The Vortech pump

it's also about heat transfer, a couple of seio's or a pair of stream pumps is going to introduce excess heat into the tank. where the vortech...the majority of heat from the pump remains outside of the tank. another thing with the vortech is that it doesn't introduce stray voltage or electricity into the tank.
here i am trying to talk up this pump when i don't even own one...i just think it is definitely a move forward in getting away from unsightly powerheads and pumps inside the tank.

 

I agree with covey, the magnet mount is almost a necessity! So there you are at the same price as the tunze. And for that price, I would rather have the vortech instead of the giant tunze being an eye sore in the tank. JMO

 

Well.. keep in mind if you want these pumps on the sides of your tank they have to go on the side panes... so your side view will have half a pump and a cord hanging down... I still think they are cool though.

 

My galfriend is on the pre order list for one of the vortech pumps. We just got her new AGA 90 softie tank set up last weekend. This was an upgrade from a 60 gal. As of now there are 4 MJ 1200's and a Seio stream style for flow. Will definately let everyone know how the vortech works out when it arrives.
Scott

 

Tunze's use something like 11 watts. Seio 620's use 8 watts and 820's 18 watts. I'd like to see the spec's on the voritec. I like to use energy efficient pumps with running 3 tanks. Wife always complains about electric bill! I have switched all my powerheads to Seio 620's.

 

here is some info on a site i found in regards to comparing the tunze stream to the vortech...

Here's the advantages you get with the Vortech over the Tunze:
- Zero risk of electrical shock.
- Modular, easily servicable parts by users. If one thing breaks, you can replace that part and not have to ditch the whole unit.
- uses less electricity (plugged into my wall "wattmeter", it registers 27 watts)
- No heat transfer to tank (for all intents and purposes)
- Battery backup that lasts 12-24+ hours (i appreciate this a lot).
- wireless controller
- much much smaller then the Tunze
- no mounting brackets to deal with. I've heard many people tell stories of Tunzes falling over and blasting sand (and anything else). Can't happen with Ecotech.

i hope that answers your question about wattage. i also have found out through research that the vortech tends to be noisy in comparison to the tunze. the tunze is in water, therefore some of the "noise" or noise from vibration is muffled. apparently someone had emailed ecotech to see if they could somehow use foam as a way to lower the amount of "noise" produced by the vortech. hth.

*by the way, i haven't found out yet how much the controller will cost or how much the back-up battery is, but the battery is made by icecap.*

 

I have a question about the size of the tunze pumps compared to the voritech. There are 2 types of Tunze's, the turbell and the stream. The stream is only 3x4". The Turbell is the big honker. What are the dimensions of the voritech?

 

here's a picture to give a relative size in comparison to the guy's hand....looks as though it's as big as a tunze...

 

Is there a way to direct flow with this thing?

 

i don't think so, unless you have a hex or flat back hex that would allow you to aim the stream diagonally across the tank. it's probably why they demonstrate two pumps in one tank, i do however like the fact you can place the pump anywhere on the pane of glass. imho i think the product is still too big, still a distraction....i'd be half way interested with using the tunze stream in that deco rock they put out over this pump. then again i still think a closed loop would be the way to go if you wanted to reduce heat and clutter inside a tank, just my two cents.