Power heads? (I know beating a dead horse)

ReeferSteve · Feb 9, 2020

Alright everyone,

I’m finishing up acquiring everything for my 125g setup that I will be setting up soon and I can not for the life of me figure out what to do for powerheads. It won’t be 100% SPS but I do plan on having a good bit of SPS coral. I love the idea of wireless but is it really worth it? I would like some controllability but I don’t run an apex so anything that’s best with that is a no-go.Is there anything comparable to an MP40 that’s a better price point? I know it won’t be wireless but it’s not the end of the world. Throw all of your input at me! What are you all using???

reefwiser · Feb 9, 2020

Tunze is always a good choice. You can control them with their own controller. An they will last forever. I have a Tunze skimmer that is 30 years old.

ReeferSteve · Feb 9, 2020

reefwiser said:
Tunze is always a good choice. You can control them with their own controller. An they will last forever. I have a Tunze skimmer that is 30 years old.

Thanks for the input. Any specific model?

me & my baby · Feb 9, 2020

I am sure I will get Bashed for this but the new jebao slw-30 is really nice with a lot of flow

Sailfin11 · Feb 9, 2020

I use both Rossmont (great 3-year warranty for a fantastic price) and Jabeo powerheads (SLW's are essentially the AI Nero) on my tank! My dream tank would have a closed-loop system though

me & my baby · Feb 9, 2020

I have had a closed loop and yes they are nice but they have there draw backs to .

45ZoaGarden · Feb 9, 2020

Gyres! They work great and are much cheaper than mp40’s. They have their own controller and are apex compatible if you ever decide to upgrade. You can readily find mp40’s used for about $250-$300

me & my baby · Feb 9, 2020

The only thing about the gyres is the cleaning being a pain

45ZoaGarden · Feb 9, 2020

me & my baby said:
The only thing about the gyres is the cleaning being a pain

Eh. I’ve never been bothered by cleaning them. Mp10’s and 40’s are just as hard to clean imho

me & my baby · Feb 9, 2020

I have had all of the above except gyres . I watch my buddy cleans his and made my mind up for me . I still have some tunze streams 6100 that are almost 17 years old and still work . I just keep them for mixing water now .

ReeferSteve · Feb 9, 2020

Sailfin11 said:
I use both Rossmont (great 3-year warranty for a fantastic price) and Jabeo powerheads (SLW's are essentially the AI Nero) on my tank! My dream tank would have a closed-loop system though

I was actually looking at the Rossmont earlier today.

SeaDweller · Feb 10, 2020

me & my baby said:
I am sure I will get Bashed for this but the new jebao slw-30 is really nice with a lot of flow

The problem with Jebao, or at least the ones from a few years ago, is the (lack of) longevity. Although I have an original PP10 that is 8-9 years old that still works! It was never cleaned either. All other ones have failed.

fishguy242 · Feb 10, 2020

agree 1st gen after that quality dropped good for year or two looking for another

me & my baby · Feb 10, 2020

I don’t want this guys post to get into this debate. Do jebaos break yup , do Mp 40 break yup , do gyres break up . So no matter if you pay 80-500 for a pump it can break .

Indytraveler83 · Feb 10, 2020

I just bought a Jebao SCP 90 for my 90 gallon build, and am really impressed with it for the price point. Several modes and is almost too powerful for a 4ft tank.

No idea on longevity as it's been running for 2 days, but for $86 it's worth finding out.

member 99594 · Feb 10, 2020

What are your tank measurements? If you are running a lagoon it is very hard to get gyres not to blow the sand around.

Jeabo’s are great for something to get started. If you clean them and take care of them you should be okay with them. AND if one goes. Grab a new one or plan next steps to upgrade at that point.

S.Pepper · Feb 10, 2020

I'm getting ready to run this and I think it's the best deal out there with some of the best powerheads, Reef Octopus Octo Pulse 2 or 4. I just bought the hydros WaveEngine ($299) to run them. The Hydros allows full controllability through wifi. With the hydros, you do not have to buy the controller that comes with the powerheads, which is a considerable savings.

Octo Pulse 4 with controller $279. Without controller $179. Octo Pulse 2 with controller $229. Octo Pulse 2 without controller $149.

I would get the Octo 4's at $179 with the Hydros.

edit: The only place i have found at this point that has the Octo Pulse without controller is PremiumAquatics.com They just came out last week. GL

Amado · Feb 10, 2020

The new gyres are very easy to clean. I like running gyres as my primary pump. I have two on 6ft tank

The gyre with controller cost.

$350 you add another gyre for $169
Each gyre does 5,280 gallon per hour.
So 2 x 5,280= 10,560 ghp total = $519

Echo tech mp40 are $369 x 2 = $730
And they each move 4,500 ghp x 2 = 9k ghp

So the gyres give you more flow for less money.

ReeferSteve · Feb 10, 2020

Calli said:
What are your tank measurements? If you are running a lagoon it is very hard to get gyres not to blow the sand around.

Jeabo’s are great for something to get started. If you clean them and take care of them you should be okay with them. AND if one goes. Grab a new one or plan next steps to upgrade at that point.

72” long
18” deep
21” tall

I’m going bare bottom.

ReeferSteve · Feb 10, 2020

Amado said:
The new gyres are very easy to clean. I like running gyres as my primary pump. I have two on 6ft tank

The gyre with controller cost.

$350 you add another gyre for $169
Each gyre does 5,280 gallon per hour.
So 2 x 5,280= 10,560 ghp total = $519

Echo tech mp40 are $369 x 2 = $730
And they each move 4,500 ghp x 2 = 9k ghp

So the gyres give you more flow for less money.

I’ll look into this!