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The stock intake strainer for the Vortech is closely spaced to protect smaller fish but in larger tanks, even these smaller fish have plenty of room to avoid the pump’s powerful intake. In over 4 yrs of using the Vortech pump, the only casualty we’ve ever experienced was with a very large sea hare (Sounds messy but it didnt go through). With this in mind we decided to get risky with our Vortechs and within minutes we had cut out every other pin of the intake strainer. The dramatic increase in the Vortech’s output is easily visible as increased flow throughout the reef and surgeonfish which immediately dive bomb the Vortech’s flow head-on. Although this simple mod noticeably increases the pump’s output, it does come with some restrictions. The stock intake strainer helps to restrict the motor’s RPM. With this mod, the pump runs faster, hotter and it also consumes more power. If you run the Vortech full bore with this mod, it will overheat the motor and eventually burn out the power supply. If the pump is run on long pulse or any of the random modes, the pump and power supply will get some down time and they should last much longer. This mod should not be performed on tanks smaller than 4 feet long because the output is really like that of a trawling motor. And of course this will void your warranty.
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This thing has 7 Comments
I love the flow my vortech puts out but it has killed 2 RBTAs. They wander in there during the night, even with night mode on, and shred themselves to bits. Luckily the were clones, but it still makes a mess. I also found one of my cardinal fish dead on the pump too, but I can’t conclude that it was the pull of the pump that did it. She may have been worn out from breeding the night before, and not been able to swim away. It is a bit mysterious.
You should consider buying the Vortech foam guard, it will keep away both your fish and the anemones. http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~category~Ecotech_Marine_VorTech_Foam_Cover__3_pk_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_Powerheads_Impellers___Replacement_Parts~vendor~EcoTech_Marine~SearchStr~vortech~action~view~idProduct~EM1331~idCategory~FIPHRP.html
most powerheads will shred anemones. I had a koralia and a maxijet shred one. I have found a few dead fish on my vortech but I don’t the vortech killed them. I think the undertow pulls the bodies to the pump.
I had an anemone shred by my powerhead to but it wasn’t a vortech, it was a koralia. In any case can you post a video that shows the difference? I still want a vortech and am curious how this looks since you mentioned it was easily visible. if not, no big.
I’m still having troubles with the wet sides. After 6 months they are failing on a few tanks. If the mod can increase the flow, allowing for the pump to be turned down in speed, this could be a real benefit.
Does that make sense? If we don’t want more flow in the tank we could do this mod and then just turn down the speed.
By the way- Moorish Idols love getting sucked into these pumps. Stupid fish.
I should follow that up and say that these pumps still kick ass. We use them on several tanks, and I’m hoping to get them on our display tank.
Adam
Very interesting trick!
Danilo