ShooterRick
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2011
- Messages
- 221
I installed 2 Sicce Voyager 4 wave pumps in my 72 bowfront tonight. These are my initial thoughts on the product and I will add any meaningfull info to this post in the future. Pics were taken from various online sources.
My first impression out of the box was that these are bigger than the Hydor K3s, the magnet mounts are very strong, and these things are ugly. I wasn't concerned about ugly as my background in the tank is black and they will most likely blend in since I planned on placing them on the back wall and bouncing the flow off the bowfront at an angle. They are bigger than the K3s.
The magnet mounts are very strong but the adjustments are more difficult than the Hydors. You must adjust 2 planes of axis independently of each other and make sure a lock nut is tight or they will move when on.
One very nice feature is the flow pattern is adjustable by a rotating disk on the front of the unit.
Take down of the pump is simple. No problems there.
Quite? Man are they ever. I have to look at the turbulance to know which one is working since they are being ran apposing each other on my RKL wave timer set up on a random pattern. No start up noise at all for now. The secret I believe is in the impellar design. It is a straight tapered blade, allowing the pump to push water regardless of the direction of rotation. No bumpers! This seems to be a very smart design.
The Voyager 4 is rated at 1600 Gph flow and draws a wopping 14 watts at 0.24 amps. The K3s I believe are 10 watts but I am not sure. The K3s are rated at 850 Gph or just over 1/2 the flow rating of the Voyager 4s. The manufacturer claims they are suitable for tanks up to 106 gal. After the Voyager 4s you have to go up to their high output pumps for bigger tanks.
Conclusions thus far. Good price point, smart impeller design, adjustable flow, adequate but cumbersome angle adjustments, strong magnetic mounts, ugly and bigger than Hydor K3s.
My first impression out of the box was that these are bigger than the Hydor K3s, the magnet mounts are very strong, and these things are ugly. I wasn't concerned about ugly as my background in the tank is black and they will most likely blend in since I planned on placing them on the back wall and bouncing the flow off the bowfront at an angle. They are bigger than the K3s.
The magnet mounts are very strong but the adjustments are more difficult than the Hydors. You must adjust 2 planes of axis independently of each other and make sure a lock nut is tight or they will move when on.
One very nice feature is the flow pattern is adjustable by a rotating disk on the front of the unit.
Take down of the pump is simple. No problems there.
Quite? Man are they ever. I have to look at the turbulance to know which one is working since they are being ran apposing each other on my RKL wave timer set up on a random pattern. No start up noise at all for now. The secret I believe is in the impellar design. It is a straight tapered blade, allowing the pump to push water regardless of the direction of rotation. No bumpers! This seems to be a very smart design.
The Voyager 4 is rated at 1600 Gph flow and draws a wopping 14 watts at 0.24 amps. The K3s I believe are 10 watts but I am not sure. The K3s are rated at 850 Gph or just over 1/2 the flow rating of the Voyager 4s. The manufacturer claims they are suitable for tanks up to 106 gal. After the Voyager 4s you have to go up to their high output pumps for bigger tanks.
Conclusions thus far. Good price point, smart impeller design, adjustable flow, adequate but cumbersome angle adjustments, strong magnetic mounts, ugly and bigger than Hydor K3s.