
With the selection of animals I see in the photos and considering that the tank is relatively shallow, I think you'd have to at least consider the Stream 3. It's going to be the most silent too. (It can be installed so it doesn't mess with your sand.)

You could run a single one to see if it can generate enough flow, but consider that you might need or just prefer to have two. (See Tunze's videos below....they have a 150 gallon set up for demos.)

If you wanted to run a combination of pumps, any of the others would potentially good to consider. The 6045 and 6055 are very similar in the type of flow they provide, but the AC version is a bit less powerful. The 6095 is very wide flow and is more comparable to some other wide-flow pumps on the market.

Ardeus · Apr 4, 2017

Thanks for the suggestions.

What has always kept me from getting tunze pumps is their cost.

I am going to think about your suggestions for a few days.

Controlability, noise, flow and cost are the most important factors that I will take into account.

It's a tank dominated by anemones, so their safety is also an issue. Less pumps is better as it reduces the odds of an anemone ending up in one.

mcarroll · Apr 4, 2017

You can get around a lot of the cost by buying used.

Another strategy is to save money in advance of the purchase...it's easy to put a little away every day or week. Sacrifice coffee and fast food to fund the savings account if needed.

Ardeus said:
Controlability, noise, flow and cost are the most important factors that I will take into account.

It's a tank dominated by anemones, so their safety is also an issue. Less pumps is better as it reduces the odds of an anemone ending up in one.

In that case, the Stream 3 might be the best bet of all of them – and it sounds like one pump might work for your tank. A ton of flow configuration options, including the option of placement inside your rock structure, give you a huge range of placement options. Place it where it's least visible, or hidden. Set it up and aim it from that location in whatever fashion makes the most sense for your corals and rock layout, etc.

Ardeus · Apr 4, 2017

Whatever route I follow, all the pumps must be as close to the surface as possible to minimize the chances of an anemone getting there.

I am currently using foam guards made for the vortechs but they can't cover the jebaos completely.

Judging by the pictures, these pumps look like they may not even need a protection in the back?

Ardeus · Jul 12, 2017

I got this pump and I have it running for 2 months.

This is definately a great pump that gives the Jebao RW-8 a good run for its money.

Advantages:

- After a breat in period of 2 month, it's inaudible at full speed;
- The controller has a LCD that allows a more precise control of frequency and strength values. This is a big plus when you want to create waves because you don't need to spend a great deal of time rotating knobs and checking the wave pattern, you just need to memorize the frequency number for your tank;
- A stronger built.

Disadvantages:

- A little less appealing to the eye;
- The grill that covers the pump has wider gaps and that may allow smaller animals to get sucked into the pump.

ksed · Jul 12, 2017

Ardeus said:
I got this pump and I have it running for 2 months.

This is definately a great pump that gives the Jebao RW-8 a good run for its money.

Advantages:

- After a breat in period of 2 month, it's inaudible at full speed;
- The controller has a LCD that allows a more precise control of frequency and strength values. This is a big plus when you want to create waves because you don't need to spend a great deal of time rotating knobs and checking the wave pattern, you just need to memorize the frequency number for your tank;
- A stronger built.

Disadvantages:

- A little less appealing to the eye;
- The grill that covers the pump has wider gaps and that may allow smaller animals to get sucked into the pump.

Thanks for the very good review.
Can you override the night sensor? So that the pump can run at full power at night.
Thanks

Ardeus · Jul 12, 2017

Yes, you can, you just need to hold the green button to toggle the night sensor on/off.

They have some sort of wifi controller availabe but I don't know exactly what it does.

Ardeus · Jul 13, 2017

It seems that the controller compatible with this pump is the AQLink T1.

It allows a fun level of controllability but I am not sure that in my case it will benefit much the tank at around 85 euros.

My main use for this controller would be to change modes throughout the day (alternating between pulse and random).

Ardeus · Jul 14, 2017

One thing I noticed is that the RW-8 is able to create a stronger wave than the QP-9.

That is strange because the QP-9 seems to be able to move more water than the RW-8.

I have it at the back, in the top left corner.

Ardeus · Jul 15, 2017

Ok, I think I know the reason: I have a jebao RW-4 in the top right corner on random mode and it seems to affect the wave effect of the QP-9.

When I turn off the RW-4, the wave effect increases. The RW-4 is the one connected to the battery backup and it creates a more chaotic flow in the tank, so I guess there's nothing I can do about it.

ksed · Jul 15, 2017

Do you have a picture of the battery back up?

Ardeus · Jul 16, 2017

I am not at home at the moment but it's this one.

You can connect 2 pumps to this backup but I only have the RW-4 connected because I want it to last longer.

I live in an area with frequent power outages and this thing is very worth its cost.

Lasse · Jul 16, 2017

Ardeus said:
Yes, you can, you just need to hold the green button to toggle the night sensor on/off.

They have some sort of wifi controller availabe but I don't know exactly what it does.

With two of their WiFi controller and two RW8 - you will be able to create a wavepattern like this. You can also Schedule different modes during the day and different intensity.

Sincerely Lasse

Ardeus · Jul 16, 2017

That's a very interesting tank, especially the fish choice. Very unusual.

I have a RW8, a RW4 and a QP9.

Their S1 controller controls up to 3 pumps, but all of them must be jebao.

The T1 controller controls only 1 pump as far as I know, but it costs double the amount of the S1.

I am still on the fence about getting a wifi controller or not.

ksed · Jul 16, 2017

When running the pump on pulse mode , what is the lowest speed it can go?

Ardeus · Jul 16, 2017

The speed goes from 1 to 9.

I think 1 is much higher than 10% of the maximum flow. I think that when the rotation of the impeller is too slow it can cause problems to the pump.

With a controller you can get it from 1% to 120%.