Let's Count the Broken RIOs - Page 16

coralnut99 · 09/30/2005, 12:23 PM

I should have clarified my post. As 69vette correctly stated, the problems wre specific to the larger models. the 600's and smaller were more reliable.

Nao10, maybe you can clarify which pumps failed and which rios you've been using. FWIW, I tried JJ also. It worked OK on aptasia, but Majanos come right back. I've had the same success rate using Kalk. RC is all about sharing your experiences. Good and bad. I bought Seios even with the nightmare I had with the larger Rio's. You'll find that Seio's have something of a mixed track record too. Do other pumps fail? Sure they do. But not at the rate the bigger Rio's did, and nobody from Taam would step up to the problem.

Mikeeal · 09/30/2005, 12:59 PM

The new one's say, "Oil free epoxy" Did the old one's have that? I'm asking because I could care less if they suddenly just turn off, I just don't want a melt down with deadly black crap all over my tank.

I've decided to replace mine when I get caught up a bit, they'll just have to do for another month or so.

Sparkss · 09/30/2005, 01:31 PM

I recently replaced all of my Rio's (2500, 2100 and 180 I think they were) with Mag Drive pumps. But I did hear from some disgruntled mag drive owners (past owners) as well, but so far I have had much better luck with mine.

tankslave · 09/30/2005, 03:51 PM

Nothing like an external Iwaki...

coralfarm123 · 09/30/2005, 04:10 PM

I had a Rio 800 burn up in my small tank in the middle of the night. I woke up thinking my house was on fire and to find a tank full of oil and death. There were dead pods and worms everywhere. Luckily I did not have any fish and only just a few corals in the tank. I hate Rio equipment and encourage everyone to stay away from it. Even if they have fixed the issues with the old pumps oil leakage, they still are much less reliable than maxijets.

jacob30 · 09/30/2005, 04:22 PM

1=rio
1=other

angelfishlover · 09/30/2005, 06:00 PM

But the funny thing, seio's come from the same company that makes rio's. But so far no problems with a seio 820. Never had a rio and i guess I am lucky to find out this way other than the hard way.

Jamesurq · 09/30/2005, 08:46 PM

Time will tell Nicholas.

Seios have been out for how long?

londonloco · 09/30/2005, 10:02 PM

16 pages later and this thread is still going? My 2cents..I have used rios for years. 5-6 years ago I had 15 tanks going w/cichlids and fry grow out tanks. I must have had 10 rios going at once. NOT ONE FAILED. I took a 3 year break from the hobby, about a year ago I got back in. Bought 2 rio powerheads. They lasted 3 months..luckily they just stopped working, no fire....I now have mag drives and maxi jets...no problem with them yet....

sdhinds81 · 10/01/2005, 03:13 PM

3 Rios for me

m1a1fan · 10/02/2005, 09:41 AM

0 = always had good luck with Rio's.

guyguerra · 10/03/2005, 10:16 PM

I had several break, and they weren't' very old! Sequence pumps are excellent, but sometimes a small suction cup Rio is what you need, just plan on swapping out parts and don't use them in critical situations.

FloridaFishMan · 10/04/2005, 07:43 AM

I have a rio 2100 running my sump. After reading this thread it is kind of scary. I never thought a company could produce something so crappy and get away with it. I have been running mine for 4months now with no problems. If it is a newer pump does that mean it does not have the oil that leaks into the tank if it burns up? I think I am going to be getting a mag drive shortly.

Chris

coralnut99 · 10/04/2005, 08:16 AM

Floridafish, I don't think anyone who's contributed to this thread can say with any level of certainty that your rio will or won't fail, and if so, when. If you want some advice, I would have a magdrive ready. But that should hold true for any pump really. With these organisms being as fragile as they are, the last thing you want to do is lose any time to placing an order, or even driving to a lfs that may or may not have what you need.
Reading through this thread, and I'm certain it's not the only ant-rio thread RC's ever seen, it would seem the overwhelming experience has been negative with the larger rios, of which yours is one. The claim has been made that Rio has fixed their problems, but I and several others can attest to the Seios being problematic too. The Seios are just the new larger rios with a fancy impeller. So my advice would be to simply have a spare magdrive handy and get as much out of you rio as you can get.

PrangeWay · 10/04/2005, 09:08 AM

Zero failures.

I love them, there isn't another PH I'd use to mix my fresh saltwater....

PW

Travis L. Stevens · 10/04/2005, 10:10 AM

This is such a long thread. Is there an actual official count?

The Grim Reefer · 10/04/2005, 12:26 PM

Anyone claiming a Seio powerhead and Rio pumps are the same design must not have seen both. I think the larger Seio's so far have a good track record. the 820's seem to be the one's with the most trouble restarting from what I've read in the threads.

I actually use a Rio Hyperflow on my skimmer. I had one on my return from the sump and a power flash caused it to lock up. It was on for better than six hours before I caught it. No heat or any other problems caused by that at all. I get too many power flashes like that to chance a Rio or any other pump that is prone to locking up like that for a return so I will stick to mag drives. For a skimmer the Hyperflow is great and if it happens to lock up it isn't a huge deal. My Tunze Stream 6060 has the same problem with power outtages but when that baby locks up you know it, hell of a knocking noise.

Puffers · 10/04/2005, 12:59 PM

Rio 4 have failed, 1 actually smoked in the water!

MJ 1

dphins · 10/04/2005, 01:13 PM

I had a rio 600 blow open in my tank. Lost a ton of sps corals and 5 clams. Thanks Rio!

llamart · 10/05/2005, 08:07 AM

1 Rio, 1 metdown. On my old 45g cube 2 years ago. Came home from work and everything was toast. I am still angry about this because I will never be able to replace the hellfire anemone that I had.

Most motors will eventually fail, and I receintly had a eheim go. The problem that I see with Rio's is the amount of tanks that get wasted when they do fail. I have never heard of maxi's or eheim wasting tanks (but I'm sure a small percentage have happened). The only reason my LFS carries them is they sell CPR Backpacks (thats why I had mine). The more threads that appear like this, the more the consumer should respond by not using the product.

We must rise up brothers and unite to take the Rio Man down!

NeilsReef · 10/05/2005, 09:14 AM

I gave my friend a relatively new Rio 2100 (I gave him mine because his was having problems, go figure), he had used the pump for his main return pump (for about 2 months, and the pump maybe had 6 months of total usage).

To make a long story short: He went on vacation/hunting trip and the pump burned where it connected into the surge protector (that didn't protect, and the breakers didn't trip?). Thankfully his wife showed back up to the house which was filed with smoke, called the Fire Dept., they came out and took care of the problem.

After the fire:

His fish were dead or about to die.
His sump cracked & burned due to the heat.
His heater had some fun too once the sump was empty.
All of the electrictal cords to every piece of equipment had the plug burned, but it most defineately started at the Rio (as per the F.D.).
The carpet is defineately not new anymore.
A new odor was in the air, smoke.
The fire was caught before the integrity of the stand was compromised, got to love Natural Woodcrafters.

Anyway, thankfully I still have a friend and he still has a house!

I have also had 2 Rios go out on my own, and I got shocked by one of them.

A total of 4 Rios down, got to love them, LOL. I have since decided to put my money elsewhere.

Here is a Rio Joke for you: What do you get when one puts Rios on a Wavemaker?????

TROUBLE!!!!!

coralnut99 · 10/06/2005, 06:29 AM

I think this is a thread that has no end in sight. Yet Rios and Seios are still available almost everywhere. The stories in this thread about rios starting fires make me feel extremely fortunate that they only caused me a bunch of puddles on my basement floor and cost me a few bucks to replace.

So here's my question: As in the cases where these things have gone up in a blaze of glory, has anyone seriously taken their case to TAAM, and asked them what the heck is up with their products? My experience with them goes back a few years now, and just ended in a string of a half dozen or so dead 1700's and 2100's. I never got a response to emails. If they had caused a fire, I think I would've gone knocking on their door.

mopecula · 10/06/2005, 07:34 AM

I can't believe this company has not been sued as of yet!! with all the fires and mishaps because of this pump you think someone would have at least looked into some type of action. I have been using Rios mostly but as they quit I will be replacing them just for the fact that their is so many issues with this manufacture and this pump. Thanks to all for sharing

DgenR8 · 10/08/2005, 05:09 AM

I'm thinking that by putting an electrical appliance in a tank full of water, you are probably relieving the manufacturer of any responsibility. I could definitely be wrong, but I don't think you've got much chance at a successful law suit.
What really scares me about this thread is the number of people that post here saying that they've had no problems, and plan to continue using these pumps, or worse, the people that fully realize the potential yet will use the RIOs they have until such time as they quit and/or melt down catastrophically.

coralnut99 · 10/08/2005, 07:09 AM

I'm no attorney, but I've been faced with enough "contractual language" over the years, that I would bet they have pretty clear language in their literature limiting their liability to the value of their product. Most manufacturers and contractors will hide behind a "consequential damages" statement of some sort if the product fails or their services do the same. The only way they can be held legally accountable is if it can be determined that they've knowingly manufactured and distributed a dangerous product and ignored the facts. Maybe an attorney here on RC or someone with a legal background can verify my thinking here.

09/30/2005, 12:23 PM	#376
coralnut99 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bushkill, PA Posts: 3,632	I should have clarified my post. As 69vette correctly stated, the problems wre specific to the larger models. the 600's and smaller were more reliable. Nao10, maybe you can clarify which pumps failed and which rios you've been using. FWIW, I tried JJ also. It worked OK on aptasia, but Majanos come right back. I've had the same success rate using Kalk. RC is all about sharing your experiences. Good and bad. I bought Seios even with the nightmare I had with the larger Rio's. You'll find that Seio's have something of a mixed track record too. Do other pumps fail? Sure they do. But not at the rate the bigger Rio's did, and nobody from Taam would step up to the problem. __________________ Why can't my wife see this stuff as an investment? Current Tank Info: way too much to list, and still adding more!

09/30/2005, 12:59 PM	#377
Mikeeal Same avatar since '05 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Northern Nevada Posts: 1,285	The new one's say, "Oil free epoxy" Did the old one's have that? I'm asking because I could care less if they suddenly just turn off, I just don't want a melt down with deadly black crap all over my tank. I've decided to replace mine when I get caught up a bit, they'll just have to do for another month or so. __________________ "The leanest burger in the world!!! can be the MEEEAANEST burger in the world..if you cook it that way......" Current Tank Info: 125g fowlr

09/30/2005, 03:51 PM	#379
tankslave Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: San Jose Posts: 1,893	Nothing like an external Iwaki... __________________ Whoever said fishkeeping will lower your blood pressure never had a reef aquarium... "A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought." -Lord Peter Wimsey, "Gaudy Night" Current Tank Info: Tankless Reefer

09/30/2005, 06:00 PM	#382
angelfishlover Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Denham Springs, Louisiana Posts: 664	But the funny thing, seio's come from the same company that makes rio's. But so far no problems with a seio 820. Never had a rio and i guess I am lucky to find out this way other than the hard way. __________________ Nicholas What People Tell Me-Nick you don't need another tank What I Hear-Blah Blah Blah get another tank Current Tank Info: 80 Gallon Bow-Front SPS Reef, 55 FOWLR, 10 Gallon Nano Reef

10/03/2005, 10:16 PM	#387
guyguerra Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 701	I had several break, and they weren't' very old! Sequence pumps are excellent, but sometimes a small suction cup Rio is what you need, just plan on swapping out parts and don't use them in critical situations. __________________ "A man with a watch knows what time it is, a man with two watchs is never sure" Current Tank Info: 230 gal Reef

09/30/2005, 01:31 PM	#378
Sparkss Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Oakley (94561) Posts: 5,030	I recently replaced all of my Rio's (2500, 2100 and 180 I think they were) with Mag Drive pumps. But I did hear from some disgruntled mag drive owners (past owners) as well, but so far I have had much better luck with mine.

09/30/2005, 04:10 PM	#380
coralfarm123 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Indiana Posts: 590	I had a Rio 800 burn up in my small tank in the middle of the night. I woke up thinking my house was on fire and to find a tank full of oil and death. There were dead pods and worms everywhere. Luckily I did not have any fish and only just a few corals in the tank. I hate Rio equipment and encourage everyone to stay away from it. Even if they have fixed the issues with the old pumps oil leakage, they still are much less reliable than maxijets.

09/30/2005, 04:22 PM	#381
jacob30 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 813	1=rio 1=other

09/30/2005, 08:46 PM	#383
Jamesurq Moved On Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 5,470	Time will tell Nicholas. Seios have been out for how long?

09/30/2005, 10:02 PM	#384
londonloco Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: virginia Posts: 261	16 pages later and this thread is still going? My 2cents..I have used rios for years. 5-6 years ago I had 15 tanks going w/cichlids and fry grow out tanks. I must have had 10 rios going at once. NOT ONE FAILED. I took a 3 year break from the hobby, about a year ago I got back in. Bought 2 rio powerheads. They lasted 3 months..luckily they just stopped working, no fire....I now have mag drives and maxi jets...no problem with them yet....

10/01/2005, 03:13 PM	#385
sdhinds81 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 64	3 Rios for me

10/02/2005, 09:41 AM	#386
m1a1fan Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 253	0 = always had good luck with Rio's.

10/04/2005, 07:43 AM	#388
FloridaFishMan Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 452	I have a rio 2100 running my sump. After reading this thread it is kind of scary. I never thought a company could produce something so crappy and get away with it. I have been running mine for 4months now with no problems. If it is a newer pump does that mean it does not have the oil that leaks into the tank if it burns up? I think I am going to be getting a mag drive shortly. Chris __________________ Is this guy reef safe? Current Tank Info: 30 gal reef tank

10/04/2005, 08:16 AM	#389
coralnut99 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bushkill, PA Posts: 3,632	Floridafish, I don't think anyone who's contributed to this thread can say with any level of certainty that your rio will or won't fail, and if so, when. If you want some advice, I would have a magdrive ready. But that should hold true for any pump really. With these organisms being as fragile as they are, the last thing you want to do is lose any time to placing an order, or even driving to a lfs that may or may not have what you need. Reading through this thread, and I'm certain it's not the only ant-rio thread RC's ever seen, it would seem the overwhelming experience has been negative with the larger rios, of which yours is one. The claim has been made that Rio has fixed their problems, but I and several others can attest to the Seios being problematic too. The Seios are just the new larger rios with a fancy impeller. So my advice would be to simply have a spare magdrive handy and get as much out of you rio as you can get. __________________ Why can't my wife see this stuff as an investment? Current Tank Info: way too much to list, and still adding more!

10/04/2005, 09:08 AM	#390
PrangeWay Duke of Monte Fisto Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 722	Zero Zero failures. I love them, there isn't another PH I'd use to mix my fresh saltwater.... PW __________________ Dumbest Quotes Ever..... "Great color, great growth" closely followed by "all water parameters fine"

10/04/2005, 10:10 AM	#391
Travis L. Stevens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perry, OK Posts: 13,946	This is such a long thread. Is there an actual official count? __________________ Travis Stevens Current Tank Info: Restarting 28g Bowfront

10/04/2005, 12:26 PM	#392
The Grim Reefer Ready for some NOBALL!!! Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Kingman Az Posts: 25,259	Anyone claiming a Seio powerhead and Rio pumps are the same design must not have seen both. I think the larger Seio's so far have a good track record. the 820's seem to be the one's with the most trouble restarting from what I've read in the threads. I actually use a Rio Hyperflow on my skimmer. I had one on my return from the sump and a power flash caused it to lock up. It was on for better than six hours before I caught it. No heat or any other problems caused by that at all. I get too many power flashes like that to chance a Rio or any other pump that is prone to locking up like that for a return so I will stick to mag drives. For a skimmer the Hyperflow is great and if it happens to lock up it isn't a huge deal. My Tunze Stream 6060 has the same problem with power outtages but when that baby locks up you know it, hell of a knocking noise. __________________ America, the way it outta be! Current Tank Info: 120 Starphire with Illudium Q-288 Photon Regurgitator DIY LED lighting

10/04/2005, 12:59 PM	#393
Puffers Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 401	Rio 4 have failed, 1 actually smoked in the water! MJ 1 __________________ If I could only talk to my corals. Current Tank Info: 46 gallon bow, reef set up

10/04/2005, 01:13 PM	#394
dphins Last place no more! Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Godfrey, IL Posts: 3,165	I had a rio 600 blow open in my tank. Lost a ton of sps corals and 5 clams. Thanks Rio! __________________ I work with a bunch of monkeys! Current Tank Info: 120 rr tank. Hamilton Cebu light fixture.. Apex controller. ATB 840 v1.5 skimmer. Lifereef calcium reactor with Geo 2nd chamber. Tunze 6100, 6105 and 6045. 40 breeder sump with eheim 1262 return. Pacific coast chiller...

10/05/2005, 08:07 AM	#395
llamart Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 275	1 Rio, 1 metdown. On my old 45g cube 2 years ago. Came home from work and everything was toast. I am still angry about this because I will never be able to replace the hellfire anemone that I had. Most motors will eventually fail, and I receintly had a eheim go. The problem that I see with Rio's is the amount of tanks that get wasted when they do fail. I have never heard of maxi's or eheim wasting tanks (but I'm sure a small percentage have happened). The only reason my LFS carries them is they sell CPR Backpacks (thats why I had mine). The more threads that appear like this, the more the consumer should respond by not using the product. We must rise up brothers and unite to take the Rio Man down!

10/05/2005, 09:14 AM	#396
NeilsReef Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Troutdale, Oregon Posts: 75	I gave my friend a relatively new Rio 2100 (I gave him mine because his was having problems, go figure), he had used the pump for his main return pump (for about 2 months, and the pump maybe had 6 months of total usage). To make a long story short: He went on vacation/hunting trip and the pump burned where it connected into the surge protector (that didn't protect, and the breakers didn't trip?). Thankfully his wife showed back up to the house which was filed with smoke, called the Fire Dept., they came out and took care of the problem. After the fire: His fish were dead or about to die. His sump cracked & burned due to the heat. His heater had some fun too once the sump was empty. All of the electrictal cords to every piece of equipment had the plug burned, but it most defineately started at the Rio (as per the F.D.). The carpet is defineately not new anymore. A new odor was in the air, smoke. The fire was caught before the integrity of the stand was compromised, got to love Natural Woodcrafters. Anyway, thankfully I still have a friend and he still has a house! I have also had 2 Rios go out on my own, and I got shocked by one of them. A total of 4 Rios down, got to love them, LOL. I have since decided to put my money elsewhere. Here is a Rio Joke for you: What do you get when one puts Rios on a Wavemaker????? TROUBLE!!!!! __________________ Neil

10/06/2005, 06:29 AM	#397
coralnut99 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bushkill, PA Posts: 3,632	I think this is a thread that has no end in sight. Yet Rios and Seios are still available almost everywhere. The stories in this thread about rios starting fires make me feel extremely fortunate that they only caused me a bunch of puddles on my basement floor and cost me a few bucks to replace. So here's my question: As in the cases where these things have gone up in a blaze of glory, has anyone seriously taken their case to TAAM, and asked them what the heck is up with their products? My experience with them goes back a few years now, and just ended in a string of a half dozen or so dead 1700's and 2100's. I never got a response to emails. If they had caused a fire, I think I would've gone knocking on their door. __________________ Why can't my wife see this stuff as an investment? Current Tank Info: way too much to list, and still adding more!

10/06/2005, 07:34 AM	#398
mopecula Moved On Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ma. Posts: 148	I can't believe this company has not been sued as of yet!! with all the fires and mishaps because of this pump you think someone would have at least looked into some type of action. I have been using Rios mostly but as they quit I will be replacing them just for the fact that their is so many issues with this manufacture and this pump. Thanks to all for sharing

10/08/2005, 05:09 AM	#399
DgenR8 I'm an American and I remember Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 43,992	I'm thinking that by putting an electrical appliance in a tank full of water, you are probably relieving the manufacturer of any responsibility. I could definitely be wrong, but I don't think you've got much chance at a successful law suit. What really scares me about this thread is the number of people that post here saying that they've had no problems, and plan to continue using these pumps, or worse, the people that fully realize the potential yet will use the RIOs they have until such time as they quit and/or melt down catastrophically. __________________ “I wish there was a way to know that you were IN the good old days, before leaving them.” ~Andy Bernard Regional Manager, Scranton branch Dunder Mifflin Current Tank Info: Unknown slow drip, over 20 years damaged my house and heating system. No more tank.

10/08/2005, 07:09 AM	#400
coralnut99 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Bushkill, PA Posts: 3,632	I'm no attorney, but I've been faced with enough "contractual language" over the years, that I would bet they have pretty clear language in their literature limiting their liability to the value of their product. Most manufacturers and contractors will hide behind a "consequential damages" statement of some sort if the product fails or their services do the same. The only way they can be held legally accountable is if it can be determined that they've knowingly manufactured and distributed a dangerous product and ignored the facts. Maybe an attorney here on RC or someone with a legal background can verify my thinking here. __________________ Why can't my wife see this stuff as an investment? Current Tank Info: way too much to list, and still adding more!