Do SCWD's hold up?

john08007 · 03/03/2014, 10:18 PM

I have been reading some reviews on these and I have read mixed reviews. Some are saying they are great but to get the 1" because it can be disassembled and cleaned, others say they stop working in 6 months. Do these need to be cleaned? I read something about soaking the smaller one in vinegar in order to clean it. I have a 75 Gal tank so I think the larger one may need to many GPH for my tank, I do like it better than the smaller one because it has female pipe threads so I can hard plumb it into my return

rps3 · 03/03/2014, 11:50 PM

Don't bother, just don't. LOL

sneeyatch · 03/04/2014, 07:52 AM

I'm running what seems like an ancient one in my nano (25 gallon cube) as it's primary form of water movement.

It's the 3/4" model and is hooked up to a MJ1200 and IMO, it works OK for what I have it doing. I can't service it for cleaning, but I take the entire assembly out with the pump and run it in warm water / vinegar to clean it as best as I can. I clean the pump and impeller maybe once every couple of months to keep slime and build up off.

I got this from a guy who used it for years, then it sat around my place for years and I finally hooked it up in August. At first, it had a little knocking noise every once in a while, but it never stopped working or anything. After a couple of weeks the noise was gone and it's been dead silent ever since and works pretty good. And that's a lot to say for my system, it is a very mulmy type system with macros and fine sand - and the unit is inside the display.

I don't know if I would get another one (3/4" model). but I would be interested in trying the larger unit that would be cleanable and be able to handle more flow.

One piece of advice I can give though, is these things do cut down on the flow pretty substantially. If you decide to go this route, make sure you use a large enough pump to be able to push it - especially if you're putting head pressure on it, or are having longer plumbing runs, etc.

ca1ore · 03/04/2014, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sneeyatch

these things do cut down on the flow pretty substantially. If you decide to go this route, make sure you use a large enough pump to be able to push it - especially if you're putting head pressure on it, or are having longer plumbing runs, etc.

This is the big disadvantage with these devices IME - they put a ton of head pressure on the pump (I guess technically it's friction pressure) so you end up needing to run a much bigger pump that you otherwise would.

sneeyatch · 03/04/2014, 10:09 AM

Yes they do, although it seems once the rotating or spinning mechanism inside of it allows the water to pass through, they do seem to move some water and it's a gradual thing which is nice(r). It's not a simple on/off thing.

I will be replacing it and my other small powerhead with a WP-10 when it comes in though just to minimize the equipment in the tank, I'll get the random movement I'm after as well as more flow.

03/03/2014, 10:18 PM	#1
john08007 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Myrtle Beach SC Posts: 307	Do SCWD's hold up? I have been reading some reviews on these and I have read mixed reviews. Some are saying they are great but to get the 1" because it can be disassembled and cleaned, others say they stop working in 6 months. Do these need to be cleaned? I read something about soaking the smaller one in vinegar in order to clean it. I have a 75 Gal tank so I think the larger one may need to many GPH for my tank, I do like it better than the smaller one because it has female pipe threads so I can hard plumb it into my return

03/04/2014, 07:52 AM	#3
sneeyatch Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 1,312	I'm running what seems like an ancient one in my nano (25 gallon cube) as it's primary form of water movement. It's the 3/4" model and is hooked up to a MJ1200 and IMO, it works OK for what I have it doing. I can't service it for cleaning, but I take the entire assembly out with the pump and run it in warm water / vinegar to clean it as best as I can. I clean the pump and impeller maybe once every couple of months to keep slime and build up off. I got this from a guy who used it for years, then it sat around my place for years and I finally hooked it up in August. At first, it had a little knocking noise every once in a while, but it never stopped working or anything. After a couple of weeks the noise was gone and it's been dead silent ever since and works pretty good. And that's a lot to say for my system, it is a very mulmy type system with macros and fine sand - and the unit is inside the display. I don't know if I would get another one (3/4" model). but I would be interested in trying the larger unit that would be cleanable and be able to handle more flow. One piece of advice I can give though, is these things do cut down on the flow pretty substantially. If you decide to go this route, make sure you use a large enough pump to be able to push it - especially if you're putting head pressure on it, or are having longer plumbing runs, etc. __________________ - Todd It's often the saddest of us working our hardest to make everyone laugh Current Tank Info: Tankless

03/04/2014, 10:09 AM	#5
sneeyatch Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 1,312	Yes they do, although it seems once the rotating or spinning mechanism inside of it allows the water to pass through, they do seem to move some water and it's a gradual thing which is nice(r). It's not a simple on/off thing. I will be replacing it and my other small powerhead with a WP-10 when it comes in though just to minimize the equipment in the tank, I'll get the random movement I'm after as well as more flow. __________________ - Todd It's often the saddest of us working our hardest to make everyone laugh Current Tank Info: Tankless

03/03/2014, 11:50 PM	#2
rps3 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 676	Don't bother, just don't. LOL