Ecotech Vortech or Tunze Streams

[Thinslis]

Currently I'm running two Tunze Streams in my 150g with the multicontroller.

I'm wondering if the Vortechs would be a better option....

Any opinions?

Thanks,

[jackfrost]

Voretch is a ripoff for the price !

Tunze is well established and value added.

Go with the Tunze

Note on the Vortech:
In a few months you will see multiple new vendors showing up with Vortech knockoffs. (I love China with it Zero tolerance for Patents !)
Prices will come down on magnetic driven pumps.

[spooda420]

Originally posted by jackfrost
In a few months you will see multiple new vendors showing up with Vortech knockoffs. (I love China with it Zero tolerance for Patents !)
Prices will come down on magnetic driven pumps.

I agree with the tunze are a better product.

I do not agree that Chinas lack of patent tolerance is a good thing. That is what is wrong with our state of mind these days, the US can not even manufactuer anything any more. (Thats not good...). EVERYTHING comes from China these days. They are expanding their militay faster than any country in the history of the world... for what? protection? I think not, there is a war on the horizon for them....

sorry for the political rant...

[setec69]

I have the Tunze system and love it. I like that I can aim my stream and place the pumps anywhere I want inside the tank and not just stuck to the glass.

IMO Tunze has a better track record, customer service, number of options and an easier to use product.

I have 2 Tunze 6101s hidden inside the display rocks and now that they have coraline on them, they blend right in with my tank. I aimed the rocks up and angled towards the glass and get a real nice turbulence effect in the middle. I have the 7095 controller and it creates a real nice tide effect that alternates direction every 6 hours. I matched that with the Tunze wave generator and I can’t believe the movement I get in my tank.

Good luck in your decision.

[HBtank]

There was a poll recently.

Vortech won.... with about 60% of the votes.

I personally like Vortechs. Better and wider flow pattern (so good that they do not need to be angled at all), and less visability inside the tank by large amount. They have equally good customer service, the previous statements on one being better etc. are misleading. Both are great in this department, I have dealt with both. In fact that is one of the things that everyone has commented on about Ecotech, just awesome customer service.

The controllers are both good, but Ecotech can also be pulsed to create a wave just like the Tunze wavebox, something the Tunze controller can not do with regular streams. Just for that fact I pick the Vortechs. Also, the Ecotech controllers have a lot of flexibility, and at this point people have only just begun to see what they can do in all the different modes...

Also, with controllers, the Vortechs are also about $40 cheaper for an equivalent setup Tunze.

I wouild say that Ecotech does have more technical problems at this point, but the customer service is where they are able to take care of every and any problem. Also the Vortechs can be loud when pulsed up and down, but this is just because you notice it due to the change in how loud they are. Constant noise in any pump is harder to notice.

As for the "knock-off" coming. lol, it just does not happen with very high end/technical products. Just to expensive to make and they are more than just a name that can be made with cheaper materials. Where are all the knock-off Tunze streams? Where are the knock-off litremeters? Where are the knock-off red dragon pumps?

[HBtank]

Originally posted by jackfrost
Voretch is a ripoff for the price !

That does not make any sense.

The Tunze costs just as much, have the same GPH for similarly priced models, and have arguably less advances controllers.

How Vortechs could be a "ripoff" while Tunze are not, makes little sense. This is without looking at the fact they have a very unique way of working. I could see you saying this if you think DIY maxistreams or koralia are the way to go, but not Tunze...

[shred5]

HBtank search for resun on ebay these are the knock offs of tunze from china.

Fact is China may copy stuff from the usa or other parts of the world but thier Engineering is on the bottom. You have german engineering on the top and the usa is down form there with china on the bottom. People can buy stuff from China but you are getting way less quality. There stuff is not U.L. listed for the aplication which means you are nuts putting anything from China near your tank. Look at the plug strip fires. There have been several of them posted on RC where people have had fires.

I once tried a ODYSSEA fixture because I was setting up a small tank cheap... Well First thing I had to do was buy new bulbs because they stunk (more cost). The the ballast went out after a year. Forget China stuff.

We are nuts supporting a communist country esp. now they are starting to support Iran. They have no polution control and are polluting the rivers and air. They send stuff over hear with lead paint on it.



Now Vortech over Tunze. Tunze is a great product and Roger is the best you are going to get for support, I have never dealt with Vortech support but hear they are pretty good.. But the Votech have an advatages of having the motor outside the tank. This allows for a smaller unit in the tank and keeps the heat on the outside. I have not looked at power issues but I would guess a votech uses more power due to the fact it has to spin the prop through the glass. Vortech have been known to have issues too.

Tuff discision this is .

Dave

[burton14e7]

I've had Tunze's in the past and went with Vortechs this time. My tank is still in the construction phase so I can't make a final decision yet but the pricing is about the same, the difference is moot. You're getting an all in one unit with the vortechs where as the Tunze's you have to buy individual pieces then add up the price, don't forget you have to buy the magnet mounts for the Tunze's as well. I went for the vortech this time because the flow pattern is wider and more gentle.

from marine depot, this is the equivalent package with out magnet holders.

Tunze Turbelle Stream Kit TS24 - Two Stream 6101 + 7095 MultiController $881.21+tax

Two wireless vortechs - 868.00+tax

The whole engineering rant is relative to the industry. Cars and quality construction germany, microchips and software america, mass production and cheap 5 dollar....asia.

[tkeracer619]

Since I don't have any cake I can't eat it.

But I have used both tunze and vortecs as loaners. Both IMO cost too much.... but if I had to go with one. It would be the vortec on wireless drivers.

.....and I'm not touching the China debate out of respect for the O.P. and his/her thread

true, edited

[ret25yo]

wouldnt an ASM be an american knockoff of euroreef?

I myself like the Tunze simply bcause you cant hide the vortech in the rocks to keep your glass free.

as a business major - everything has an equilateral line of price/performance - (pro/cons)

evaluate your own needs, goals, ambitiouns(sp) and future tank developement ( in 3 yrs 80% of the products we have now will obsolete)

what I'm trying to say also is dont get caught up in getting "The most Bang for your Buck" You will Pay one way or the other so a self evaluation is always neccessary....

off my box.....and I'm not touching the China debate out of respect for the O.P. and his/her thread

[sjm817]

ASM is not even similar to Euro-Reef. Different body diameter, height, different neck length and diameter, (way) different material and build quality, different pump design, etc. I dont know why this comparison is often made. If that is the case, all NW skimmers are the same. They all have a plastic tube body, a cup and a NW pump.

As far as Tunze Vs Vortech, I have only owned Tunze and have been happy with the product and service. The Vortech also looks very good. I'd like to try them out.

Please explain about the Vortech wave pulse capability. I'm trying to understand what this is compared to what the Tunzes can do with the 7095.

[jackfrost]

Originally posted by spooda420
I agree with the tunze are a better product.

I do not agree that Chinas lack of patent tolerance is a good thing. That is what is wrong with our state of mind these days, the US can not even manufactuer anything any more. (Thats not good...). EVERYTHING comes from China these days. They are expanding their militay faster than any country in the history of the world... for what? protection? I think not, there is a war on the horizon for them....

sorry for the political rant...

DUDE ! It was meant to be a NEGATIVE (GET IT ???) NEGATIVE COMMENT !!!

NOT AN APPROVAL !!!

P.S. Its a little too late to start that anti-Chineese sentiment. The war is over and the USA lost.

[Thinslis]

I wish I knew someone with a pair of used Vortechs I could barrow to try. $840 is a lot of cash to drop if its just going to be a marginal differance.

This isn't a USA vs China thread. Thanks.

[burton14e7]

The pulsing effect is the same you would get with a tunze wavebox except that you don't need a wavebox because the controller does it for you. I bought a wavebox for the wave action and I bougth vortechs for the supplimental flow.

[pjf]

To produce a horizontal gyre flow, a Tunze Stream can be mounted on the back glass and be hidden behind live rock. A placement example is the back powerhead in the top-view diagram below.

To produce the same gyre flow, I believe that the Vortech will be difficult to hide. It must be mounted on the back glass and face forward, similar to the corner powerhead on the left.

[HBtank]

Originally posted by shred5
HBtank search for resun on ebay these are the knock offs of tunze from china.

In the context of the original post on knock-offs, the re-suns do anything but support it. He was stating knock-offs will bring the price of Vortechs down.

Has the production of the re-sun driven the price of Tunze down at all? No, because it is not even close in quality of design or manufacturing.
A knock-off Tunze/controller is a much easier task IMO, and it has yet to be done in a way that has had any real impact to price points. So I doubt a Vortech will be coming.

I would say the Koralias and Maxi-mods are a bigger impact, yet they have driven the market in a different direction... Instead, Tunze has just made cheaper and lower tech powerheads, I.E. the nano's. Vortech has mentioned that they will be moving in a similar direction, though not quite as cheap due to the inherint high cost of the unique technology.

[strendo]

I just bought my 2nd vortec in a year and love them. I own 1 tunze nano stream and am not very happy with it. It makes a ton of noise starting up every time and I have to clean it a lot more often than the vortec. I also have the battery backup which runs the pump up to 36 hours on low speed in case my power goes out (which in NYC happens too often), not sure if tunze has a battery backup.

[smatter]

The customer service at Tunze is the standard by which all others should be measured.

[kysard1]

The jury is still out on the vortec support. When they supply all of those with the non-wave controller with the new WMD we can say they have good support.

[burton14e7]

Originally posted by kysard1
The jury is still out on the vortec support. When they supply all of those with the non-wave controller with the new WMD we can say they have good support.

It's a new product, not a recall. I'd love bmw to send me a new 3 series because they updated it this year.

[kysard1]

Bad example. When we bought the Vortecs we were told a wave controller would be available for it soon. How would you like it if BWM sold you a car that you couldn't buy tires for?

[tacocat]

Originally posted by HBtank
The controllers are both good, but Ecotech can also be pulsed to create a wave just like the Tunze wavebox, something the Tunze controller can not do with regular streams.

I'm not sure why this keeps coming up. You can create a wave using Tunze streams if your pump placement and controller settings are set up properly. It's not very effective though, and it is stressful on a tank.

[burton14e7]

Having a controller avaliable soon isn't the same as sending out free controllers to those who purchased it. The controller isn't necessary to the function of the pump where as tires are necessary to the function of the car. In any place it's rediculous to think that any company should hand out freebee's because they made a product better. There's a difference between new product designs and recalls. Recalls are free because a product is defective, new product designs you have to buy. If you had a letter from ecotech that said if you buy this pump we will send you a free controller when it comes out then you would have a basis to say they're customer service is less than desirable. Most companies have their product roadmaps out for over a year before they come out with the products and people aren't expecting freebies.

[HBtank]

Originally posted by tacocat
I'm not sure why this keeps coming up. You can create a wave using Tunze streams if your pump placement and controller settings are set up properly. It's not very effective though, and it is stressful on a tank.

That is not what I understood. I saw one random video of it, but beyond that, it seems to be very difficult to impossible to do with Tunze from all the other information I have read. I have seen this question asked of Tunze users before, and the answer was no. That tells me it is certainly not easy. Maybe I am wrong. Why would Tunze make a wave box if one pump (all you need with a Vortech) can handle it?

As for "effective", I have seen material that has shown occilating currents have the highest mass transfer in SPS, as well, I have not seen any evidence that confirms that wavemaking has/will harmed a tank. Again, for both assertions, why would Tunze make a wavebox if they were true??

[hahnmeister]

I see no real advantage to the Vortech, and I do see some disadvantages to them though. So I say Tunze.

The Vortech is external, so you have to allow for a hockey puck on the outside of the tank. This can be a huge visual sore if you mount your pumps at opposide ends on the side panels. You cant adjust their direction, and they do make some noise since they arent under the water (and the heat they make concerns me w/ regards to motor longevity... man, they run hot!).

The only real disadvantage of the Tunze is that it is in the tank. But, with some planning, and creative use of rockwork/fake baffles, etc... you can hide them just as well if not better than the Vortech.

I wont bother comparing on price since they are rather similar (and such a small difference isnt going to sway someone's decision as much as actual performance & features).