....I suppose the RD 3 is still going to be a better pump
I'm not so sure about that, time will tell though.
So I have been biting my tongue for a while. I have been using an Ecotech Marine return pump for close to 4 years. I acquired these without Ecotechs knowledge from a beta tester after he left the hobby and out of respect I didn't want to leak any info that Ecotech was in fact working on a return pump. I've blurred the serial numbers but in case you get busted dude, sorry... I held out as long as I could. Now that the cat is out of the bag I am going to show them. AFAIK these are the only published pics of the Ecotech TiTech pumps
.
These are not the pumps being released as they are visably different and are ac based but I can tell you these things are amazing. The stats printed on the label are quite conservative but you can get a feel for the flow ranges. They are quiet, I have never encountered a stall, and I have never taken them apart for cleaning so I don't know what they look like on the inside. What I can say is these are by far the best pumps I have used, they are external or submersible, I've used them in both configs. You can clearly tell that the pump body and manufacture date should put to rest that they are rebadged or copies of Chinese DC pumps as they were made in 2011, long before those things were even a thought.
I am stoked to see the new pumps fit the form factor because in the event anything breaks on these pumps I will likely have to manufacture the parts myself. Given the serial numbers I cannot imagine they made more than a handful of them. So the fact that these pumps fit the form factor means I will probably be able to adapt them without much plumbing change. If they kept the fittings the same a standard threaded pvc union will also fit.
I use this pump as my return, it is plumbed into a manifold and feeds several reactors and 3 connected tanks.
I use this pump as a closed loop, it is hanging from the top of my stand in my BTA tank.
So there you have it, my juicy details. Ecotech has been developing these pumps for over 4 years. Given their history of consistent improvement I can only imagine these new pumps are silent, durable, more efficient, and powerful. I grinned ear to ear after seeing the leaked photo on this thread, I wasn't entirely sure they had continued the project. Glad they did!!! :dance:
That said, I won't be upgrading any time soon (I hope)
. These beasts do just fine.
