Hey all, I have a 6 foot long 180 gallon. I have tons of Korallia power heads but still experience some dead spots as well as a ton of ugly cords in my tank. I have had my eye on Ecotech's MP 40(or MP60) but am having big time sticker shock. I know from my time in the hobby that you get what you pay for but DANG, $700 bucks for a powerhead! The online reviews are all pretty impressive but I would love to hear from any local reefers that have had any first hand experience with this pump.
I have two MP 40's and one MP10 (soon to add another). The MP40's have been running about a year without any issues. Advantages: 1) aesthetics....low profile, no in tank cords, rest of cords easy to hide 2) wide flow......one head does the work that it might take 2 or more 3) control.....multiple programs that can provide random, vigorous flow. If you have Apex you can add a module to have them go through different programs at different times of day. With synch/anti-synch you can easily get the kind of random flow corals like. Disadvantages: 1) Cost....duh. However that is somewhat mitigated by their customer service and the fact that they are actually fixable if something does go wrong. IE you can buy a new wet side, dry side, controller, power supply separately. You can also buy the parts to rebuild/replace your wet side components that are actually not too expensive. 2) Cost 3) Cost 4) They are not as quiet as some power heads. I don't ever notice mine unless they are 80% in nutrient transport mode but some people complain about the sound. My tank is in my LR and no one ever notices them. The Jaebo aren't really Vortech knockoffs to me. They much more resemble the Tunze's. The have cords in tank and their profile is much more like the Tunze's. If you read reviews people either seem to love 'em or hate 'em. I think there's a lot of brand name snobery going on with some of that. For me they are well worth it.
I have a Jebao WP 40 on my 4 foot 120 and love it. For the price it's hard to beat. It really gets the water moving and the cords don't bother me that much. Like David said there is a bit of price snobbery with Ecotechs but they're their tried and tested and keep their resale value like no other. As with many things in this hobby it comes down to how much you're willing to spend for water movement. Just my .02.
I've got a jebao wp25. I think they work great. No doubt it doesn't compare to the craftsmanship of a vortech but for $60 it's worth trying out. I think the WP40 are around $80.
Thanks for the info guys. These Jebao pumps are super interesting and way more affordable. I may be posting a review soon!!!
Jebao has come out with a new wavemaker. It's the RW series. You can hook multiple pumps to one controller and it's more controllable.
