Sicce Voyager with Reefkeeper Lite - First Impressions

AzDesertRat, are the Sicce powerheads still performing as they did on day one? Have you further played with the intervals? I'm considering going this route too.

 

I removed them just yesterday to try some new Hydor Koralia Evolution 1400's. They were still performing great but I wanted to compare them with the Evos. So far the Evo's are winning, only 6 watts compared to the Voyagers 16 actual watts on the Kill A Watt meter and more flow. I now have sand moving at the opposite end of the tank.

A review is in the works. I have already posted the review on Nano Reef and on AZReefs.com.

 

Same problem I had with the evo's.... The 1400's pack a good punch. I had to position them right otherwise I was having a sand storm at the bottom.

Pretty interesting that your trying out the evo's..... Hope you like em as much as I do....

 

Sicce Design

The units are designed to turn in either direction and they achieve their flow from the front design along with the impeller and silent motor. They can be switched on and off rapidly without harm. They do not rely on mechanical stops or devices that cause wear to the rotor. Syncra Silent Pumps see voyager surging video. Also The new Sicce Voyager HP models are available that use a prop design go to 4000 gpg. They have only start in one direction and are safe for times as well. YouTube - Voyager HP Sound and demo Sicce

 

The Sicces were nice but the Evolutions have my vote. The bracket adjustability of the Sicce is good but the bracket is flimsy and every time I touched one it popped out and it took both hands in the tank to get them back in the bracket. The other big disadvantage is power consumption, the Evo 1400 at 6 watts compared to the Voyager 3 at 16 watts is a big difference, I don't even know what the Voyager 4 would draw.

 

Hi I'm new & came across this review as I've been reading about pumps for ages trying to find the right one's for me. I agree that the power comsumption of the sicce is a draw back but I am more interested in the flow, or rather flow pattern. From what I remember, the koralia has one quite directional output for their pumps, while the sicce seems more dispersed so I was wondering if this could be the extra flow you are seeing? Read lots of reviews of chinese wavemakers too & nearly all stating you can't beat a tunze & I believed that until I saw a youtube video showing a tunze & a cheap Chinese equivalent in a bucket where the tunze's more directional flow would be less of an influence and, low & behold, they both created the same amount of turbulance. I know its difficult to actually see how much water is being moved if the flow patterns are not the same & you can't empty a bucket with these pumps & see how long it takes.

 

The new K evo's are a bit more dispersed than their formers.

 

The new Evolutions are very different and have a better flow pattern.

 

I don't think they have a bad flow pattern at all. I have a koralia & a cheap Chinese equivalent & the koralia is the worse money I ever spent. Not bad pumps, just no better than £6 ones from China, but that isn't the point, the point is it does have a different flow pattern & that needs to be taken into account before sand blowing becomes a definitive answer to amount of flow. Not knocking you as i don't have a clue how you could standardise the outlets on any of these wave type pumps to test them properly. As in my previous post, the closest test I've seen was 2 different pumps in a bucket so flow pattern wasn't an issue in a confined space but amount of flow was.

 

AZDesertRat, may I ask- are you still using the EVO's with your RKE lite? And have you had problems with noise/ clicking upon pump startup?

thanks,
Jan