MP40s - what setting do you prefer?

[Coralgurl]

I've had mine running on tidal swell for a while, wondering what settings you prefer, just switched mine to reef (yellow).

[Starry]

i use reef crest on both mine @ 100%. nutrient export for a day b4 waterchanges.

[MarkoD]

I have 4 pumps. All running different modes at 100%.

Gives me nice random flow

[spit.fire]

I run the yellow one

[mike31154]

TSM for me. I have 3 pumps, one on each end & one at the back. Every so often I'll do the NTM to shake things up. The back one is speed limited to about 35% since my tank is relatively narrow & if that one were to slave along to a higher speed with the other two, it would be too much flow back to front at some point during the TSM cycle. I had intended to buy an MP10 for the back, but the speed limited 40 works very well thanks to the many options available with the W ES controllers.

[Coralgurl]

Does anyone run them master/slave or all independent? Markod has already answered this, anyone else? I initially set mine up to try for the waves but it didn't seem to work. I have 2 on my 180 running at 100% think I need another on the back. I have an MP10 on my 55 and it picked up the programming, even though it's in another room, also programmed to my lights, this runs all 3 in night mode until 11 am-9 pm.

[mike31154]

Mine are in a Master/Slave grouping, but as mentioned, the one on the back is speed limited. 180 is a big tank to get a wave with two MP40s, although you should get at least a small one going. What length is the tank? Mine is 4 ft & no trouble getting a good wave going. There is a good explanation in the manual about letting the controllers 'auto' tune a wave for you. You just need to set them up master/slave with the slave anti-synch and keep an eye on the water surface as the auto tune feature changes speed & ramp up frequency. Once you see the wave start, all you need to do is hit the Set button (I think) & the controllers will memorize that setting. After that, any time you want a wave, you simply need to choose the pulse mode & the pumps should remember the 'wave'.

[Coralgurl]

I never did get a wave going, but I don't think I had them correctly programmed. The tank is 6'x2'x2'. I started the tank with 1 mp40 and that was definitely not enough to push flow to the other side of the tank, so added another. Will leave them on reef crest for now until I can pick up at least one more.

[mike31154]

Not sure I have the latest version of the Eco Smart User Manual, but in mine the Auto-Tune procedure is on page 25, Section 4.3. It appears they only talk about a single pump there though. If you are using two or more, you will need to ensure they are in a proper sync/anti-sync, master/slave configuration. A pump on the back glass will not help and may in fact hinder the generation of a wave. On a 6 foot tank you may need two MP40s at each end, or a pair of MP60s to get a decent wave going. Even though you haven't had success generating a wave yet, the back & forth movement of the water with two pumps in short pulse mode should provide some sort of rocking motion in your livestock & may help flush detritus out of your live rock. Personally I don't like the wave mode since it's one of the noisier ways to operate these pumps with them ramping up to 100% & down to idle rather quickly in most cases. There is also a warning & disclaimer in the manual to consult with your aquarium tank manufacturer to determine if your tank can withstand the extra stress of water sloshing back & forth. I use the Nutrient Transport Mode from time to time & the waves created at the beginning of that cycle are enough to discourage me from using wave mode for very long.

[Madreefer]

I have 2 MP40's and 1 MP10 all on the back wall in sync mode. The best wave I could get without having to play with any settings was on NTM at 80%. That is what I run at all times. Probably wont work for the average tank though as mine is a half circle shape.