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powdertang05

powdertang05

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I just RMA'd one of the three WAV pumps in my display. it went out at 1.1 yrs old and its dead. Neptune said its something internal and is not repairable. They offered me 50% off. Not sure if I should buy another one for $100 when they only last a year. What do you think? If I dont end up using it ill let anyone else use the coupon.
 
I have not heard reports of lots of WAV pump failures.
So while annoying, and 1 year is definitely short, it could just be bad luck.

Even the most expensive Abyzz pumps have reports of early failure.

Many companies would not even give you a reduced price replacement.

But it is still an early failure, which is a problem, and not something to just ignore.

Key questions:
Did you like the pump before it failed?
What other pump are you considering?
Do you like/need the controllability?

Compare your new $100 WAV against what you would have to buy to replace it.
 
A good friend of mine tried running just WAV pumps on his 500g. Three of them died in a little over a year and the three replacements have also failed since then.
 
grizfyrfyter said:
A good friend of mine tried running just WAV pumps on his 500g. Three of them died in a little over a year and the three replacements have also failed since then.
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I’m assuming he uses something else now. Do you know what he switched to?

Also, you said that he used only wav pumps on his 500 gallon tank. I can’t imagine that he only used 3 for the whole tank. How many did he have running?

I had my two running for a year without a problem. I’m not great at maintenance either. I only cleaned mine once in that year.
 
Justin had 6 running in the tank, he also has a couple jebao pumps, though I don't know what size or how many.

Of the original 6, 3 of them died and 3 more after they were replaced.
 
rygh said:
I have not heard reports of lots of WAV pump failures.
So while annoying, and 1 year is definitely short, it could just be bad luck.

Even the most expensive Abyzz pumps have reports of early failure.

Many companies would not even give you a reduced price replacement.

But it is still an early failure, which is a problem, and not something to just ignore.

Key questions:
Did you like the pump before it failed?
What other pump are you considering?
Do you like/need the controllability?

Compare your new $100 WAV against what you would have to buy to replace it.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that Abyzz also extends their 1 year warranty to 10 years if you register it near when you buy it.

I am interested in knowing how these hold up (actually got two to try out for just that reason). They aren't Vortechs, but as far as flow vs. cost for applications where I can't mount to an exterior wall they look promising, and I have that particular need more than many.
 
sfsuphysics said:
$1500 for 2000gph return pump, it better have a lifetime warrenty.

The price on those to Vectras is like what Tunze was to Maxijet
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I don't disagree and I personally don't own one. I do however know plenty of people running Danner Mag-Drives and if you take electricity cost an Abyzz return pump is cheaper on a 10 year basis than a Mag Drive (assuming you aren't having to constantly heat your reef).
 
Sure over a 10 year period the brand new technology saves money in the lifetime, but you could also probably an argument to buying luxury car over a real old gas guzzling classic. When the cost savings should be looked at with more modern pumps in mind, your Vectra, Varios, Sicce, etc where you can get quality DC pumps at a price point that is maybe 20% the price of an Abyzz.

I mean I never thought I'd see something in this hobby that makes Royal Exclusiv look cheap.
 
I have one of the abyzz pumps slated for the new build but we’ll see. They don’t make power heads though do they? The only ones I saw from them were for commercial sized tanks.
 
Yeah I think they primarily cater to pubic aquariums or private ones of similar size, I mean have you seen their A1200 series? Thing quite literally is like the size of a vacuum cleaner :D

Here ya go
https://www.coralvue.com/abyzz-afc400-commercial-flow-pump
Up to 58,000 gallons per hour, at the low low price of $8160 :D

But in all seriousness, at these price points it'd be nicer to deal directly with the company because whatever "standard markup" that's done on equipment via third parties (whether it's 10% or 25%) starts to get to be significant.
 
jccaclimber said:
... electricity cost ... assuming you aren't having to constantly heat your reef....
Click to expand...

That selected part of the quote is really key for pumps and powerheads.
The bay area is cool. Except for a few weeks in the summer, most of us do not use chillers, and have
electric heaters running at some point during the day.
So power efficiency of anything fully submerged simply does not matter.
Wasted power gets turned into heat, so heater runs less.

Ironically, devices like Abyzz have external power supplies and controls.
While more efficient, that heat is OUTSIDE the tank, so is wasted.
Thus, your old crappy mag drive pumps are "overall" more efficient than Abyzz. :)
Especially true of Vortechs.

Of course, taken to the extreme, it will put too much heat in your tank, bumping you to the point
of needing a chiller, which of course really wastes power.
 
Yup, when I was cycling water from sump to main tank in the 40 used a really old 70watt Rio pump, was pleasantly surprised how much that helped heat the water

That said you'll be hard pressed to find an AC pump quieter than anything but the worst out of spec DC pump
 
Ecotech is has been pretty good about replacing failed out of warranty magnets IME.

How many people here are running lids and what do you consider an ideal tank temperature? My tank is barely running the heater, if at all, and yet runs a bit warmer than I’d like during parts of the day (79* F).
 
jccaclimber said:
Ecotech is has been pretty good about replacing failed out of warranty magnets IME.

How many people here are running lids and what do you consider an ideal tank temperature? My tank is barely running the heater, if at all, and yet runs a bit warmer than I’d like during parts of the day (79* F).
Click to expand...
Might be a good idea to pose that question in a separate thread?
 
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