Cali Kid Corals

WAV vs. Vortech vc. Gyre

asking because...wanting to add Apex. Then need another MP-40 @ $366 plus an additional $124 for WXM, or $350 for two WAV and no additional module required...
 
Jeff Rehling said:
asking because...wanting to add Apex. Then need another MP-40 @ $366 plus an additional $124 for WXM, or $350 for two WAV and no additional module required...
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I would go with vortech and director. No need for wxm honestly.
So far most of the equipments done by Neptune that is out of their core buissness like core, dos, wave..etc have had bad customer experience.
The vortech is still superior. Also the no wires inside the tank matter alot. You should see the wave assembled in a tank and see the look diffrence...do not depend on the marketing picture only.

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Honestly with vortech you do not need wxm or director unless if you want to jave web interface tonprogram the pumps. I had the power heads for the longest time without director or wxm.
Then I baught the wxm only to throw it away later.
I now try to avoid having apex as my sole controller rather use native app support for equipments when available.

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+1 for not prioritizing apex integration for your pumps. Could possibly be nice to have from time to time, but the vortech (or in my case gyre) controllers are great. It's also something you can easily add down the road if you need it.
 
I had this same internal argument. After (finally) getting paid for a several thousand $ print job, I had the money to upgrade flow in my tank. I already have two mp-40wes (one was manufactured is 2006 and the other in 2011)that work perfectly but just aren't enough flow for my sps habit. I looked into two more mp40 and WXM but that's $800+. I'd like to have the pumps change modes throughout the day, hence the WXM. I looked at two WAV since I have an apexel. I also considered a small pair of gyre but the controllers don't talk to each other for sync.

Ended up buying two jebao ow-40 and spent the money I saved on setting up a frag tank and plumbing it into my display. I'm thinking about getting the $40 apex-jebao connection but it isn't a big priority.

No regrets.
 
that's an interesting solution. I have one MP-40 now and one Hydor. wanted to upgrade (tank is happy, but I like to tinker). Maybe a Jebao would be a good addition and replacement for the basic hydor? Are the Jabao quiet?
 
grizfyrfyter said:
I had this same internal argument. After (finally) getting paid for a several thousand $ print job, I had the money to upgrade flow in my tank. I already have two mp-40wes (one was manufactured is 2006 and the other in 2011)that work perfectly but just aren't enough flow for my sps habit. I looked into two more mp40 and WXM but that's $800+. I'd like to have the pumps change modes throughout the day, hence the WXM. I looked at two WAV since I have an apexel. I also considered a small pair of gyre but the controllers don't talk to each other for sync.

Ended up buying two jebao ow-40 and spent the money I saved on setting up a frag tank and plumbing it into my display. I'm thinking about getting the $40 apex-jebao connection but it isn't a big priority.

No regrets.
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Spot on, jebao, gyre and other pumps give better value for the $$

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First off the Gyre and other pumps are a bit different type of pumps in the way the push water, so understand how they move water and decide if you want one or the other, or mix and match.

Second, yeah don't worry about integrating pumps with your Apex, you are just over thinking things if you want some complex pattern of water flow with any particular pump. If you go with the WAV pump yeah you can plug it in (1 link?) and get "wave patterns" out of the box, other ones have their own drivers with programming so use those. Now if you want to plug the pump into the apex and use the power monitoring feature to detect if something is wrong then fine, but don't worry about which pump integrates with Apex. But don't worry, people do the exact thing with lights, even though most lights have controllers built in that do the same thing that your Apex does, so why care about using an Apex?

Third, figure out what you want in a pump, is no wires in the tank a make or break for you? do you want to be able to aim pumps? Do you want a sheet of water?

Lastly, think about where your budget is. I see some posts you make about buying bottom of the level lights because you "can't afford" the one you do want, you want an Apex but... yeah.. well think about your pumps. Others have made mention of Jebao, and that definitely is an option, they are very cheap pumps and probably will die within a year, but they may not, and if all you want is a smaller pump then they do have options, and if you count replacements over time you probably will end up spending less on those pumps than the life of a Vortech pump (plus parts because it WILL break down in some fashion)
 
yes, budget matters. somehow it's easier to justify $800 for the controller than $375 for a frag tank light. obviously--there's a cache to having the apex and a fancy display board. Has no positive impact on the tank, but it's sexy. Took your advice about the light and will wait until the right one presents itself. These discussions help me cool my jets and make me think about more than just brand name. I appreciate the patience and counsel of this group. Still waiting on Bruce...
 
Yeah but posts can be deleted by the creator to stop any potential shit storm/bad feelings.

That said, I didn't mean to rag on you for your budget or other past choices it's just an observation from other posts, and it's real easy to go down a rabbit hole in this hobby and realize you spent a ton of money on stuff you really didn't need all that much, just as easy to get sucked into the "well everyone else uses it, and says how great it is" trap as well. There are just so many toys and what not that may make your job easier, may make your job slicker, may make it seem easier, but aren't all that necessary. Now I'm not putting the Apex as a unit into any particular category but I feel that integrating pumps with 3rd party controller does fit into this category a bit.
 
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