Tunze with controller or VorTech with controller?

[t5Nitro]

Which one is better? 2 tunze 6101 with a controller or 2 VorTech pumps with 2 wireless controllers? They both cost around the same.

[t5Nitro]

bump

[OliverM3]

I'm biased,
I'd say go with the vortech.
they just offer more than anything else on the market right now.

[ReefRockerLive]

I agree, get the Vortech. Similar price, plus the option to add a battery backup, Tunze doesn't have that.

[Paulairduck]

I like what I see from vortech, but I have had my tunzes for over three years and the customer service that comes with Tunze is awesome.

I read a reply from vortech, about rust on the magnets, and he said it was a do it yourselve fix, you will never get that from tunze, they will send you a new one and immediately start the alteration of there product to fix the problem. It just felt odd, the answer that was given, way too much money spent for that answer!!

[Giovanni]

Check out this DIY thread. (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1207596&perpage=25&pagenumber=1)

[t5Nitro]

anyone else have an opinion?

[bureau13]

I have a pair of Vortechs and I'm on the list (I hope!) for the next batch of wireless controllers. The battery backup was the largest deciding factor for me, having lost a bunch of fish post-hurricane when my generator ran out of gas and my battery-powered air pumps died.

That said, customer service from Ecotech Marine has been as good or better for me than any I have ever seen. I haven't read the magnet thread, but I do know if I had the option for a simple quick "home remedy" for a minor problem verses sending them back, I'd take the home fix. I have had a number of issues with the first pump (early adopter penalty which I cheerfully expected/accepted...2nd, newer pump has had zero problems) and EM was very quick to send me new parts as needed, etc.

jds

[MJAnderson]

Depends on what you want and how your tank is set up. My tank is viewable from 3 sides, so the Vortechs, although smaller, are in the way when I put them on the side of the tank. Having the Tunze against the back wall and pointed in works for me. Similiar flow, equally controllable. Battery backup is nice, but if power goes for that long my fish will freeze to death long before I have to worry about flow.

If I were getting an inwall, I'd go Vortech.

[GSMguy]

vortechs take up less space in the tank and work very well.
battery backup is great
my vortech has always performed flawlessly

[einsteins]

Cant adjust the direction of a vortech....you can a Tunze.

I like flexability, never know when you might need to change the angle of your flow or something.

That made up my mind on the Tunze, along with the new aquasurf to drive waves.

My tank is also viewable from 3 sides and is sealed off from the room behind it so there is no way to have a unit on the outside of the ends of the tank.

einsteins

[burton14e7]

I'd like to see a diagram showing the differences in flow. I hear that the vortech creates a flow where directional flow isn't needed but i'd like to see what is being described.

[manderx]

i love my vortechs but i am disappointed with the controller modes (looking at it from a 2 pump (master/antisync) viewpoint). both of my pumps (with wwds) are at friends' tanks while i rebuild, so i've only played with them myself for a few hours.

pulse is neat but i see it more as a novelty than something most people will run long term. i understand the 5 second max so they could get enough accuracy in the pot range for people to get a resonant wave, but i see more benefit from longer 1-15 minute pulse (even though it's not as flashy in web videos), probably as an additional mode. the short resonant pulse would be *awesome* if there was a way to schedule it along with other modes (like have it do it's standing wave pulse for 15 minutes, 3 times a day). i'd never want my poor fish to have to try to sleep (or the nocturnals catch pods) in a swishing standing wave pulse.

the lagoon mode looks absolutely worthless from the graph they posted (i couldn't tell it was doing anything at all while playing with it, which was confirmed by the graph). i would expect something more like a half-to-several hour, perhaps slightly randomized (each peak gets a random 50-100% intensity) sine wave with it dipping all the way down to it's lowest speed. this way you get long-term, well defined back and forth flow with a slave in antisync.

crest isn't even as varied as i expected lagoon to be, i would have wanted it to be much more chaotic with a larger difference between min and max. i was more expecting it to simulate crashing, alternating random strength waves by going from min to max in 15-90 (also randomized) seconds.


so, at the moment i prefer the wave modes provided by the tunze controller. ecotech implied at one point that it might be possible for people to create custom wave profiles, dunno if that got scrapped or if they are working on a more robust stand-alone controller for future release. though i was very interested when i heard they used standard 802.11 for the wireless. i wonder if this means there is any way to access it from a regular wireless pc.

[t5Nitro]

I wouldn't buy the battery back up.

So basically tunze is better because it has a better controller and you can aim them?

I liked VorTech for the sleek design.

[Giovanni]

Why not have the best of both? Aquasurf control or tunze 7095 control of your vortech. I have DIYed both to work with the vortech.

[ycnibrc]

have you post the mod for the tunze 7095 any where yet? I would like to try it since I have the 7095 not the aquasurf.

thank you

[Giovanni]

I just posted some instructions in the original thread. The only difference is the calibration process.