Sea Swirl & Mocean - Creating Random Flow in the Aquarium

The reef aquarists is almost always on the hunt to find the best and most practical way to create random flow patterns in the reef aquarium.  This article is going to touch on 2 products that help create random flow patterns from the sump return pump without adding any additional pumps to the aquarium.  Currently there are several products on the market that create random flow but there only only a handful of products that take the return flow and sweep the water to different spots within the aquarium.  The first product line is from a company called Aquarium Currents, the maker of the various Sea Swirl models.  Aquarium Currents is located about 2 hours to the East in the lowcountry of South Carolina.  They have been around and producing Sea Swirls for 15+ years.  The other company is located in South Korea and they OEM their 2 models to Vertex under the Moceans badge. Ok, lets start with the Aquarium Currents Sea-Swirl line.  Aquarium Currents offers 5 basic models and the models are setup for 1/2", 3/4", 1" and 1 1/2" diameter return pipes.  Each model can be positioned to sit on top of the aquarium frame it it can be bracketed to fit on all aquariums. Sea Swirl 1/2":

• * Compact (5" x 7" x 2½")
• * Energy efficient (4W) motor is UL Listed and CSA Certified
• * Max Flow Rate: 550 gph
• * $139.00

  Sea Swirl 3/4":

• * Compact (5" x 7" x 2½")
• * Energy efficient (4W) motor is UL Listed and CSA Certified
• * Max Flow Rate: 850 gph
• * $179.00

  Sea Swirl 1":

• * Compact (5" x 7" x 2½")
• * Energy efficient (4W) motor is UL Listed and CSA Certified
• * Max. Flow Rate 2000 gph with the new seal design
• * $199.00

  Sea Swirl 1 1/2":

• * Very energy efficient motor - only 3 watts
• * Totally NEW Design.....NO internal o-rings or seals. Straight through 1.5'’ pipe.
• * 360 degree adjustable schedule 80 inlet fitting
• * Flow rates from 3000 to 5800 gph
• * $390.00

  Sea Swirl Multi Swirl:

• * Flow rate from 300 gph up to 3500 gph!
• * x 2-1/2'’ Tall).
• * Economical 3 watt motor
• * No Internal o-rings
• * Threaded outlet Coupler
• * Super Quiet
• * $279.00

  Before the Vertex Moceans was first introduced a few years ago, it was proceeded by the short lived WavySea that was distributed from a company on the US West Coast.  The product was pretty much a failure in the fact that the internal mechanism that controlled the sweeper movement would prematurely fail and then they would have to be sent back and forth time and time again for repair.  The distributor apparently got frustrated and he eventually went into hiding and stopped covering warranties and not paying vendors back for inventory that was never shipped but paid for.  Yes, we got burned by WaveySea.  Click the link for more details on the Vertex Mocean.

Fortunately, the guys at Vertex came in shortly after WavySea disappeared and they decided it was a product worth pursuing so they contacted the factory and rebadged it under the Vertex name under the conditions that the factory had to improve the product and reliability.  Vertex offers 2 different Moceans models.  The 1st model is the Moceans 2000 and the latter is the Moceans 3500.  The Moceans 2000 is rated up to 2000 GPH of flow while the Moceans 3500 is rated up to 3500 GPH of flow.  Each unit is covered under a Vertex 1 year warranty.

  Moceans 2000 & 3500 technical data:

• Main Body 4½" x 6¾" x 3½"
• Controller 5½" x 3½" x 1½"
• AC Main Power Input 90-220v, 50/60 Hz DC
• power Input to unit 5v, 1.2a and 12va
• Power Consumption @ 5v 0.48< AMP> 0.75
• Moceans 2000 Rated up to 2000 GPH inline-flow
• Moceans 3500 Rated up to 3500 GPH inline-flow
• fits glass thickness 1.70 cm (optional thick glass bracket is available)
• Moceans 2000 $288.39 Moceans 3500 $339.89

 

If you are looking to add additional random flow to your aquarium then adding a For adding a Aquarium Currents Sea Swirl or Vertex Moceans properly sized unit to your aquarium might be the solution you have been looking for.  It's also worth noting that Aquarium Currents was awarded an Editors Choice Award from Reef Builders in 2012.