Aquarium Illusions also has one in their display tank.

In person at a house is probably best thing though for comparison... because stores are umpteen times louder than homes even without people in them.

I have 2 mp40s they are both loud and they cause interference with my tv that is in a different room. But I'm really glad I added them to my tank.

I have 2 MP40's and can agree with Doug/Fishytime... they have a little noise, especially if you use pulse modes, but on Reefcrest or Lagoon, silent.

The noise is the winding up and down, but not that bad. Compared to others and the features and power they offer, nothing can compare. I do recommend them.

If you buy used and they are out of warranty and you consider yourself as a skilled tinkerer, there is a thread on RC that goes over replacing the bearings on them to quiet them down. Buy some really good high quality RC bearings from Boca. You'll need a couple tools and a bearing puller to do it without damaging anything.

I have the bearings downstairs for my 1.5 yr old MP40, I just need a bearing puller and then I can do the replacement.

If you do decide to do this, just don't use a screwdriver to pry off the bearings as it will for sure break the magnet.

No guarantees on how much quieter this will make them though.

:biggrin:

P.S. In theory you shouldn't need to do this as the product should be engineered to be quiet. But as we all know, they slightly lack in this area...

Hey guys!

A fellow reefer (reefme) invited me to his home the other day for me to witness first hand what MP40's sound like and I was impressed! When aligned properly they are dealy quiet! no jokes. The hallide fans where more noisy than the powerheads. I am convinced that I will own a pair of vortechs for sure! Thanks for everyones imput. This forum is so helpful, I can't emphasize this enough!!! Canreef all the way! :lol:

Quieter than the MH fan? I find that hard to believe. I have 2 of them and at full power I swear I can sometimes hear them from the next floor.

Now at 50%, maybe they'd be really quiet...

I dont know why mine are the only load ones around. They are aligned properly. My bedroom is about 50ft from my tank and when they kick on in the morning after night mode I can hear them as plain as day. I returned one on warranty and after a while it too became noisy. So all 3 have been noisy and all from the dry side. I wont get rid of them though so I put up with it.

huh? how can this be possible?

Only with a CRT tube tv. The magnets can pull the electrons that are being fired in the tv. But only if it's close enough.

I would like to retract my statement below - My new one is very quiet, only audible within the room... the older one has a problem of some sort and will be undergoing return/exchange.