Powerhead advice - Waterbox 20 cube

[Jasontkd]

Hey all, I am planning a Waterbox 20 gallon cube build and I am not sure where to go on powerheads. A little background; I have been out of the hobby for about 5 years and am finally coming back. Prior to that I had a 40 gallon breeder SPS dominant tank. In that tank I ran a decent sized return pump and two Tunze 6045's for flow.

In this cube, I am thinking I will mix up the corals and keep some softies and LPS while scattering in a few SPS. I was originally thinking about getting a couple of Tunze 6025's for flow, but there are so many different powerheads available now that weren't around 5 years ago.

I am not looking to blow the bank on powerheads, but I don't want to buy junk. I don't like the Koralia pumps because the dimensions are too big for a small tank. I am really interested in the IceCap 1K Gyre, but I am open to suggestions.

Would the 1 K Gyre give me the flexibility to keep any coral type? Is it overkill? Would I be better off with 2 tunze 6025's? Or are there other options I am missing? I would like to stay under $150 for all my powerheads.

 

[NPD_289]

I just purchased two Reefbreeder RP-Ms. I have not had a chance to use them yet but they are low profile, wide flow and only $129 each. They have different modes including reverse flow.

 

[Jasontkd]

isn't reefbreeder the same a Jebao? or am I mixing things up. I thought those pumps were the same.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

isn't reefbreeder the same a Jebao? or am I mixing things up. I thought those pumps were the same.

reefbreeders is much higher quality than jebao. You should check out some of the reveiws on the reefbreeders pump tho. Pushes up to 3000 gallons an hour. Completely controllable, basically just the nero 5 on a budget. But dont bash on jebao stuff. Sure its not the "best" but i've had mine for two years and am loving it. Still not even close to dying and no noise. Im considering more for my next build because how cheap they are. It would take three to get to the price of the reefbreeders pump or the icecap 1k. and about 10 to equal the cost of an MP10. And if each last for a little over two years its the best value on the market.

 

[Jay Z]

Check out the mp10. I run one in my 10 and 3 in my 45. It may be a little more than you wanted to spend, but judging on your comments with quality I’m sure you would love it.

 

[Jasontkd]

can the MP10 or the Reefbreeder pump be swiveled or are the just a straight forward powerhead? I know the Nero 5 can swivel

 

[Jay Z]

Mp10 is static. Will not swivel. I was hesitant about this too. After I installed them, never crossed my mind again.

Stock it produces a straight stream. If you add a nem guard it will produce a conical pattern. If you take the center part off the nem guard you get a mix.

 

[NPD_289]

Reefbreeder RP-M does not swivel. Their QP series swivel and have similar features/modes.

 

[Jacked Reefer]

Mp10 does not swivel. To be honest the I wouldn't consider the MP10. The owner of my lfs says they only charge a premium because they have the cord out of the tank. He uses either the neros or jebao on all his coral tanks. honestly I believe the mp's do have nice flow. and a decent amount. But you aren't getting what you pay for.

 

[NPD_289]

Mp10 does not swivel. To be honest the I wouldn't consider the MP10. The owner of my lfs says they only charge a premium because they have the cord out of the tank. He uses either the neros or jebao on all his coral tanks. honestly I believe the mp's do have nice flow. and a decent amount. But you aren't getting what you pay for.

I own a MP10 and the main feature I like about it is having a spare wet side to swap out while soaking/cleaning the dirty one...

 

[Jay Z]

Mp10 does not swivel. To be honest the I wouldn't consider the MP10. The owner of my lfs says they only charge a premium because they have the cord out of the tank. He uses either the neros or jebao on all his coral tanks. honestly I believe the mp's do have nice flow. and a decent amount. But you aren't getting what you pay for.

I’d honestly like to beg to differ on that.

Your lfs owner probably won’t sell them because he can make more on a less expensive pump or he’s not authorized.

My local lfs tried the same crap with simplicity pumps. Oh these are way better than a vectra.

Not going to say other pumps are not good. But the mp10 is a solid pump.

 

[Jasontkd]

I am really interested in the icecap 1k gyre. It says it’s a 1000gph pump and good for 20-50 gallon tanks. But I have seen several reviews saying it is way too powerful for much larger tanks, even if running at low power. Can anyone speak from experience on this?

 

[Strawberry]

I am really interested in the icecap 1k gyre. It says it’s a 1000gph pump and good for 20-50 gallon tanks. But I have seen several reviews saying it is way too powerful for much larger tanks, even if running at low power. Can anyone speak from experience on this?

I have the 1k gyre on my 29g biocube and I love it. I run it 10-30% gradual flow increase to simulate waves. It does an amazing job and my corals love it.

 

[js_marra]

the expensive and reliable option would likely be an mp10. You do do a jebao ow-10 and have the controllability of a high end controller for a cheap price. Hydor koralia nanos are reliable but you cannot adjust the flow or make a wave pattern with them. I would do a jebao in my opinion and then add a random flow generator to your return pump.