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75 gallon tank

Decisions decisions or Snapper closed loop vs Koralia Evolutions w/smart waves

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5 Comments
by
blakew
, 01-14-2012 at 03:41 AM (1904 Views)
After doing a few "best guess" calculations, it appears the snapper hybrid would flow somewhere around 1500 - 1600 gph with the snapper impeller and the calc'd head loss. The pump actually comes with two impellers which can be changed out. My "best guess" calculations suggest, with head losses, the dart would flow around 2200 - 2400 gph. That's around 30x turnover for the tank. But with the dart impeller and at the calc'd head loss, the pump would pull around 180 watts. I'd also have the cost of the bulkheads and plumbing parts for the closed loop. And then there's my concern about drilling holes, cracking glass, etc for the intakes.

Or I could get a Koralia Smart Wave and (4) 1400 gph Evolution powerheads for not much more than the Snapper hybrid would cost. This set up would only burn about 30 watts compared to the darts 180 and would provide 2800 gph water movement in the tank at any given moment.

Hum, I can't find anything that gives any definitive details about how much heat would be transferred into the tank by either choice, and with the powerhead option, I'd have additional cords hanging off the tank. Not to mention how much space 4 large powerheads would take up inside the aquarium.

Any thoughts on which might be the better option?

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‎ Tank Entry , ‎ Questions - Need some input , ‎ Equipment

Comments

  1. Midnight's Avatar
    If you have not bought any of these pieces of equipment yet, I would just buy an 1 Vortech MP40 es and call it a day. These pumps are so great you would not be disappointed. Not only would you have the flow but you would also have vary variable flow through the tank. I know the price looks high at first, but if you actually calculate power consumption, durability, and lack of heat transfer to the tank it will win out. Really the only downside is that you can't use sugar fine sand because it will get blown around too much.
  2. blakew's Avatar
    Wow, thanks for making me take another look in that direction, Midnight. I've always sort of dismissed the Vortech powerheads on my 29 gallon because of cost vs benefit for that tank. But compared to the cost of a snapper, 1" scwd, cutting holes in the tank and all the plumbing, these powerheads look alot more reasonable. They're also much more economical electrically speaking as well.

    So, of course, that generates a few more questions. One MP-40 flows between 100 and 3000 gph in different modes. One MP-10 flows between 200 and 1575 gph. So would there be any benefit getting (2) MP-10's and running them master/slave over the one MP-40? 1575 is about 20x turnover, 3000 is 40x. Are the MP-10's powerfull enough to push water around in a 4' long tank?

    Thanks again for the input thus far. We're closing in on which parts to order.
  3. Hat39406's Avatar
    I have two Koralia Evo 1400's on my 75 gallon tank. But Midnight is right, if I could I would go with the mp40 pump. That will prolly be my next upgrade. Although I do have good flow in my tank, I believe I would have greater options with the mp40. You can look into a local reef club for a mp40 so you can save money.
  4. Midnight's Avatar
    Hat I too had a couple of Koralias and got about one year out of each one before both quit. I did routine maintenance and yet they still burned up. Two mp10 would definitely cover the 4ft tank, and they may be the better way to go over 1 mp40. I use two mp40's on my five ft tank, one on either end and turned down to about half way. One key to any power head is not to point them directly at the rock work. running them above the the rocks allows for more random water flow and the undertow of these pumps will sculpt your sand and keep things from settling.

    The other thing to think about is upgrades. I have the upgrade shakes in my body, partly due to us moving into a new house and not wanting to move the tank I don't necessarily like. I know that these 2 mp40's are going to transfer to a 6 ft tank with no problems.
  5. blakew's Avatar
    Yep, makes sense. A single MP-40 should provide reasonable flow in the tank by itself for now. Then I can always add an additional MP-10/40 down the line if I desire. I also have the return which could be directed to any low flow spots that may manifest. And as pointed out, when I get upgraditus in the future the MP-40 would move to a larger tank better than the two MP-10's.

    I think my course is set. Now if the weather would get back into the normal for this time of year 40's, I could redo the seams and get this project on it's feet.

    Thanks for the feedback.