maybe a stupid question, but... vortech

I don't fully understand the advantages of the vortech power heads. Could someone dumb it down for me. If I have a 120g tank, do I only need one power head? Can I add more? How do the models go? I was reading on their site about them and I get the appeal of them, but $400 for one powerhead?? What is ecosmart and how is it different from the standard "w" model?

 

The number you have would depend on what you want the powerhead to do. One could work. You would most likely want two MP40w ES to get the most out of the pumps. Maybe a MP10w or two for the back.
EcoSmart is a driver set that allows you to take advantage of the wireless abilities of the pumps by having the pumps work to get to recreate a more natural flow of a marine environment. You basically get two more modes of operation with ecosmart.

 

well I'm going to be moving everything from my 75g to my 120g within the next month. I like the concept of what they do, I just cant figure out what I need. at 3200 gph like they claim, it seems like i should just be able to put one at the end of the tank and call it a day.. Just so I understand, I need ecosmart if I have more than 1 powerhead?

And one more thing. I'm also looking into controllers.. Does it make more sense to have a controller that creates the waves?

 

No you can run the program without another powerhead, it just won't be as effective. If you run the pumps in sync then 3200 is the output that all combined will do. The ones on the back wall will be in anti-sync mode and will contribute their flow to your total flow.

You do not need ecosmart to have more than 1 powerhead. They will operate individually however you set them. You need ecosmart if you want to run the new flow programs they have. I think you could run the pumps individually even with ecosmart.