marine magic dosing pump review
- Thread starter shifty51008
- Start date
Hi all,
Here's my brief experience of the purchase. I am from Singapore and here's my delivery tracking breakdown:
4th Dec (Sat @ 3am!) - Placed order and made payment via Paypal
5th Dec - In transit (to HK airport)
6th Dec - Left airport en route to Singapore
7th Dec - Arrived in Singapore
8th Dec - Package arrived at my doorstep
Very fast considering the order was made in wee hours on a weekend. Technically took 3.5 days to arrive.
My brief review of the product
I ordered the 3 pump version and as per shifty51008's images, the package was well wrapped with the individual components packed seperately.
On the whole, the unit worked well and the I was able to get rather consistent pump rates (10ml per 16 seconds at fastest pump rate). However, I have only tested a few hours then as my (freshwater) tank will not be ready until a few weeks later. I noticed a couple of things which may be useful to others when I first opened the package:
First thing I noticed was, all 3 timers were still active without power. I pressed some of the settings and the 3rd pump timer display faded off. I rectified this by plugging in the provided adapter (220-240V for South Asia) and the timer became lit again. I attributed this to the lack of stored power rather than a faulty part.
Another thing I noticed was, one of the 6 display light nodes was extremely dim. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the bulb had collapsed into the cavity. I opened up the main unit and pushed it back into the socket - this was when I noticed the rest were fairly loose. They were held up by the sheer grip of the bulb against the socket and came off easily. I used a tiny bit of super glue to hold them in place.
The internals of the main box unit was messy and most parts were held together with hot-melt glue. The tiny circuit boards were either loose or had lots of freeplay and would rattle when the unit was turned about/upside. This had no impact (fortunately) on it's performance.
The pump heads looked well built enough and were really quiet without any backpressure into a container level with the pump unit. I had to literally touch the pump head to confirm that it's pumping.
I also tested the output with an enclosed in-line CO2 reactor (high backpressure) and the liquid managed to flow without any issues. It was however noiser due to the flow resistance. It sounded like plastic flexing/clicking especially at lower speeds where there's lack of rotational continuity due to 'start-stop' sequence of pumping.
Timer controls
I am very impressed with the level of customisations I can have. There are more than 20 seperate time slots you can set per timer. The smallest unit is 1 second. You have basically 2 modes so you can only use either mode but not both.
1) Start time (Day(s) HH:MM) -> Stop time (Day HH:MM)
2) Start time (Day(s) HH:MM) -> Running time (0-59 seconds) after which it stops
(1) is more suitable for a variable duration dosing, e,g (5 mins in morning, 10mins at night)
(2) is more suitable for precise quantity dosing (e.g. pump 5 times a day @ 10ml per dose)
Hope this helps!
Here's my brief experience of the purchase. I am from Singapore and here's my delivery tracking breakdown:
4th Dec (Sat @ 3am!) - Placed order and made payment via Paypal
5th Dec - In transit (to HK airport)
6th Dec - Left airport en route to Singapore
7th Dec - Arrived in Singapore
8th Dec - Package arrived at my doorstep
Very fast considering the order was made in wee hours on a weekend. Technically took 3.5 days to arrive.
My brief review of the product
I ordered the 3 pump version and as per shifty51008's images, the package was well wrapped with the individual components packed seperately.
On the whole, the unit worked well and the I was able to get rather consistent pump rates (10ml per 16 seconds at fastest pump rate). However, I have only tested a few hours then as my (freshwater) tank will not be ready until a few weeks later. I noticed a couple of things which may be useful to others when I first opened the package:
First thing I noticed was, all 3 timers were still active without power. I pressed some of the settings and the 3rd pump timer display faded off. I rectified this by plugging in the provided adapter (220-240V for South Asia) and the timer became lit again. I attributed this to the lack of stored power rather than a faulty part.
Another thing I noticed was, one of the 6 display light nodes was extremely dim. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the bulb had collapsed into the cavity. I opened up the main unit and pushed it back into the socket - this was when I noticed the rest were fairly loose. They were held up by the sheer grip of the bulb against the socket and came off easily. I used a tiny bit of super glue to hold them in place.
The internals of the main box unit was messy and most parts were held together with hot-melt glue. The tiny circuit boards were either loose or had lots of freeplay and would rattle when the unit was turned about/upside. This had no impact (fortunately) on it's performance.
The pump heads looked well built enough and were really quiet without any backpressure into a container level with the pump unit. I had to literally touch the pump head to confirm that it's pumping.
I also tested the output with an enclosed in-line CO2 reactor (high backpressure) and the liquid managed to flow without any issues. It was however noiser due to the flow resistance. It sounded like plastic flexing/clicking especially at lower speeds where there's lack of rotational continuity due to 'start-stop' sequence of pumping.
Timer controls
I am very impressed with the level of customisations I can have. There are more than 20 seperate time slots you can set per timer. The smallest unit is 1 second. You have basically 2 modes so you can only use either mode but not both.
1) Start time (Day(s) HH:MM) -> Stop time (Day HH:MM)
2) Start time (Day(s) HH:MM) -> Running time (0-59 seconds) after which it stops
(1) is more suitable for a variable duration dosing, e,g (5 mins in morning, 10mins at night)
(2) is more suitable for precise quantity dosing (e.g. pump 5 times a day @ 10ml per dose)
Hope this helps!
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
apa kabar Alvin Koh?
great review thanks very much for that. I never opened the housing on mine so I couldn't say what it looks like inside but as long as it works I am not to worried about that as I am not gonna be shaking it all over the place to losen stuff up any more if they are if they are loose on mine also lol
I noticed your getting the same dosing rates as I was also as I was getting 5ml in 8 sec. and your getting 10ml in 16 sec. which is a good thing as it says how constant the pumps are for diffrent ones.
I did unplug mine for around 10 min. then pluged it back in and the setting stayed the same so I am guessing there is some sort of internal battery also which is good in power outages. I did also notice like Alvin did that when we received the pumps the timers were on also
I still can't say for sure about if we would have to ship the unit back to HK if needed repair though
great review thanks very much for that. I never opened the housing on mine so I couldn't say what it looks like inside but as long as it works I am not to worried about that as I am not gonna be shaking it all over the place to losen stuff up any more if they are if they are loose on mine also lol
I noticed your getting the same dosing rates as I was also as I was getting 5ml in 8 sec. and your getting 10ml in 16 sec. which is a good thing as it says how constant the pumps are for diffrent ones.
I did unplug mine for around 10 min. then pluged it back in and the setting stayed the same so I am guessing there is some sort of internal battery also which is good in power outages. I did also notice like Alvin did that when we received the pumps the timers were on also
I still can't say for sure about if we would have to ship the unit back to HK if needed repair though
willy7499
New member
I bought one too. I can only comment on the delivery time so far. I am going to test mine and see if it doses 5ml in 8 seconds too.
12/6 Purchased on Ebay
12/8 Shipped (2 day delay my fault though, I didn't check my messages)
12/12 Hong Kong Air Mail Center Dispatch
12/13 Arrived in Chicago, Went through Customs
12/14 Arrived Little Rock
12/15 (this morning) Arrived at my house
I'll add more as I setup and use as well.
12/6 Purchased on Ebay
12/8 Shipped (2 day delay my fault though, I didn't check my messages)
12/12 Hong Kong Air Mail Center Dispatch
12/13 Arrived in Chicago, Went through Customs
12/14 Arrived Little Rock
12/15 (this morning) Arrived at my house
I'll add more as I setup and use as well.
willy7499
New member
I opened up the package last night and it appeared to be packaged well. When I looked at it closer the all of the speed adjustment knobs and some of the led lights were all pushed in. I opened it up to examine why and most of the circuit boards and pointenometers were loose. It appears that the glue was the wrong type and didn't stick to the case well. I used silicone and super glue to fasten the boards, dials and leds where they were supposed to be. I also noticed that 5 wires were broken from the pieces shaking around so I soldered the wires back. I have the outer two channels working now but but the center channel still doesn't. I will take another look tonight when I get home and see if it is an easy fix.
I have sent a note to them to see what they will do. I guess I will be the first to comment on the customer service if something goes wrong.
I have sent a note to them to see what they will do. I guess I will be the first to comment on the customer service if something goes wrong.
willy7499
New member
To answer the earlier questions about what will happen if the unit loses power, there is a small rechargeable battery connected to each timer for backup. I don't know how long it will keep the timer powered but it was pretty substantial (3 watch like batteries for each timer).
I'll take some pictures of the internals tonight and post them.
I'll take some pictures of the internals tonight and post them.
Thanks for checking on the power loss thing for me. Looks like I don't have to worry about reprogramming it every time the power goes out. I have a generator but takes a minute to get it plugged in and running.
I guess the first thing to do is open it up and check that everything is in place and secure before firing it up.
Should be here Monday :bounce2: :dance: :bounce1:
I guess the first thing to do is open it up and check that everything is in place and secure before firing it up.
Should be here Monday :bounce2: :dance: :bounce1:
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
wow sorry about hearing about all the loose stuff. I have PM'ed the guy before and he responded within 24 hours each time but never had talked about issues with the loose stuff so please let us know what they say and how they take care of it.
willy7499
New member
I found another wire that came loose so I soldered back and now all three pumps are working.
They did respond quickly to my questions and offered a couple of options. I could send the unit back and they will exchange or they would ship me the parts if I wanted to repair myself. They also seemed open for other suggestions but since I fixed it I didn't need to act further.
In one of the replies they gave a couple of suggestions for how to program.
Example 1: Set 10 second to dose 5ml
1. press "œcancel" 4 times to cancel the lock
2. press "œset" and "œclock" simultaneously, the letter "œb" will show on the screen
3. press "œminute" to enter the second. (d = 10)
4. press "œcancel" to leave the "œb" on the screen.
5. press "œset", "œ= : = = "œ will appear, press "œcancel" you will see "œ0 : 0 0", then you can enter the starting time(week, hour and minute) to dose
6. then press "œclock" to finish
7. let the timer remain "œAUTO OFF" state. The pump will run 10 second at the time you set.
8. finally, adjust the speed of pump until it can dose 5ml. (you may be tried all steps by several times until the pump can dose the correct amount.)
Example 2: Setting minutes to dose
1. press "œcancel" 4 times to cancel the lock
2. press "œset", the "œ= := =" will appear and then press "œcancel", you will see "œ 0 :00". Now you can enter the starting time(week, hour and minute) to dose.
3. press "œset" and "œcancel" again to enter the ending time(week, hour and minute), then press "œclock" to finish and let the timer remain "œAUTO" state
4. finally, adjust the speed of pump until it can dose correct amount. (you may be tried all steps by several times until the pump can dose the correct amount.)
They did respond quickly to my questions and offered a couple of options. I could send the unit back and they will exchange or they would ship me the parts if I wanted to repair myself. They also seemed open for other suggestions but since I fixed it I didn't need to act further.
In one of the replies they gave a couple of suggestions for how to program.
Example 1: Set 10 second to dose 5ml
1. press "œcancel" 4 times to cancel the lock
2. press "œset" and "œclock" simultaneously, the letter "œb" will show on the screen
3. press "œminute" to enter the second. (d = 10)
4. press "œcancel" to leave the "œb" on the screen.
5. press "œset", "œ= : = = "œ will appear, press "œcancel" you will see "œ0 : 0 0", then you can enter the starting time(week, hour and minute) to dose
6. then press "œclock" to finish
7. let the timer remain "œAUTO OFF" state. The pump will run 10 second at the time you set.
8. finally, adjust the speed of pump until it can dose 5ml. (you may be tried all steps by several times until the pump can dose the correct amount.)
Example 2: Setting minutes to dose
1. press "œcancel" 4 times to cancel the lock
2. press "œset", the "œ= := =" will appear and then press "œcancel", you will see "œ 0 :00". Now you can enter the starting time(week, hour and minute) to dose.
3. press "œset" and "œcancel" again to enter the ending time(week, hour and minute), then press "œclock" to finish and let the timer remain "œAUTO" state
4. finally, adjust the speed of pump until it can dose correct amount. (you may be tried all steps by several times until the pump can dose the correct amount.)
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
well thats great to hear that they were very willing to work with you to fix the problem with a few options. that helps to prove that they do have decent to good coustomer service.
glad you did get the pumps all working though
glad you did get the pumps all working though
MikeandNicole
New member
I ordered one before I saw this thread, everything was packaged well and looks good. I have to play with it a bit this weekend to get everything setup. Thank you guys for the instructions to setup seconds.
They also included a Christmas card which was nice.
They also included a Christmas card which was nice.
willy7499
New member
I told them about the loose parts internally and it appears the glue doesn't bond well with the case and suggested different glue. They commented on the message so hopefully they will take a look at it.
I was experimenting with the pump a little last night and besides the initial problems I am pleased with it.
I was experimenting with the pump a little last night and besides the initial problems I am pleased with it.
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
looks like he don't have any for sale at the moment so either he is taking a break for christmas or going through and checking the soldering of the others by taking the advice of willy. but either way here is the link to the seller and you can contact him that way
http://myworld.ebay.com/aqua-style
http://myworld.ebay.com/aqua-style
I just read on line that if you want to order one of these to email aqua24online@gmail.com and they will respond within a day.
I previously tried to order on their site and filled out all billing info, got a weird message back saying something about vendor can't except billing info at this time.
shifty51008
12-5 Chiefs record
http://www.aqua24online.com/Wholesale-marine-magic_c2400
I never tried their online site but there is the website.
anyway the pump is still running great, sometimes it scares me as they run so quiet that I never know if they are running so I have to watch for the led light to come on. lol
I never tried their online site but there is the website.
anyway the pump is still running great, sometimes it scares me as they run so quiet that I never know if they are running so I have to watch for the led light to come on. lol
yeah, that is the site I tried to order through.
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