I'm done with ecotech marine....

rick4him · 05/03/2013, 10:52 AM

Well I'm done with Ecotech marine...

I have now had 3 mp10's go out on me in the course of 4 years. I just talked to one of the mangers there and told me that I should expect the motor of the mp10 to only last 2-3 years...that is 'normal.'

For the price of these units I would expect them to last much longer then that with proper maintenance.

What really disappointed me was I called eco-tech with some issues I was having on 2 of my mp10's and they said even though they were out of warranty to send them and they would try there best to take care of me...either with a repair or a discount on a replacement if needed.

Well they ended up saying they couldn't do anything and I needed to buy a new wetside, and 2 new dry sides. They wanted to charge me full retail price for the replacement parts. I said no thanks.

I do not want to buy new units in another 2-3 years.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to go with instead of the ecotech products? I wanted to like them, but now having had 3 units go bad on me, and reading numerous stories online of other people having problems with the dry side as well, I don't feel ok investing more money in their products. They just don't seem reliable over time.

What other products have you had good luck with?

discocarp · 05/03/2013, 10:58 AM

My tunzes have been running for years with no issues.

ReachTheSky · 05/03/2013, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick4him

I just talked to one of the mangers there and told me that I should expect the motor of the mp10 to only last 2-3 years...that is 'normal.'

Really? That's just absurd. I've known cheaper pumps the lasted for 10+ years.

Sorry to hear of all those troubles with Ecotech though. A good alternative to them is Tunze. One or two of their 6105's would be good for your tank. Their pretty well known for bullet proof reliability.

Pittsburgh · 05/03/2013, 11:03 AM

I've had similar experience with Tunze heads as well... they seem to last about 2-3 years running pretty much non stop. My 6101s failed while approaching the end of the warranty, so I lucked out then. Replacements lasted a bit longer, probably about 2 years+. I'm on my third set of powerheads in less than 6 years now. I run them on a controller, so the constant start/stop probably doesn't help the reliability.

For the price, I sometime think that I should just get a box of koralia's and replace them like lightbulbs in the house. Would probably be more cost effective and just as good.

redfishblewfish · 05/03/2013, 11:19 AM

The Jebo WP40 and WP25 have been getting a lot of press. Don't know much about them, but do a search and see what you find.

I've redone the bearings in my MP10 using this DIY Dryside Fix.

jdezek · 05/03/2013, 11:22 AM

I had a set of eBay specials I paid $25.00 for and just had the second one fail on me after about 2 yrs. granted they don't kick on and off like the vortechs do but for $25 what do you expect. I wanted the mp40's but there out of my price range and if you have to spend $100+ every year or two on them its really not worth it to me. I ordered the wp40 instead since I heard they work like the mp40. If it lasts as long as my old power head then its worth it to me

CRJ · 05/03/2013, 11:25 AM

i had a MP10, had zero problems with it. bearings are common on the ecotech units, and cost all of $10 to fix. i loved my MP10, and plan on buying a MP40 this summer.

wildman926 · 05/03/2013, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdezek

I had a set of eBay specials I paid $25.00 for and just had the second one fail on me after about 2 yrs. granted they don't kick on and off like the vortechs do but for $25 what do you expect.

X2 - However, mine do kick on and off with timers. I start one with the blue lights, and the other with the whites. I have cleaned them twice since I have had them. In fact, about due for a cleaning now.

Sacohen · 05/03/2013, 11:53 AM

The WP25 is not out yet, but I have a WP40 and had no problems.
That is the conscenous for the majority of people using them.
The thread on the WP40 can be found here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2259644

And the WP25 can be found here
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2283598

Kattes · 05/03/2013, 12:11 PM

I know several people who have ran their tunzes closer to two decades.

That said, when you have enough units around, everything breaks. No such thing as immaculate quality control. I guess it's all about the aftersales service and most of all availability and price of replacement parts.

Smartest thing to do regarding anything mechanical is always to find out the parts prices beforehand. Because it doesn't matter how good the first buy unit is if you have to do 100 bucks a year in replacement parts and sometimes maybe wait months for those parts.

Or, go for something super inexpensive to start with and when if fails, bin it and get a new one. Which of course is insane and disgusting and completely against the idea of sustainable development, but hey, at least it'll employ the third world kids who end up digging through and sorting our scrap in hopes of getting fed that day.

Sorry for ranting, but I'm having a bad day

ganjero · 05/03/2013, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sacohen

The WP25 is not out yet, but I have a WP40 and had no problems.
That is the conscenous for the majority of people using them.
The thread on the WP40 can be found here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2259644

And the WP25 can be found here
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2283598

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick4him

I do not want to buy new units in another 2-3 years.

...and you are suggesting him to buy a pump that has been in the market for about 4 months

I used my original vortechs for about 7 years and then sold them, all I did was upgrade controllers ( I had the first one that was a metal box with a knob to manually control speed) and rebuilt the wetside twice on each.

I wonder what happened to yours? Did they give you any kind of diagnosis?

fishgate · 05/03/2013, 12:19 PM

Hydor Koralias are the best bang for the buck.

rick4him · 05/03/2013, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRJ

i had a MP10, had zero problems with it. bearings are common on the ecotech units, and cost all of $10 to fix. i loved my MP10, and plan on buying a MP40 this summer.

cost 10 dollars to fix? Where??

shred5 · 05/03/2013, 12:23 PM

I think the real problem isnt that they fail. All pumps have issues from time to time. It is that they are so expensive as is all their products. If you charge a premium you should deliver a premium product and should stand behind it. Then when they fail they want to charge more on over priced parts.. So they get you at both ends. I guess at least there are spare parts.

One thing about tunze is Roger has always stood behind his stuff and replaced or repaired for me.

redfishblewfish · 05/03/2013, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick4him

cost 10 dollars to fix? Where??

Actually I think I spent $17.90 for new bearings and again, used THIS diy.

FattyK21 · 05/03/2013, 01:34 PM

I actually just ordered me 2 WP40s
Imma see how they do and if they do well imma prolly sell my MP40

The way i see it you can buy 4 WP40s for the price of 1 MP40
Imma try them and just see what happens tho

andyrm66 · 05/03/2013, 01:48 PM

Tunzes are much more reliable and their service is much better Ecotech. MP's are the Apples of the reef world, all show and no go, trendy and cool to show your friends, but at the end of the day, you paid wayyyy to much for what you get.

ReachTheSky · 05/03/2013, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyrm66

all show and no go

Clearly you've never owned a Vortech pump before. Their performance and utility is unbelievable.

But I agree that Tunze is the best alternative if you're looking to avoid doing any more business with Ecotech due to the reliability of their products. Jebao has only been around for four months, as has been stated, so their reliability is not certain. What is certain is that they offer zero customer service. If saving lots o' money is more important for you, then by all means go for it. Plus their performance doesn't look too shabby.

azjohnny · 05/03/2013, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReachTheSky

Clearly you've never owned a Vortech pump before. Their performance and utility is unbelievable.

But I agree that Tunze is the best alternative if you're looking to avoid doing any more business with Ecotech due to the reliability of their products. Jebao has only been around for four months, as has been stated, so their reliability is not certain. What is certain is that they offer zero customer service. If saving lots o' money is more important for you, then by all means go for it. Plus their performance doesn't look too shabby.

Also looks like he has never owned a Apple product either...of the Apple products I have owned they have all been very reliable, more so than their competitors

nynick · 05/03/2013, 03:47 PM

For the absolutely insane price they charge you should not have to do any DIY fixes. THe MP40 is around $600, this should last a lifetime. It is a well known fact that they keep prices high by artificial means so the pricepoint is not at all an indicator of quality.

+1 on the Tunze. It will set you back a little more than Koralia but I have kept them for 10+ years with no problems what so ever.

rrasco · 05/03/2013, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReachTheSky

Clearly you've never owned a Vortech pump before. Their performance and utility is unbelievable.

I do, and it was a huge overpayment for a product that moves water. It's gone as soon as I finish my custom controller for my WP40s that I love. If they break, who cares, I can buy another one. If the MP40 breaks....I already sold my other kidney for it so I'm SOL there. The only thing I will thank Vortech for is having great marketing because it will make my resell easy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by azjohnny

Also looks like he has never owned a Apple product either...of the Apple products I have owned they have all been very reliable, more so than their competitors

I don't own Apple products because they are over-priced under-performing devices, much like Vortech's. They do the job, but at a premium price. I do know about Apple because everyone I know asks me to fix theirs as well as my 60 users who have home macs, ipads, iphones etc. We have plenty of Apple devices in my organization too, much to my chagrin seeing as how I run the IT dept. Don't always believe the hype. Not to mention Apples run all the same hardware as PCs anyways....you're paying for the case and their OS. If it works for you and you don't mind paying the price, more power to you. That's what being a consumer is all about.

ReachTheSky · 05/03/2013, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrasco

I do, and it was a huge overpayment for a product that moves water. It's gone as soon as I finish my custom controller for my WP40s that I love. If they break, who cares, I can buy another one. If the MP40 breaks....I already sold my other kidney for it so I'm SOL there. The only thing I will thank Vortech for is having great marketing because it will make my resell easy.

Well, I'm glad that you're happy with your WP40. I was very happy with my 2x MP40's and Ecotech as a company. So happy in fact that I'll be buying two MP10's for my 50g. Sure, they're expensive but I can afford it.

Calling a Vortech overpriced is your opinion. I respect that. But to call it underpeforming is just flat out untrue. It's an aquarium pump. It's a damn good one but at the end of the day, it's an aquarium pump! What did you expect for it to do, make you a sandwich?

sirreal63 · 05/03/2013, 04:38 PM

I am up for a sammich if someone is making them.

slief · 05/03/2013, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick4him

Well I'm done with Ecotech marine...

I have now had 3 mp10's go out on me in the course of 4 years. I just talked to one of the mangers there and told me that I should expect the motor of the mp10 to only last 2-3 years...that is 'normal.'

For the price of these units I would expect them to last much longer then that with proper maintenance.

What really disappointed me was I called eco-tech with some issues I was having on 2 of my mp10's and they said even though they were out of warranty to send them and they would try there best to take care of me...either with a repair or a discount on a replacement if needed.

Well they ended up saying they couldn't do anything and I needed to buy a new wetside, and 2 new dry sides. They wanted to charge me full retail price for the replacement parts. I said no thanks.

I do not want to buy new units in another 2-3 years.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to go with instead of the ecotech products? I wanted to like them, but now having had 3 units go bad on me, and reading numerous stories online of other people having problems with the dry side as well, I don't feel ok investing more money in their products. They just don't seem reliable over time.

What other products have you had good luck with?

While I don't own the Ecotech's, to me it sounds like your wet sides are out of alignment with the dry sides resulting in premature failures. If you use a magnet cleaner and bump them at all, the can loose their alignment or centering with the dry side.

I run Tunze's and beat the crap out of them with my Apex profiles and love them. Most love the Ecotech's as well. I just can't help but wonder if your issues are not the result of a faulty products but rather the result of something on your end and in particular not maintaining proper alignment between the dry side and the wet side. Which by the way would be one of my concerns with running those units. It's certainly something I don't have to worry about with Tunze's.

From what I understand, alignment is very important to the Ecotechs reliability. If they are not properly aligned, the will fail prematurely. Take it how you will but given the history of happy Ecotech customers, your failure rate doesn't seem to represent the status quo which leads me to wonder what else could be causing your failure rate. Thus my speculation and comments above.

WillM · 05/03/2013, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReachTheSky

Well, I'm glad that you're happy with your WP40. I was very happy with my 2x MP40's and Ecotech as a company. So happy in fact that I'll be buying two MP10's for my 50g. Sure, they're expensive but I can afford it.

Calling a Vortech overpriced is your opinion. I respect that. But to call it underpeforming is just flat out untrue. It's an aquarium pump. It's a damn good one but at the end of the day, it's an aquarium pump! What did you expect for it to do, make you a sandwich?

"I probably stand alone by saying this but if I'm struggling with expenses, I wouldn't even have a reef, much less build one with knock off products and shoddy equipment. When times are tough, I would eat on a budget but I wouldn't reef on a budget. In fact that's me right now! I've been tankless for 8 months and have had to put my 50g build on hold until finances are good enough."

Glad your fortunes have changed in two weeks.

You haven't had a tank since the Jebo pumps came out, so lay off talking smack about them. I have one and they are solid. We get it: you are an Ecotech fan boy, the irony is that by your own admission you can't afford one. So why not leave the discussion to the people who actually have pumps other than Vortech?

All your Ecotech pep rallies aren't going to get you a discount on your next purchase from them.

05/03/2013, 10:52 AM	#1
rick4him Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 70	I'm done with ecotech marine.... Well I'm done with Ecotech marine... I have now had 3 mp10's go out on me in the course of 4 years. I just talked to one of the mangers there and told me that I should expect the motor of the mp10 to only last 2-3 years...that is 'normal.' For the price of these units I would expect them to last much longer then that with proper maintenance. What really disappointed me was I called eco-tech with some issues I was having on 2 of my mp10's and they said even though they were out of warranty to send them and they would try there best to take care of me...either with a repair or a discount on a replacement if needed. Well they ended up saying they couldn't do anything and I needed to buy a new wetside, and 2 new dry sides. They wanted to charge me full retail price for the replacement parts. I said no thanks. I do not want to buy new units in another 2-3 years. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to go with instead of the ecotech products? I wanted to like them, but now having had 3 units go bad on me, and reading numerous stories online of other people having problems with the dry side as well, I don't feel ok investing more money in their products. They just don't seem reliable over time. What other products have you had good luck with?

05/03/2013, 11:03 AM	#4
Pittsburgh Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 577	I've had similar experience with Tunze heads as well... they seem to last about 2-3 years running pretty much non stop. My 6101s failed while approaching the end of the warranty, so I lucked out then. Replacements lasted a bit longer, probably about 2 years+. I'm on my third set of powerheads in less than 6 years now. I run them on a controller, so the constant start/stop probably doesn't help the reliability. For the price, I sometime think that I should just get a box of koralia's and replace them like lightbulbs in the house. Would probably be more cost effective and just as good. __________________ Pittsburgh Current Tank Info: 95g Oceanic SPS reef. 30g sump, Sicce Syncra Silent 4.0 return, Reef Octopus 2000SSS skimmer, fuge with chaeto, BRS Carbon reactor, MR1 GFO reactor, BRS 2part dosing, Tunze ATO, 2x Tunze 6095 powerheads on a Tunze 7095, Gyre 130, 2xRadions xr30w pro. Last edited by Pittsburgh; 05/03/2013 at 11:08 AM.

05/03/2013, 12:19 PM	#12
fishgate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Damascus, MD Posts: 3,340	Hydor Koralias are the best bang for the buck. __________________ 125RR in-wall, 40B Sump, CS180 BM Skimmer, ATI 4x80 watt, eheim 1262, custom wrap around rock wall, ReefKeeper Elite 120g in-wall, 40B Sump, PC 54wx4, Jabao DC-6000 (full siphon), future seahorse t Current Tank Info: 125g, 120g, 2x40b sumps, ATI 4x80 T5HO

05/03/2013, 12:23 PM	#14
shred5 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Waukesha , WI Posts: 4,998	I think the real problem isnt that they fail. All pumps have issues from time to time. It is that they are so expensive as is all their products. If you charge a premium you should deliver a premium product and should stand behind it. Then when they fail they want to charge more on over priced parts.. So they get you at both ends. I guess at least there are spare parts. One thing about tunze is Roger has always stood behind his stuff and replaced or repaired for me. __________________ David Polzin

05/03/2013, 01:34 PM	#16
FattyK21 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Mebane NC Posts: 186	I actually just ordered me 2 WP40s Imma see how they do and if they do well imma prolly sell my MP40 The way i see it you can buy 4 WP40s for the price of 1 MP40 Imma try them and just see what happens tho __________________ 60g RIMLESS http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24816891#post24816891 Current Tank Info: 60g Rimless

05/03/2013, 10:58 AM	#2
discocarp Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 2,707	My tunzes have been running for years with no issues.

05/03/2013, 11:19 AM	#5
redfishblewfish Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Central New Jersey Posts: 716	The Jebo WP40 and WP25 have been getting a lot of press. Don't know much about them, but do a search and see what you find. I've redone the bearings in my MP10 using this DIY Dryside Fix.

05/03/2013, 11:22 AM	#6
jdezek Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 386	I had a set of eBay specials I paid $25.00 for and just had the second one fail on me after about 2 yrs. granted they don't kick on and off like the vortechs do but for $25 what do you expect. I wanted the mp40's but there out of my price range and if you have to spend $100+ every year or two on them its really not worth it to me. I ordered the wp40 instead since I heard they work like the mp40. If it lasts as long as my old power head then its worth it to me

05/03/2013, 11:25 AM	#7
CRJ Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 304	i had a MP10, had zero problems with it. bearings are common on the ecotech units, and cost all of $10 to fix. i loved my MP10, and plan on buying a MP40 this summer.

05/03/2013, 11:53 AM	#9
Sacohen Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Davie, FL Posts: 1,778	The WP25 is not out yet, but I have a WP40 and had no problems. That is the conscenous for the majority of people using them. The thread on the WP40 can be found here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2259644 And the WP25 can be found here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2283598

05/03/2013, 12:11 PM	#10
Kattes Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 28	I know several people who have ran their tunzes closer to two decades. That said, when you have enough units around, everything breaks. No such thing as immaculate quality control. I guess it's all about the aftersales service and most of all availability and price of replacement parts. Smartest thing to do regarding anything mechanical is always to find out the parts prices beforehand. Because it doesn't matter how good the first buy unit is if you have to do 100 bucks a year in replacement parts and sometimes maybe wait months for those parts. Or, go for something super inexpensive to start with and when if fails, bin it and get a new one. Which of course is insane and disgusting and completely against the idea of sustainable development, but hey, at least it'll employ the third world kids who end up digging through and sorting our scrap in hopes of getting fed that day. Sorry for ranting, but I'm having a bad day

05/03/2013, 01:48 PM	#17
andyrm66 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Colorado Posts: 517	Tunzes are much more reliable and their service is much better Ecotech. MP's are the Apples of the reef world, all show and no go, trendy and cool to show your friends, but at the end of the day, you paid wayyyy to much for what you get.

05/03/2013, 03:47 PM	#20
nynick Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,029	For the absolutely insane price they charge you should not have to do any DIY fixes. THe MP40 is around $600, this should last a lifetime. It is a well known fact that they keep prices high by artificial means so the pricepoint is not at all an indicator of quality. +1 on the Tunze. It will set you back a little more than Koralia but I have kept them for 10+ years with no problems what so ever.

05/03/2013, 04:38 PM	#23
sirreal63 Go Spurs Go!!! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Meadowlakes Texas Posts: 13,357	I am up for a sammich if someone is making them. __________________ Jack No One has ever been seriously injured by using the search function. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency. Current Tank Info: Reefing the Pentagon.