The Vertex V6 pump is the first water mover from Vertex Aquaristik made in-house with the same custom volute as employed in the popular Omega 150 protein skimmer. Whereas the Omega 150 uses a Sicce pump with a custom volute, the Vertex V6 uses a Laguna style motor block with a custom volute to create a high volume and surprisingly quiet water pump.
To be completely honest, when a review sample of the Vertex V6 first appeared, we were quite skeptical at how much gains could be made compared to already well established high-end pump manufacturers like Sicce. Regardless, the faceplate began failing on a Marineland Utility pump which has provided years of flawless operation helped out by frequent preventative maintenance, but it did offer us the chance to make a very direct comparison with the Vertex V6 pump.
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The specific Marineland Utility pump which we replaced was an NJ500 rated for 1385 maximum gallons per hour, 700 gph under pressure with a power draw of 75 watts. Having ran the NJ5500 for four years in the same configuration, we became extremely familiar with how much water it pushed to the four tanks, but had no idea how much noise the pump contributed since it simply blended with the hum of the fishroom.
By contrast, the Vertex V6 is so quiet that when it was first installed and turned on, only the flow of water indicated that the pump was working. For a month after replacing the NJ500 with the Vertex V6 we were surprised at just how much quieter the new pump is, although it shouldn’t be a surprise with the use of a larger custom volute, titanium shaft and other noise canceling features.
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Not only is the Vertex V6 delivering approximately the same flow rate as its predecessor with much less noise, it also draws a good 20 watts less, which over the course of four years adds up to about $150 extra dollars spent on electricity at a rate of $0.20 per kilowatt hour. If you’re a commercial enterprise and or simply have a stack of pumps with less than stellar efficiency, even small differences in power usage can add up for equipment that is usually running 24/7 all year long. At $399 per pump, the Vertex V6 definitely prices itself firmly into the high end water pump category but if silence, efficiency and power are important criteria, the internal and external capable V6 is going to be the pump of choice.
FTC regulations require that we inform you that we were given this product for review, but our opinion of a product is never affected by how we acquire them.
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