Back in February I shared a picture and video of the first MP40w Quiet Drive prototype. EcoTech claimed up to 40% more flow, with 90% less noise. The latter intrigued me most. I run one MP40w ES on our office reef in “reef crest” mode at ~95% power. The pulsing noise could be heard throughout our our 2,400 sq. ft. office, which drove me insane. This pump is regularly cleaned, and I wasn’t looking for any additional flow. Low and behold EcoTech released a stand-alone option to simply upgrade the driver which reduced noise for $75.

I jumped at the opportunity to keep my sanity. Installation couldn’t have been simpler: Remove three screws from back cover, pull off front cover, disconnect [quick-connect] wiring from circuit board, connect to new QD circuit board and install new covers. Was complete in five minutes. Now, the moment of truth. Turned on the pump and thought, “Darn, connection wasn’t tight enough.” As I went to remove screws from cover I noticed the corals swaying as they were prior to this ordeal. Looked at the wet side prop and realized the pump was on! Unbelievable. 

Our office reef has the MP40w QD mounted on left pane.

For the first couple weeks I was constantly checking the reef to ensure the breaker hadn’t popped. It is that quiet. Now the fan in my T5 fixture is driving me nuts, go figure.