Tunze VS VOTECH

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by gobytron

I dont feel thats the answer at all...lol
as this test was essentially to see which pump was "better" on an equal playing field in a direct peer to peer comparison.

You make a good point, but it's certainly not the obvious answer here...

but it kinda is.......I ve seen what turning on a vortech in my tank does......the first time I fired mine up the over flow that was on the same side of the tank as the vortech started to drain.....as I was underneath the tank tinkering with the gate valve to adjust the water level inside the overflow, my skimmer erupted like Mt Vesuvius ....that to me says that they move a lot of water.........I love my vortechs for that......and the controller is cool.......

But!......you cant point them.......or mount them in certain situations.......

thats why I love my tunzes.......I can mount them in wet situations.....I can point them where I need to..... they still put out good flow.......and they are reliable....


I get tired of these comparison tests between the two pumps......how can you accurately compare the flow output of two completely differently designed pumps?......its like comparing the output of 3000gph through a garden hose (tunze) to 3000gph through a fire hose(vortech)..... and there is the other variables, like Tony mentioned.....

[viperfish]

I had a Tunze 6105 on one side of my tank and an MP40 on the other side. I ran both of them at full power just to see the difference. There was a little broader flow from the MP40 and I stress "little", it was almost identical. One didn't overpower the other so they are both going to do pretty much the same thing in a tank. My goal was to go Tunze or Vortech because I didn't want the mix in my tank. I chose to go with Tunze for the following reasons:

1. IMO Tunze is a better build quality ( I know that statement is subjective but let's face it, you can't kill a Tunze).
2. There are tons more options for positioning a Tunze PH. The Vortech side to side (and even back to front) concept is great in an empty tank but as soon as you put live rock in the tank you end up with dead spots and then you need to add more PH's to cover these dead spots. Tunze can be mounted anywhere and pointed in any direction to eliminate dead spots.
3. Tunze has better controllability. The light show on a Vortech is cool but Tunze's control is so much more flexible, especially with the 7096 computer USB interface (I'm really surprised Vortech hasn't done this yet).
4. And finally... who makes pumps big enough to use as an outboard motor? TUNZE. How cool is that!

[Palmer]

I have both pumps in my system and am a little on the fence between them. I do like the Tunze performance, and like the price point a lot better. Utility for $ spent is a significant factor for me in purchasing. Having said that I like what the vortech does in my tank very much and I think its various flow programs are great.

One thing I am very skeptical of though is video's/research put out by any vendor for marketing purposes. I honestly do not trust any vendor to be objective and I have no faith that any video like this has been set up as a controlled blind study of each piece of equipment. And this is nothing against Tunze I would say the same if Ecotech put out a video.

Palmer

Edit- Maybe "Double Blind" is a little too demanding for this kind of comparison but hey I still dont trust it lol....

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by Palmer

And this is nothing against Tunze I would say the same if Ecotech put out a video.

The start of this whole 'Tunze powerheads underperform' scandal was due to a big study funded BY Ecotech. Tunze has since posted a video rebuttal of sorts...

[Palmer]

Originally Posted by lastlight

The start of this whole 'Tunze powerheads underperform' scandal was due to a big study funded BY Ecotech. Tunze has since posted a video rebuttal of sorts...

There you go I'm not suprised.

[gobytron]

Originally Posted by fishytime

but it kinda is.......I ve seen what turning on a vortech in my tank does......the first time I fired mine up the over flow that was on the same side of the tank as the vortech started to drain.....as I was underneath the tank tinkering with the gate valve to adjust the water level inside the overflow, my skimmer erupted like Mt Vesuvius ....that to me says that they move a lot of water.........I love my vortechs for that......and the controller is cool.......

But!......you cant point them.......or mount them in certain situations.......

thats why I love my tunzes.......I can mount them in wet situations.....I can point them where I need to..... they still put out good flow.......and they are reliable....


I get tired of these comparison tests between the two pumps......how can you accurately compare the flow output of two completely differently designed pumps?......its like comparing the output of 3000gph through a garden hose (tunze) to 3000gph through a fire hose(vortech)..... and there is the other variables, like Tony mentioned.....

Because at the end of the day, they are designed to do the same thing.
Of course there is different performance under different parameters, that's why tests are controlled!!!

I have to admit, I never bought a Vortech, I've never even been tempted too but I would still be very interested in a non biased, controlled test...maybe a couple of them each with a specific performance rating in mind to really know which is the best on a par playing field peer to peer.

[abcha0s]

Here's my .02

I own both - 2xMP60wES and 2xTunze6205s. The MP60s are so loud. They must be 10-20 times louder than the Tunze, but the in-tank footprint is small, there is no cord in the tank and they are much easier to maintain (just swap out the wet side).

What no one has mentioned is that you can mod the Tunze for a wider flow pattern. You can cut the tube shorter and cut every other slot from the grill out. This results in a similar flow pattern to the MPs. Best of both worlds?

If only I cut cut the cord on the Tunze. Life would be perfect.

- Brad

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by abcha0s@conceptaquatics

If only I cut cut the cord on the Tunze. Life would be perfect.

- Brad

You could Brad... but the actual gph rating of the streams is low enough as it is haha =) And yes I *still* love me some Tunze!

[doch]

I jsut got my tunze 6105s in the tank last night, and I'm glad of it! Up to this point I was running an m40 and 3 koralias. I disconnected the koralias, and plugged in the first tunze. I then unplugged it, and plugged it back in because I didn't hear anything. Still nothing. Then I looked up at the tank, and there was flow EVERYWHERE! I like the Vortechs, but I'll never buy another. This one will go in my frag tank as planned. TUNZE!

[viperfish]

Originally Posted by doch

I jsut got my tunze 6105s in the tank last night, and I'm glad of it! Up to this point I was running an m40 and 3 koralias. I disconnected the koralias, and plugged in the first tunze. I then unplugged it, and plugged it back in because I didn't hear anything. Still nothing. Then I looked up at the tank, and there was flow EVERYWHERE! I like the Vortechs, but I'll never buy another. This one will go in my frag tank as planned. TUNZE!

I'm share your opinion 100%. I had two MP40's in my 150 and picked up a 6105 just to compare, I was blown away. It wasn't just the flow, the build quality is clear right from the time you pull one out of the box. My first one was used but judging by the operation and look, you would think it was new (it had one year of use). I have since sold my two MP40's and replaced them with 6105/6055 and a 7096 controller, it doesn't have the eye candy that the Vortech does but I don't think the fish care about that anyway. What it does have is dead silent operation, the best quality and reliability in the biz (IMHO), and is more controllable than Vortech. When I dropped my first $500 on a Vortech I was pretty excited, it did do what it claimed, and looked pretty cool so I'm not trying to knock Vortech and I do think Ecotech is in for the long run, I just think Tunze is better. I wonder how many people have gotten rid of their Tunze pumps and replaced them with Vortech? Only problem is Tunze's don't sync via wireless with an LED light (whatever the hell that's supposed to do!).