Sicce Voyager with Reefkeeper Lite - First Impressions

I purchased two Sicce Voyager #3 powerheads yesterday to try out the wavemaker function on my Reefkeeper Lite. As has been pointed out before, its tough finding a powerhead or prop pump that works on a wavemaker short of the dedicated Koralia Magnums and controller or Tunzes and controller both of which work well but are pricey. I already have a $99 Reefkeeper Lite which has a built in wavemaker function and wanted something to work with it.


Koralia VS. Sicce

My first impression they are almost the same physical size as the Koralia 4's they are replacing and have similar magnet mounts but with a little more adjustability. As you can see in the pictures the K4 is rotated as far as the swivel allows but the Voyager still will rotate even further, past 90 degrees to about 120 degrees. Both are rated at 1200 GPH, the K4 claims 12 watts and the V3 10 watts. With a Kill A Watt meter they tested at 14-15 watts and 16 watts respectively so are again close in comparison.
The V3 has outlet holes rather than an open front and the front rotates to partially cover the outlets and change the flow pattern.

Once installed I set my Reefkeeper Lite at 10 minute switching intervals and started them up. I think Sicce may have a winner here! So far they are totally silent, no rattling or chattering on start up and no vortexing or sucking air like some of the other pumps do. One thing I did not get a picture of is the impeller which is more like a standard powerhead rather than a propeller so it does not matter if it starts forwards or backwards, the flow is the same. My display has 330 lbs of sugar sized Southdown live sand so over the next few days I plan to experiment with placement, timing or switching frequency and flow patterns using the rotating front cover to alter the holes.

So far I am very happy and glad I found something to work with the wavemaker function. These pumps are just becoming available at distributors so not many LFS have them in stock yet. Prices are very reasonable but will probably vary from LFS to LFS.

 

Great info AZ..I was waiting for your write up,as I seen your post on the DA site asking what power heads to use with the RKL.I will follow along on this.keep us posted on testing.great work..
K++

 

Thanks! I am tickled to find something that works. My other option is/was the Koralia Magnum 5 which has an electronic start (soft start?) feature. I understand they work well too but these became available to me and at about half the price locally. I may still try to get my hands on a K5 for comparison though.

 

Yea they sounded good also(k5).would be cool to see the diff kind of comparisons you could do.also I you said you set the RKL to 10 min on off.do you think you could try it with a shorter time frame say like 2 min on off etc.just to see how they hold up under short off and on's...sorry for asking for so much info..lol..its just that I am looking for something to replace my Mj1200's...

 

Nice first impressions, now to see if the stand the test of time.

I think I like their mounting/bracket system better than the Koralias, as long as it holds up and doesn't get lose over time.

 

Great read. It's articles like this that allow many more people to make informed decisions and not have that unsure feeling while driving home with their new toy in the box. K+

 

If you read my review, I mention I intend to play with the switching frequency as well as placement to see what works best.

 

thanks for the write up AZ!

So, the RKL turns the pump completely off and then back on with no chatter from the sicce pumps? If so, I bet they would work on many timer type wavemakers.

Now, back to my issue... my tank is around 3/4" thick, so I would need to use suregrip 100s to make these "stick" to my tank's sides. Is tyhere any provision to mount these voyager pumps to a suregrip? Otherwise some epoxy/ superglue to an extra sure grip bracket will work.

 

Very nice AZ. I think these may be a gig hit. I went down the road of using powerheads and timers but got a MP40 instead. Not trying to make any statement there.

So let me get this straight though.... with the wave maker function of your lite, assuming it's the same as my AC Jr.... it's just on off right? There is no power increase or decrease?

Also... I didn't get what you meant by starting backwards or forwards. Anything that moves water in one direction rotation will move it opposite turning opposite... So does it start both directions? Or are you saying the impeller is like say a Mag that just flings water and it is directed by the volute and nozzles?

Just curious. Again... I think it will be a big hit. I didn't want to run my K3s off my controller just because I didn't want the start up clatter. With these being made for the purpose, it should be great.

Tell us about the flow pattern too.

 

No chatter or noise at all. I am not sure on the glass thickness or if they would mount to a sure grip. They should work with any wavemaker or timer due to their impeller design.

I thought I pointed out the impeller designs was similar to a MJ powerheads blades but it must have been on a different site, I did several of these.
Here is a pic of the impeller sitting next to the K4 propeller.


The straight blade design basically has no forwards or backwards like a propeller does so direction of rotation does not matter.