# My thoughts on the Gyre xf-130



## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

So about a year ago I bought a Gyre XF-130 from March at Fragbox and was super excited to get this unit home and install it into my tank. From all the people I knew who had one and the reviews that I read, this was the unit to have! I had seen countless MACNA videos about how the flow was amazing and the unit was very reliable.

Once I got it home I glanced over the really thick manual and instructions on how to use it and clean it. Then I put it in the tank and turned it on to 30% constant settting and to my amazement, all the reviews were pretty accurate. This thing could really push some water around the tank and there were no dead spots that I could tell.

Once the tank got use to the constant motion I thought I would try one one of the other two functions it had. The ON/OFF function or delay function, and the reverse function. In my opinion the reverse function is a bit of a lame duck and not really useful. You can set the pump to go in forward motion for a set amount of time then set it in reverse for another set amount of time. The biggest thing wrong with this idea is that the propellers in the actual unit are really only meant to go one way. They are curved like an airplane wing so it cups the water and pushes it one direction. When in reverse it really doesn't do much, and it just points down instead of reverse. 

The on/off feature is really good since it seems the pump never really turns off but rather turns down to 10% or so and still keeps a bit of motion so the pump never really stops. This idea I liked but I would love to see it act like the Vortech pumps with the random ups and downs. This Gyre unit only has on and off and nothing between. With the Vortechs you can have them ramp up from 10% up to 100% in a steady stream and then blast up and down and all over the place. The idea of functionality is really a good thing, that the Gyre has missed out on for sure.

So now at a year I still like the unit but both propellers have broken but I'm glad that they give you an extra set with the box you purchase it with. Sadly the replacement propellers that it came with have broken as well. You see, the whole unit is made of plastic except for one piece. The ceramic shaft that turns the propellers. The biggest problem with this design is that the ceramic shaft isn't glued or permanently fastened to the propellers in any way at all. As a matter of fact, the piece that sits between the propeller and the shaft is a bushing that is made of a mix of plastic and rubber that eventually moves around so much that it ends up either breaking or wears down the plastic. 

Who's idea was this?? To mate a ceramic shaft with rubber and plastic? What did they think would happen?

So now I own a Gyre 130 that is sitting in my tank with no propellers, is not plugged in, can't work, and is sitting next to a Koralia Evo 850 that doesn't push enough water around to really do anything.

My tank is getting worse due to the amount of motion in the tank not being enough and I'm starting to worry that the replacements won't be here in time.

I'd like to say that the people at Maxspect canada have been very gracious to send me a new set of propellers, but I wish they would just fix the problem.


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## fury165 (Aug 21, 2010)

Thanks for the long term test report Alt. So, will you go back to Vortechs if the unit dies completely and you need to replace?

Btw I have a korilia that you can borrow if you need to have a bit more flow. Lmk.


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## noy (Nov 19, 2012)

The gyre runs in 3 modes - constant, wavemaking and gyre.

In wavemaking (what you call on/off) - the whole idea is to generate pulsing waves by finding the right intensity/on-off duration combo to get the waves you want. You really don't need to have it go at 10% percent (using your example) while its in the off state to generate waves (probably detracts from it). If you need that feature - just run it with apex with the icecap and cable.

The gyre comes with 2 types of propellers - the A (normal forwards) and B (reverse). In order to take advantage of the gyre mode (what you call reverse) you need to at least use one of the B propellers to get the dramatic reverse flow. Also you need to get the cage pointing the right way (have to play with it a bit - whether you want a directed bounce or angled). The idea of gyre mode is that the gyre draws the water in and bounces it off the wall of the tank for a lot of randomized flow. I run my gyre in a A-B configuration. This is what eliminates the dead spots. The controller allows you to set the forward intensity and the reverse in intensity and the duration for the switch. The reverse intensity should be a lot higher to get a bigger "bounce" effect. You really have to play around with the settings to get the best randomized flow.

As for the problem with the ceramic shaft and plastic housing and propellers. I have to say i never had this problem and don't know it to be a know problem. When you remove the bushings - you need to make sure its seated correctly without any lose fitting otherwise it will wear unduly. I think they make the shaft out of ceramic because of wear concerns because thats the piece that supports most of the torque - almost all the powerheads that i have taken apart all have ceramic shafts.

I have a 150 in a 110 tank and a 130 in a 60 gallon tank. I had the 150 for about a year and i don't have the issues you had with the wear. The known wear issue is the body and the connection to the wires - the wires housing had a tendency to disintegrate and expose the wiring. This happened to me and they replaced the main housing immediately. This is apparently fixed in the 2nd generation. The other issue with 1st gen is the crummy magnet holder.

Hopefully you don't give up on the gyre yet.

I have to say the distributor - distribupet has been excellent to work with. I know another poster in another post had issues with them but they've helped me promptly with all my issues (really just one).

I run my 150 with the icecap and the gyre cable (ripoff you have to pay extra) - but it works really well. Getting the cable for my 130.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I've been in contact with distribupet and they have told me the rotor problem is a known problem and all the new rotors only have four blades rather than twelve. So yeah "it's a known problem" is what they said.

I have one of the original 130's and I do love it and I'll still use it if the problem is fixed.

In wavemaking mode, mine has a minimum of 10% so it doesn't turn off. Yours might be a bit different I assume since it sounds like you don't have the same problems

In the future I guess I might wait a bit for a new product to work out the bugs Instead if jumping right in.

Thanks for the loaner powerhead Roger. I might take you up on it


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## noy (Nov 19, 2012)

altcharacter said:


> I've been in contact with distribupet and they have told me the rotor problem is a known problem and all the new rotors only have four blades rather than twelve. So yeah "it's a known problem" is what they said.
> 
> I have one of the original 130's and I do love it and I'll still use it if the problem is fixed.
> 
> ...


It might be i never noticed the 10% min - i only run mine in gyre. I did notice my 130 had different rotor blades (this is the 2nd gen one) - thought it was to reduce mfg costs.

Think you are right on the not jumping in.


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Good report and thanks for posting 
Those of us who may be considering this device, now have more information because of your experiences !


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## twobytwo (Oct 25, 2014)

I've had my XF150 for about a year now. I started using it with a constant speed, then moved to the on/off mode. When "on" I think I have it at 30% which is fine for my 120g (48" long). When "off" it does indeed still push water, but i think it's at a level lower than 10%. I think I have the "pulse" set to 5 seconds.

I've overall been happy with this device although this was on my first reef tank so I really don't have anything to compare it to. The big draw for me was having just the one single pump in my tank. I have an Apex but haven't had much interest in the Icecap device. I try to take it out and clean every 2-3 months, usually as a result of hearing a clicking that ends up being a tiny snail shell. I sometimes find it hard to dial back to the exact angle of flow when putting it back, even small adjustments can change the direction quite a bit.

I have had issues as well. I had an early edition which had a weak cable from the motor, and it started fraying on me. Colin at ReefBoutique helped me and got it replaced - the cable on the newer one was much thicker. I also had some issues with bushings. The ones I got were rubber and cheap plastic. They have to be on the shafts just right and over time if they wear, you lose torque because the shaft is just spinning inside the bushing. Take a look at my picture; you can see a new rubber one and one i had wear out. The little plastic piece that connects to the shaft also wore out inside. My advice is to order a new set of bushings - the new ones I got are made of a harder clear plastic and are much more snug on the shafts. A new set is like $6 so its worth the investment. I also bought a spare set of bearings, and the foam cage covers but have not used them yet.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Well it's been two weeks since I last contacted Maxspect about the Gyre and it's problems. They had said they would send out new propellers but at this point I think that might have just been a brush off or something.

I now own a really expensive powerhead that doesn't work. Really only lasted around 11 months. 

Did Maxspect have good customer service? Well, they respond to emails fast. Although it would have been nice to have them live up to their promise but in the end It's my fault for buying this unit I guess....

In the garbage it goes!!!


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## blunthead (Jan 24, 2011)

can i have it? lol


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

A broken, non working powerhead? What would you want to do with it? Possibly use it as a doorstop?


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## twobytwo (Oct 25, 2014)

Dave, what exactly is wrong with your gyre? I could only understand that the propellers are broken. New propellers are like $10


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## cica (Feb 10, 2013)

Dave, hope you're just kidding with throwing out. The spare parts are just a few bucks and otherwise it's a great pw head (as you said it to me).


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

it would be great if it works. As it is now it's non functioning so it's worthless


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## cica (Feb 10, 2013)

You throw it out today and tomorrow the spare parts are in your mail box.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

2 weeks for spares, i highly doubt it


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## cica (Feb 10, 2013)

altcharacter said:


> 2 weeks for spares, i highly doubt it


Maybe it's coming from China. You might get new type (better material) parts. You have to wait for it. You promised that you gonna bring it, so I can try it out on my tank


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