Jebao MLW-10 or MLW-20 for Reefer 250

Dweezilz · May 8, 2023

So my one of my Current-USA eFlux powerheads died this past week and I'm getting rid of both of them since they are out of business etc. I have a FOWLR as of now with some clowns, engineer gobies and Coral Beauty in my Reefer 250 (55g DT). No plans for coral as of now. I purchased two Jebao MLW-20's (2641gph) which so far look and work really well, similar to a Nero, however, if I point the things on minimum (30%) at my rocks, it's like a tornado of stuff blowing all over the place. It's possible it will settle in as it goes a bit slower and detritus goes away. At 30% they are running at 792GPH x2. If I point at the glass and bounce is off the sides, it seems more subdued and better. I'm considering the MLW-10's.

The recommended for my tank according to EcoTech's calculator is 1365 (LPS) to 2275 (SPS). The MLW-10's are a max of 1065 so I can easily hit the lowest value but not quite the highest of 2275gph. Also, in theory it says the magnet isn't strong enough for 1/2 glass (only says up to 8mm max) but I'm wondering if it's worth a try. The MLW-20's even at the lowest is 1584GPH so higher then the lowest recommended at 30% by a tiny bit.

So, I'm sort of in between the two. If the magnets were stronger on the MLW-10's I think that's the route to take, but is that worth the risk they won't be strong enough? Or would you stick with the MLW-20's and aim for the glass to bounce it off and have slightly higher than the lowest for LPS (even though as of now I don't have any corals)?

Thanks in advance for any advice on which to get!!

Falc! · May 8, 2023

I have always preferred Larger pumps at lower/quieter settings and wider flow as bonus

Dweezilz · May 10, 2023

What I'm finding is that since my minimum flow needed for even LPS (which I don't have anyway) is 1365 and the lowest I can make these go combined is 1584, I can't really use any of the modes that 'ramp up' since I have to set it at 30%, the wavemaker can't dip down past that, so that will be the minimum on a wave and it will ramp up even higher for the other modes. I can use the wave/off or sine modes linked so that they take turns turning on, but still, I constantly have crap blowing all over the place. I'm going to stick the smaller 10's in and see if the magnet is strong enough and return the 20's. The 10's can go up to 95% of the top flow I'd ever need anyway and can go much lower than the lowest. If the magnets don't stick, I guess I'll be getting Nero 3's which are slightly less powerful and can fall under and over the range I need. Ehh... What's another 190 bucks?!

haha.

Hooz · May 10, 2023

You are absolutely correct. I'd rather the 2 lower powered ones so you can take advantage of varied flow. A sine wave at minimum setting on a larger pump just becomes a flat line.

Minimum settings for any DC powerhead is going to be about 30% of its max flow. If you run a sine wave at 35%, it's only going to rise and fall from 30-35-30-35, etc. Not a lot of variance at all. If you run a lower powered pump, maybe you can get to 75% or 80%, so your sine wave becomes 30-80-30-80. Much more varied flow. I had this exact situation in my 10g Nuvo running an MLW-5 (792gph) at 35% max, then switching to the ELW-3m (660gph) at 60%.

As for the magnets on the Jebao stuff, I'd give it a whirl. I have or have had Neros, MP10s, Hygger Mini, Tunze and a variety of Jebao generations and models. I can confidently say that Jebao magnets are legit. As long as you're not WAY above the rating, they'll stick.

Also, don't worry about the initial storm of crap blowing around the tank. That will go away. If you're blowing SAND around, then it's a problem.

Dweezilz · May 10, 2023

So I tested out the 10's and they are definitely much weaker but even at 70% they are fine and give 739 gph each and I can use the modes to make wave patterns. Also my fish might swim out in front again! They certainly don't blow detritus all over which I guess is both good and bad but the 20's blew it around so much I think it couldn't even go into the overflow!

The magnets are much smaller and weaker but hold well enough on my 1/2 glass on the reefer 250. Of course one of the two 10's is missing the the angled magnet cover but that's why I purchased on Amazon! Replacement on the way and the 20's are on their way back. FYI if anyone is looking for 20's, you'll find these in the next week on Amazon Warehouse I'm guessing for 20% off.

And now I get to go through the pain of getting these active on my mesh wifi. That wasn't fun or easy.

Yro · Jun 18, 2024

Sorry to drag this up from the depths.
How are you getting on with the 2x MLW-10s? What power level do you run them at? Are they noisy at 70% - 100%?
I’m in a similar predicament setting up a 64G (240l) tank and trying to work out if 2 of the 10s are sufficient or whether to go for a single 30.

Dweezilz · Jun 19, 2024

What I didn't account for was that fairly quickly any power head slows down as they get a coating of tank growth and dirt on them. Also that my previous power heads were insufficient so I needed to stir things up which eventually cleared out through the sump. In the end the 10s were not strong enough so I ended up buying my 20's back from Amazon. They have been perfect at about 70-80%. I would recommend that vs one 30 because two will cover more area and the one 30 probably will leave some big gaps and not stir up enough detritus.

Yro · Jun 19, 2024

Perfect. Thanks for the reply.
20s are currently OOS from Jebao so I’ve ordered a 30 and will likely add another 20 when they come back in.

Dweezilz · Jun 19, 2024

Yro said:
Perfect. Thanks for the reply.
20s are currently OOS from Jebao so I’ve ordered a 30 and will likely add another 20 when they come back in.

Amazon has the 20s in stock. Oddly the search on Amazon doesn't show them but a Google search plus adding the word Amazon does. Not sure if I'm allowed to add the link here or not so just do that Google search.