Words of warning

Scubaken · 07/03/2015, 08:31 AM

The very start of our u der water environment is the RODI system, I had a old and failing unit that I just couldn't get to make enough water, so I decided after 5 years to change.
Aqua fx octopus seemed like the best equipment, came with a booster pump and seemed like a techno wonderful piece of equipment, that flushed membranes and took care of the fabled 000PPM requirement at 100 GPD.
Excited and a little nervous I cut off one of my arms to pay the handsome fee, and waited for the day of delivery, in the meanwhile I watched every video and read all the reviews a second and third time................
The filter arrived in record time, I was impressed by the sheer size of the box it came in, I thought "wow I'm going to need a bigger tank", I removed the old rodi and got to work ensuring all the pipes were seated correctly as this Rodi unit comes completely set up ready to go and are hand constructed at AquaFX factory.
I installed the water line and plugged it in, turned the water on and energised the power supply, a think of Beauty that started to do a countdown, 10,9,8,7.6,5.4,3,2,1,0 .............. The a electronic click and water started to fill the chambers, a couple of seconds more and the pump kicked in, now a 30 second "membrane rinse" and adjust the reject rate and I'm making water...............l.l thrilled is not the word.
I waited with baited breath as the rinse cycle finished, oh how marvellous this machine is, suddenly a torpedo hit the good ship scubken, all hands on deck, water was spraying out everywhere, turn the water off, turn the pressure pump off throw towel over the unit to stop the flooding and soaking of the entire house.
Deflated, gutted, shocked, almost to the point of tears.
My biggest concern was, just how many places had the water come from, I think I saw 3, but I wasn't sure..............l I pushed the pies back into their receptacles again in the areas that I thought were leaking p, I was surprised I had missed some many "every unit is hand made to order in our factory" sprung to mind again..........l.l.l.l.l I remounted and once again connected the water in and out pipes, then energised the system, the countdown process started again............. This time we are making water, I note some leaks and again push the pipes back into their homes as much as they will go.
Water water weaping out of almost every connection, and every time I tried to push the pies back in, they seemed to push back out again I noticed that the little blue horse shoe clips that my last rodi unit had, we're not installed on this unit, maybe they were left off at "hand made" factory stage ? Surely this is easy to do, who would notice ? I tried to install the spares from my old Rodi system but they just didn't quite fit, maybe I should change the fittings for new ? So I we t and visited the local fish stores, and was met with "we don't stock, return the unit, buy ours instead", Al I wanted was a rodi unit to make water for my fish.
I emailed Aquafx with my plight on their web site comments box, and installed my old Rodi unit again, I was a little scared to tell my wife and get that "talk again", a few days later we departed on 3 weeks vacation, I certainly couldn't use the new super Aquafx rodi so I told the family I had reinstalled the old unit, as the new unit was still unproved and this was the safest thing to do.

3 weeks seemed to pass quickly, the following day I once again uninstalled my old rodi unit and reinstalled Goliath the greatest rodi system in the world, praying that the leaks had somehow fixed themselves.............. Oh how wrong I was, this time the torpedo hit hard, I couldn't find a towel and had to revert to my body, arms, legs and hands to try and quash the water explosion.
Once again I stood before this Goliath "damn well waste of money" soaking wet and very disappointed.
I decided that I would remove every pipe and replace it with new pipe, it seemed that the pipes I used to replace the OEM were thicker, somewhat "better quality" they fit snugly into the recepticals and appeared to lock in.
Once again I started the count down, and before my very eyes a marvel of water production started, "it's alive" it's alive" and clear well started to fill, I stood there with a grin from ear to ear.
1 leak................... That grew into a jet of water, shut the system down..........
The pipe that entered the rear of the pressure gauge didn't seem to "lock in", u pin examination I noticed that the internal collar was missing ? I searched through my own spared box and found one, installed and once again started the count down, success ! ! ! !

I am now 2 weeks without a drop, the rodi is making lots of 000PPM water, the fish are loving it !

I emailed AQUQFX from their website asking for help, advice, anything really to try and get this equipment working, sure I contemplated returning the unit, however having just paid $120 to ship it here, I really wasn't ready to get fleeced again sending it back, so I was left to my own means.

I want to warn everyone, that claims of great service and support are just words, I certainly will never recommend AQUAFX to anyone , in fact quite the opposite, They have no customer service. They behave like a "garage, weekend business" and that's why in my mind "each unit is handmade for each customer", I could be wrong, I can only speak to my experience with them as a new customer who was down $500 including shipping.

Buyer beware.

Fish Stix · 07/03/2015, 10:55 AM

Thanks for the heads-up...

sleepydoc · 07/03/2015, 11:22 AM

I took a look at AquaFX's web page. It states the Octopus filter has 'all kinds of cool gadgets.' That's a red flag to me - more things to go wrong.

Glad you got things working. Customer Service is the Achilles heal of a lot of companies. Several RC Sponsors sell RO/DI systems (BRS, Buckeye Hydro, Spectrapure, Filter Guys, Air Water Ice) and there are many stories of happy customers and good service from them for far cheaper than the Octopus. AquaFX makes a lot of claims about their GPD production, waste ratios, etc. but unless you really need that many GPD, I would recommend going with a unit from one of the companies that has a better track record.

Scubaken · 07/03/2015, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

I took a look at AquaFX's web page. It states the Octopus filter has 'all kinds of cool gadgets.' That's a red flag to me - more things to go wrong.

Glad you got things working. Customer Service is the Achilles heal of a lot of companies. Several RC Sponsors sell RO/DI systems (BRS, Buckeye Hydro, Spectrapure, Filter Guys, Air Water Ice) and there are many stories of happy customers and good service from them for far cheaper than the Octopus. AquaFX makes a lot of claims about their GPD production, waste ratios, etc. but unless you really need that many GPD, I would recommend going with a unit from one of the companies that has a better track record.

Seems to be working now, I just don't see why after that amount of money and the "handmade to order" a customer should have to deal with so many issues and absolutely no response or reply from the company or any offer of support or u detests ding.
It's a disgrace to say the least

Jyetman · 07/03/2015, 09:34 PM

I'll remember to avoid this company.

07/03/2015, 08:31 AM	#1
Scubaken Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 261	Words of warning The very start of our u der water environment is the RODI system, I had a old and failing unit that I just couldn't get to make enough water, so I decided after 5 years to change. Aqua fx octopus seemed like the best equipment, came with a booster pump and seemed like a techno wonderful piece of equipment, that flushed membranes and took care of the fabled 000PPM requirement at 100 GPD. Excited and a little nervous I cut off one of my arms to pay the handsome fee, and waited for the day of delivery, in the meanwhile I watched every video and read all the reviews a second and third time................ The filter arrived in record time, I was impressed by the sheer size of the box it came in, I thought "wow I'm going to need a bigger tank", I removed the old rodi and got to work ensuring all the pipes were seated correctly as this Rodi unit comes completely set up ready to go and are hand constructed at AquaFX factory. I installed the water line and plugged it in, turned the water on and energised the power supply, a think of Beauty that started to do a countdown, 10,9,8,7.6,5.4,3,2,1,0 .............. The a electronic click and water started to fill the chambers, a couple of seconds more and the pump kicked in, now a 30 second "membrane rinse" and adjust the reject rate and I'm making water...............l.l thrilled is not the word. I waited with baited breath as the rinse cycle finished, oh how marvellous this machine is, suddenly a torpedo hit the good ship scubken, all hands on deck, water was spraying out everywhere, turn the water off, turn the pressure pump off throw towel over the unit to stop the flooding and soaking of the entire house. Deflated, gutted, shocked, almost to the point of tears. My biggest concern was, just how many places had the water come from, I think I saw 3, but I wasn't sure..............l I pushed the pies back into their receptacles again in the areas that I thought were leaking p, I was surprised I had missed some many "every unit is hand made to order in our factory" sprung to mind again..........l.l.l.l.l I remounted and once again connected the water in and out pipes, then energised the system, the countdown process started again............. This time we are making water, I note some leaks and again push the pipes back into their homes as much as they will go. Water water weaping out of almost every connection, and every time I tried to push the pies back in, they seemed to push back out again I noticed that the little blue horse shoe clips that my last rodi unit had, we're not installed on this unit, maybe they were left off at "hand made" factory stage ? Surely this is easy to do, who would notice ? I tried to install the spares from my old Rodi system but they just didn't quite fit, maybe I should change the fittings for new ? So I we t and visited the local fish stores, and was met with "we don't stock, return the unit, buy ours instead", Al I wanted was a rodi unit to make water for my fish. I emailed Aquafx with my plight on their web site comments box, and installed my old Rodi unit again, I was a little scared to tell my wife and get that "talk again", a few days later we departed on 3 weeks vacation, I certainly couldn't use the new super Aquafx rodi so I told the family I had reinstalled the old unit, as the new unit was still unproved and this was the safest thing to do. 3 weeks seemed to pass quickly, the following day I once again uninstalled my old rodi unit and reinstalled Goliath the greatest rodi system in the world, praying that the leaks had somehow fixed themselves.............. Oh how wrong I was, this time the torpedo hit hard, I couldn't find a towel and had to revert to my body, arms, legs and hands to try and quash the water explosion. Once again I stood before this Goliath "damn well waste of money" soaking wet and very disappointed. I decided that I would remove every pipe and replace it with new pipe, it seemed that the pipes I used to replace the OEM were thicker, somewhat "better quality" they fit snugly into the recepticals and appeared to lock in. Once again I started the count down, and before my very eyes a marvel of water production started, "it's alive" it's alive" and clear well started to fill, I stood there with a grin from ear to ear. 1 leak................... That grew into a jet of water, shut the system down.......... The pipe that entered the rear of the pressure gauge didn't seem to "lock in", u pin examination I noticed that the internal collar was missing ? I searched through my own spared box and found one, installed and once again started the count down, success ! ! ! ! I am now 2 weeks without a drop, the rodi is making lots of 000PPM water, the fish are loving it ! I emailed AQUQFX from their website asking for help, advice, anything really to try and get this equipment working, sure I contemplated returning the unit, however having just paid $120 to ship it here, I really wasn't ready to get fleeced again sending it back, so I was left to my own means. I want to warn everyone, that claims of great service and support are just words, I certainly will never recommend AQUAFX to anyone , in fact quite the opposite, They have no customer service. They behave like a "garage, weekend business" and that's why in my mind "each unit is handmade for each customer", I could be wrong, I can only speak to my experience with them as a new customer who was down $500 including shipping. Buyer beware.

07/03/2015, 11:22 AM	#3
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	I took a look at AquaFX's web page. It states the Octopus filter has 'all kinds of cool gadgets.' That's a red flag to me - more things to go wrong. Glad you got things working. Customer Service is the Achilles heal of a lot of companies. Several RC Sponsors sell RO/DI systems (BRS, Buckeye Hydro, Spectrapure, Filter Guys, Air Water Ice) and there are many stories of happy customers and good service from them for far cheaper than the Octopus. AquaFX makes a lot of claims about their GPD production, waste ratios, etc. but unless you really need that many GPD, I would recommend going with a unit from one of the companies that has a better track record. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

07/03/2015, 10:55 AM	#2
Fish Stix Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 50	Thanks for the heads-up...

07/03/2015, 09:34 PM	#5
Jyetman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,712	I'll remember to avoid this company.