return pump help

[ronau]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

And that's your experience with DC pumps
You're lucky to not have any failures as so many others have
I've read many threads here about the Jebao pump controllers failing, and Waveline, and Waveline's offshoot Speedwave
Anyone notice J&L doesn't carry Speedwave anymore ?

From what I've seen here on Canreef, and what I've read online, I would never buy any DC pump right now no matter what brand. Even the Waveline products have had issues and I thought they were the best

I'm still waiting for the DC pump market to 'fix' itself before I spend any of my limited reef tank budget on anything I 'don't need'

Do you really think there are gonna be tonnes of threads saying their DC pumps are working awesome? People post more when they want to complain vs. praise a product.

Personally I treat Jebao as disposable equipment, if it breaks down, I replace it. Last time I bought DC-12000 pumps, they cost me $140 each. One just broke down and I'll probably just keep it around for parts. When I started out I wasn't sure what equipment I was gonna run so having the flexibility to control flow was important to me. My RO DC skimmer has been going strong for almost a year now.

Like FishyFishy said, early power supplies were the main culprit but supposedly if you don't run it at 100%, it lasts a lot longer. I'm not saying that's right because who wants something they can't fully utilize but something that may help. I also never cared about controllers much once the after market Apex cables were available. I believe the new powers supplies and controllers are better now.

I also now have an Eheim 1262 and Compact 5000 as back up return pumps but not because I don't trust DC pumps but because I got them for a good deal.

[garwood]

how do you find the eheim compact 5000. thinkin about that one too being adjustable

[WarDog]

Let me tell you about my Eheim compact 5000. It is noisier than I expected. I've had to sit it on a media foam pad and I am using medical tubing on the output. Now it's deadly silent. The valve on the side of the pump is fully open and pushing about 600 gph @ 5 foot of head (3/4 PVC). I need to ramp it down. I don't question Eheims reliability, as I've used smaller ones on past freshwater tanks. Next time I purchase a return pump, I too am thinking of trying a Sicce Syncra. Hope this helps.

[garwood]

thank you for telling me that...i had almost decided on the compact 5000. so im back to the drawing board then at least iv narrowed it down to mag 9.5, eheim 1262 or the sicce 5....like the price of mag but also find the sicce interesting

[Skimmin]

Jebao DCT 12000 has been good to me so far. 2 mo running @80% w/no issues. Hope it lasts. This is the newest model so supposedly bugs have been worked out. Guess I'll find out and keep my fingers crossed.

[garwood]

its in the living room so noise is a factoe.. also if maxxing out at 600 at 5 feet then not much room for future expansion with my head of 5'6" might not make the compact 5000 a good choice. if the sicce is a good pump it has a operating range that i can grow with

[garwood]

just had my new mag 9.5 delivered... it was so cheap that i figured if i dont like it i can keep it for a backup or find another use. so time to start playing with flow