Water movement, Tunze, Vortec, Jebao?

[tkeracer619]

Probably a silly assumption but if someone can afford MULTIPLE tunze powerheads, what's another $55 in a group buy for a jaebo for curiosity sake?

I have a few $ to save at what cost? Those of us that have been around a while have seen many tanks die because of equipment failures. I have spent too many nights sleeping on someone else's floor trying to rescue thousands in livestock because the owner took the cheep or unproven route on equipment.

Anyone who has seen a rio nuke, an aquatraders fire, a koralia shock, an exploding heater, failed return pump, or heck even contaminated carbon first hand knows the value of quality equipment/suppliers. The rest often need some more time to figure it out or learn from others mistakes. The wp pumps haven't been out long enough to get the full picture but a lot of failures and complaints in that time period are all I need to know to stick with the more expensive stuff.

Buying discount RO prefilters saved me at least $100 over the last few years. Too bad it also cost me $22,000 in livestock.

 

[jm23]

I love Vortechs, have 2 of them, don't mind the little noise, after all, they are making waves and have short pulses. They are quiet on other modes. I love Tunze's too, but hate cords in the tank even more than a little noise. Not a fan of anything Chinese made.

I have the jebeo and they produce waves that you couldn't believe. I also have a vortech and absolutely love it. My octopus protein skimmer makes more noise than the vortechs. The noise doesn't bother me at all. If you have the money get the vortechs and don't mess with anything Chinese . If you want to save go jebao.

I always find it ironic that messages about not liking anything Chinese are often typed from a computer or smartphone that most certainly has parts from China in them. The reality is China can produce great equipment and bad equipment, just like the US. The Jebaos are great pumps for the price point, yes some quality control issues have been seen, but if you buy from a place that honors the warranty you are covered. The stories of Vortech pumps failing is just as common based on threads.

 

[origreefer]

I always find it ironic that messages about not liking anything Chinese are often typed from a computer or smartphone that most certainly has parts from China in them. The reality is China can produce great equipment and bad equipment, just like the US. The Jebaos are great pumps for the price point, yes some quality control issues have been seen, but if you buy from a place that honors the warranty you are covered. The stories of Vortech pumps failing is just as common based on threads.

On the contrary, it's not ironic to the least. I try to buy American first, friendly to America second, and Chinese as an absolute last resort. Am I happy Apple is made in China and they make their workers work 6-day, 11 hr shifts at $1.50 an hour. Nope. But, if there were a US made substitute, I'd prefer that.

I'm in the retail business and have seen virtually all my suppliers shift from having their goods made in NA, to now the orient. 99% of my stock is not made in NA anymore. Sorry, the quality is not the same, not even close. I rarely had returns from defects. Now, with the same orient made item, returns are so frequent its hard to keep up. No getting repairs either, just throw the defective item away and we'll send you another piece of crap to replace it. As said above when we are dealing with a possible failure than can kill our tank and creatures, quality not price is more important. As always, when one is struggling for cash, low quality cheap chinese might be the only option. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[ridetheducati]

I have a few $ to save at what cost? Those of us that have been around a while have seen many tanks die because of equipment failures. I have spent too many nights sleeping on someone else's floor trying to rescue thousands in livestock because the owner took the cheep or unproven route on equipment.

Anyone who has seen a rio nuke, an aquatraders fire, a koralia shock, an exploding heater, failed return pump, or heck even contaminated carbon first hand knows the value of quality equipment/suppliers. The rest often need some more time to figure it out or learn from others mistakes. The wp pumps haven't been out long enough to get the full picture but a lot of failures and complaints in that time period are all I need to know to stick with the more expensive stuff.

Buying discount RO prefilters saved me at least $100 over the last few years. Too bad it also cost me $22,000 in livestock.

Amen.

 

[Ron99]

I used an MP40 for a couple years on my 75 gallon and really loved it. I'm building a new 120 and will be using it on that. It won't be enough though. While I would love a second MP40 I'm not sure I can justify the price and may try a Jebao at the other end of the tank.

 

[reefshadow]

I don't know if you've decided yet, but I just got an MP10 last week and can give you some feedback.

I love it, with a couple of caveats.

The ease of set up is nice. It definitely looks sexy. The function choices are very fun, though IMO only a few of them are really useful. The flow is superb, by far the best thing about this pump. My corals have never looked better. Everything was packaged slick and beautifully.

The caveats?

Well, I do not like the noise. I run mine @ 100% reef crest and you can easily hear it anytime it ramps above 60%. If this is a concern to you I would go check one out at a friend's house. I can see why some people wouldn't be able to stand it. I have a moderate tolerance but I would rather it not be so noisy. NO- I will not turn it down. What's the point of spending that kind of dough on a product I'm not going to fully utilize. YES- I have tried adjusting it. The pump is fine, that is its normal and expected noise. It is hard to describe what it sounds like. Have you ever heard someone operating a sewing machine with foot pedal? It's similar. Kind of a droning whining sound that ramps up and down. I can't run it in pulse mode at all. The noise is horribly distracting then, and like I said, I have a moderate tolerance so you can imagine how it sounds to someone with low tolerance. I use the nutrient transport every couple of days and it pulses at the beginning of that program. I wouldn't do it with company over.

My other caveat (smaller) is the user interface. While the controller is sexy and well built, it is IMO very unfriendly. Is that purple or pink? Wait, was reef crest after ecosmart? What color is nutrient export? Let me get my map. Are the first two LED's lit up? Honey, can you come and look at it?

So that's my review. Overall, I love it because my corals look so stinkin healthy. Oh, and my guy bought it for me (blush). If I had bought it myself, I would be more unhappy than I am with the negatives.

 

[ClownsRCoo]

Id like to chime in on the fact that Jebao products are not such a bargin like everyone makes them out to be. I recently ordered the two WP-25's with the twins controller and could not have been more disappointed with the product. The instructions are useless. The pump itself is on par quality-wise with a Koralia or something in that class. The power adapter is garbage. When i was trying to push the power cord into the adapter you could see the connection on the adapter being pushed inside of the adapter. Feels like you are praying to get it plugged in snug and not totally cave in the connection. Good luck if you ever have to do that more than once. The controller feels just as cheap. Even though I only spent $130 on that set up which is nothing compared to a Vortech that is still a lot of money and it just felt like I paid that much for a dollar store item.

I hooked mine up in my 90g tank to see if i could get this "awesome wave" that everyone talks about. Well i was very disappointed to find out that not only was i not able to get that in my tank but on full blast with my hand underwater in the middle of the tank i couldnt even feel either powerhead. After 10 minutes with them I had see enough. I emailed back the fish-street rep...Eric i think it was and told him i must have a defective pump becuase there is no way that others are happy with this. He basically blew me off and said the 25's were just undersized for my tank and that I must not know what im doing. No explination of what i may be doing wrong, no willingness to help me correct it. Just an insult and then told me to ship them back to him.

Well i wasnt about to drop even more money on this crap product so i decided to sell them and be done with it. Come to find out the guy that bought them from me posted a few days ago that after 2 days with them his power supply burned up. Thank god he didnt have a fire. Now Jebao is saying apparently that they have changed the power supply design yet again and want you to buy another one. They dont test anything they do obviously before they release it. They just slap something together for as cheap as possible and sit back and wait for how many issues they hear of before they have to tweak something yet again. That is a total crap way of doing business.

I bought 2 used MP-40's and the quality and functionality are night and day difference. Everything about a vortech speaks of that company's quality and attention to detail. They are louder than the WP's yes, but the motor is on the outside of the tank so what do you expect. They move a ton of water and now with the ability to program them in a matter of minutes through ESL set up is a breeze. The set up on them takes a few steps like a posted above mentioned but at least you get comprehensive instructions on what to do and their customer service is top notch. They will bend over backwards to make sure you are happy with their products. I am a valued customer to that company not just another sale they are hoping they dont hear from until after your return period expires like Jebao.

Vortech also takes the time to test their products before releasing them to the public unlike Jebao. They understand that you spent a lot of money on their product and when they release new products you are able to keep your exsisting ones and still use their new functionality and interactive services like through ESL. They could just as easily make all previous models obsolete when new features come out but they dont. The battery back-up accesory is also a giant plus. I know you can get that through things like APC backups but those are very big and bulky and cost more than these.

If you need something repaired or replaced good luck doing that quickly with Jebao products. There is only one retailer that i know of and you have high shipping charges on everything from them. Ecotech products are sold at pretty much every major fish retailer. I can go right up the street and have my pumps back up and running in under an hour.

I have heard great things about Tunze. Honestly i have never heard a bad thing on them at all. That would probably be my first choice of product if their equipment was more sleek like the Ecotech products. For me my tank is not only a hobby but a show piece of my house. I want it to look nice and I just think the look of their pumps takes away from the wow factor of the tank itself.

Ill never buy another Jebao piece of junk again. Id gladly pay more for the piece of mind that the company will stand behind their product. The functionality, accessories and ease of use are exceptional. They have a great resale value and have been proven for long enough that I can rest assured that it will stay that way. When I want to upgrade to new ones it wont be such a large hit because i know ill get good money for mine.

All Jebao needs is a few more years and we will either see a decent lifespan or massive failures from them. If the later were to happen you might as well trash them when you decide to go a different direction.

 

[reefshadow]

They are louder than the WP's yes, but the motor is on the outside of the tank so what do you expect.

When I was gifted my Vortech I knew about the noise issue. I doubt if anyone can claim ignorance to that. I think most reefers network to some extent or other, and most research their purchases ahead of time. In my case, I actually visited a Vortech and noted the noise with my own ears.

I personally have to wonder though if they could do "better". I know that bearings are expensive, but in my research I read that many people who are replacing the dryside bearings are coming out the other end with a unit that is much more silent that Vortech's out-of-the-box product. Don't get me wrong- I knew it ahead of time and so it is "on the buyer" in this case, but I just have to throw it out there that they could probably do better with minimal added cost. They sure are a lot of money!

The user interface comment is really a very small complaint. It's just something I noticed was a bit of a PITA, and I thought I would throw that small negative out there. I think they kind of traded sexiness for friendliness in that case. Just my personal opinion, but you know what they say about those!

Overall, Vortech seems to me to be a quality product and its effects are well worth the money- if one has the money.

 

[Chris Lakies]

I was on a personal journey of what i should do for my new 120 gallon build. I already have one MP40 and MP10. They have been running really great for me and no problems other than i had to replace the bearings on the MP10 (which was really easy and is even quieter). I was thinking 2 WP 40's but then came to my senses and got another MP40. If the MP10 will work on the almost 1/2" glass then i will use it on the back glass. I really love the control-ability on the ecotechs. They are pricey though.

 

[tkeracer619]

I have a suspicion (this is completely made up in my head btw) that the reason for them building that new plant in PA is so they can bring all of their manufacturing in house which will increase their control over certain aspects.

I've been using vortechs for a long time now and I don't know why it never came to mind to set the spacer out as far as possible and using the cord to support the dry side rather then the magnetic force. Dropped the noise by 3db (half volume) at least. I saw the recommendation on one of these threads in the last month and decided to give it a go. Works like a charm.

 

[reefshadow]

I've been using vortechs for a long time now and I don't know why it never came to mind to set the spacer out as far as possible and using the cord to support the dry side rather then the magnetic force.

Hmmmm. I set up exactly to directions and used the little rubber pad B/C my glass is very thin. However, my tank is only 12 inches deep and so though I used the mounting tab above the pump, it is only stuck about an inch above the dry side. I simply cannot put it up any higher D/T the shallow depth. I wonder if that's the issue.

Any recommendations about playing with the spacer? The booklet doesn't actually cover this at all. Are you referring to the "pins" that people talk about? Where are those and how does one adjust them?

ETA- Never mind, the MP10 has no spacers.

 

[EllisJuan]

I am happy with my Jebao pumps...I am also happy with the Apex controller I bought with the money I saved.

 

[Portsie]

I bought 2 mp10wes's used, then upgraded my tank and purchased a used mp40w used as well. I couldn't be happier and I doubt I'll ever have a non-vortech in my display again. My corals love the random flow, but for me, it's all about the low profile in the tank. I can live with the noise. Getting the mp40 lined up perfectly after cleaning is a bit of a nightmare though, but it is an older style.

 

[tkeracer619]

Any recommendations about playing with the spacer?

Unfortunately not with the mp10, I have limited hands on experience.

 

[tkeracer619]

A little video I put together showing you how loud my vortechs are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNYgEL1QEdc

BTW you have provided us way too little information to give you a real judgment on what you should get. At this point people are just going to tell you what they have not what will work best for your setup or budget.

Someone from RC has been sending me harassing PMs on youtube that have originated from this link. I would just like to tell that person THANKS :rollface:.

I made this video as a troll and you have to date given me the most laughs! :lol::thumbsup::lmao:

 

[sirreal63]

That is hilarious.