New powerhead option

rudy

Moderator
Second vortech done. 500 dollar power heads last 1 year tops.
What is another option.
 

carcrazy

New Member
I have had 2 Vortech ph for the last 6 (?) years and one of them failed about 2 months ago (worn out magnet). I have also used Koralia 4 ph for the last few years and find they work as well as the Vortech for a lot less money. They do put a little heat into the water and are a little larger but for the money they can't be beat. If I were to start over I would use Koralia 4 ph and save money. But the Vortech is a better ph imho, with a battery backup and a variable speed controller.
 

rudy

Moderator
I have had 2 Vortech ph for the last 6 (?) years and one of them failed about 2 months ago (worn out magnet). I have also used Koralia 4 ph for the last few years and find they work as well as the Vortech for a lot less money. They do put a little heat into the water and are a little larger but for the money they can't be beat. If I were to start over I would use Koralia 4 ph and save money. But the Vortech is a better ph imho, with a battery backup and a variable speed controller.

Ya I don't know. I get the red and green light flash and then they stop and something always seems to get destroyed in the process. Thanks for the help.
 
The new koralia pumps have improved quite a bit over the old ones. The new koralia 4 which is now the koralia 1400 is smaller with half the wattage and 200 gallons and hour of more flow. One of the best bang for your buck powerheads. They do make larger ones to if needed ( I have an koralia 8 on my saltwater tank ). They should also prove to be even more reliable also
 
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Joey

Moderator
Im running the newer koralia evolution power heads.

I have nothing bad to say about them.

Im using two of the 1050gph models

Easily the quietest power head i have ever run. Or quietest pump for that matter.

Only uses 5 watts of power.

Great price as well...

These are plug and play right out of the box.. no hassle. They suction to the side of the tank, as well as have a magnet that goes on the outside of the tank.. they wont be going anywhere.

I thought they would blow my arowana around, and turn my tank into a whirl pool, but they dont. The aro can swim directly in front of them, and is only slightly effected, but he doesnt seem to mind it. They put off a large flow of water, but not a jet stream like some powerheads do. So while they keep the water ciculated, they dont blow everything around. Very well distributed flow, which is not easy to get in long and wide tanks.

I got mine here:

http://www.aquariumsupplies.ca/koralia-evolution-1050-p-5672.html
 

rudy

Moderator
I went with 2 1400gh Koralia. Nice powerheads and the price is right. Will say the 2800 gph is very far from the 3000gph vortech as far as water movement....but I don't care as the Vortechs are apparently poorly made. I will be going back to the manufacturer
 

tman

Super Moderator
I know these pumps are hit or miss but my vortech have been running for just over 2 years now on my 450 gallon and I only had to replace one magnet on one! New Vortech powerheads (mp60w es) are out and if I am not mistaken they are 7500 gph! Might get two when I build the new tank! Maybe the new ones are built better? I know the price is still high!!! Rest of my tanks I use koralia. No complaints so far.
 

DaiDee

New Member
Tunze makes very good pumps as well. The controller is very affordable at around $150 at JL for the newer one.
 

AroNoob

Member
Tunze makes very good pumps as well. The controller is very affordable at around $150 at JL for the newer one.

A 3434 gph Tunze pump with a controller is $388.25, I think this would be a very good alternative to the Vortech. However I do like the fact there are no wires in the tank with the Vortech.
 

CORVETTE

New Member
For a cheper long lasting alternative i recomend the Seio power heads i'm going on 5 years on them and they were around $110.00 at the time
 

chen88

Super Moderator
I have had both koralia and aqueon and both are very good and powerfull...I've since removed all my powerheads from my 450gal and only relying on the output nozzle from the sump for the last couple of months and all seems good with no debris anywhere...powerheads were great at the beginning to keep the fighting down...
 
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