rhaetuluscrenatus
Community Member
Hi everyone,
I’m in the hobby from 12 years and I have a small niche hobby which is the pump (the return and also the power head, but at this topic, i’ll talk about return pump only), I’ve used almost every middle and high end pump (except the DC pump of Deltec that I found good technique but nothing special and the COR of Apex, that I found it looks ugly and cheap finish), then here is my experiences and technical points to every pump I’ve tried and research, I’ll evaluate in rotor, stator, shaft and bushing, impeller, adapter, controller, function and application.
First of my all comment, I’ll judge the DC and AC pump about its real performance, the main problem with any DC pump (except: Abyzz, Zoox, Deltec E-flow, they have better performance than AC pumps) that they said for example 10.000l/h of power, but the reality of pumping to 1.5 meters in the normal tank, the DC pump has lost a lot of power to compare with AC one, and especially, we never force the DC pump works at 100% power like AC version, the safe perfoming percentage is 60% to me, so have to pay more money to upgrade the pump (for example, my tank need only 6000l/h to pump to 2m, so i’m using 8.000 l/h AC pump, but with DC, i have to buy 14.000 l/h to work at 60% if they have the same performance, so wasting money to the power that i can’t profit).
the part of my collection, some pumps are still working in the tanks.
So here my list of expericncing and researching:
What i’m using and used: Abyzz A100 (7.500 l/h) and A200 (14.500 l/h); Royal Exclusive Red Dragon AC 8.000 l/h, RD3 150w 17.000 l/h (tested few days), Red Dragon skimmer Supermarin 200; Zoox Poseidon upgraded titanium version 15.000l/h and base version 15.000l/h; Ecotech Marine L1 and L2 (few days); Reef Octopus Varios 4 (return pump, skimmer pump and calcium reactor pump); Sicce Syncra 0.3, 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 (water changing tank, calcium reactor, zeolite reactor, feeding pump), Sicee SDC 6.000 l/h and 9.000 l/h (just testing); Aquabee Up 2000 (calcium reactor, Deltec skimmer and mixing salt station); Red Sea Reefrun 9000 (testing); Sera 5000 (Koi pond); Tunze 7013 5.000l/h (secours pumps); Zksj 12.000 l/h and 6.000 l/h (return pump); Jebao 10.000 l/h, Maxspect Jump 10.000 l/h and pump for SK400 skimmer.
What i’m interested and do research: Deltec E-flow, Aquabee DC pump.
Generally, as my observation with same condition of pumping to 2m (to precise, the height is 1.5m but i added 0.5m to power loss on the pipes), (some pumps have less power base, so I’ve checked the factory’s chart of technical specs) so the lower of loss the better of power on pump, here is my experiences and also some of my researches to the pump that i have no use but touching to it:
The AC pump:
- Red dragon AC/ Laguna/Askoll lost about 25% of power
Sicce Syncra/ Tunze AC (they have maximal 5000l/h version, seem less legit to judge beside some heavy pumps): 25% loss
Aquabee DC (same problem like Sicce, they have maxi 7.000l/h, so not equivalent): 20% loss
The DC pump:
The DC pump which are stronger than AC:
The best is Zoox Poseidon/Ultimate 15.000l/h, Deltec E-flow 16, Sicce SDC 9, Red Sea Reefrun 9(???), pumping 2 meters and lost only 13-15%. I didn’t test the Deltec E-flow 16 but I checked their technical chart, meanwhile I have 2 Zoox Poseidon 15.000l/h ( the base version and the upgraded titanium rotor, stator and PEEK impeller, that i appreciate a lot of its performance), so my question is come back to Deltec, is it that real performance? because while Zoox uses a lot of advance technical thing, Deltec is just use traditional way (no neodymium magnet, no titanium cover, no precision ABS or PEEK impeller, just normal like every normal pumps). Quite fun that the E-flow below the 16 (4 to 12 is less performance than the 16, loss at 21% at 2m)
Sicce SDC and Reefrun from Red Sea (that’s no equivalent to category them to here because they make only small pumps, maxi 9.000l/h, we know the small pump can react more performantly than the heavy pump, especially the limit of 12.000l/h and above) so the biggest SDC 9.0 and Reefrun 9000 lost only 13% while pumping to 2.0m, same normal material parts like Deltec E-flow. Then i checked what is real or not, then see the power consumption, so finally found that they (Red Sea and Sicce use more power to push water than others, for example, Reef Run need 200 watts to push 9.000 l/h while Zoox needs only 130 watts to pump 15.000 l/h) well, so at least Sicce and Red Sea are powerful.
The second king is Abyzz, lost only 25% ( i have 2 Abyzz (A100 and A200, seem the A100 is less performance than its bigger version).
So then the DC pumps which are weaker than AC version:
Ecotech Marine L1 and L2: 40%
The Red Dragon RD3: hmm the RD3 150 watts lost 41% to pump to 2m, that sound not so good at all, but at least it’s saving electric bill (who’d care if having money to buy an expensive thing?)
Reef Octopus Varios: lost huge! 46-47%.
Maxspect Jump: seem like Varios, but the worst is when using long time, the power is nerfed a lot, i’m thinking of 25% or more, while the above pumps i’ve tried is losing 10-20% because of aging)
Jebao: like Maxspect, but the price is good, so i have the strategy for someone using Jebao: if you need 6.000l/h of water pumping to you tank, buy a Jebao at 20.000 l/h, so at the first month, the pump works at 60% (60% of 20.000l/h is 12.000l/h, then you lost 47% on pipes and height of water so the real pumping water is only around 6.000l/h), then after one month, rise the power to 65-70-80% if you have the water flow measurement or just same water lever in the tank as is.
Here my judgement of pumps:
The high-end pumps:
Abyzz: the Rolls Royce of pump, I’m using one A200 and one A100, and the A100 died suddenly (stator deformation) so i have really bad opinion with the reliability of Abyzz but overall, they make them good except the price.
12 months of use, then the A100 died at first 6 months...
Rotor, shaft and busing: well-built, titanium cover whole the body and also the shaft, really heavy and strong neodymium magnet, that i appreciated the best in Abyzz pump. Titanium shaft and ceramic busing, at this price, should every perfect. But in my opinion, I’d prefer ceramic shaft than titanium, because ceramic is more stiff and stronger than titanium, and, just in theory, the titanium can be bended and make vibration/ noise and reduce age of the pump. Only 4-pole rotor, the magnetic can be fallen out to to be inclined the stator that have more energy/ electric than others and be deformed that i experienced when my A100 died, I’ve seen something happened, because of strong magnetic rotor. Also, the magnetic of Abyzz is unbeatable, the strongest.
Impeller: orange ABS plastic, light and good. I’ve seen a guy in Taiwan got his A200’s impeller broken because of the impeller flying out the shaft and rotor, that’s fun to the question of 10 years warranty of Abyzz, we don’t need the marketing, we need the real reliability. One time the pump is broken, the tank has disaster, and we can’t wait until the pump repaired in few weeks or months. Said it with our fishes and corals.
Stator: covered by ABS plastic, that strong, flexible and can make the body thin and light, that’s why the body of Abyzz is lighter than Royal exclusive. Well built. They have a small hole of anti-calcination on impeller, that’s good. High grade titanium screw, the top.
Well built stator, solid and unify, it's better if they can cover the house in titanium can help the deformation.
Adapter: Abyzz and Royal Exclusive (German made version) have used adapter and controller in the same base, it’s good for saving space, but the bad thing is, it’s bad for the spare parts, and, in some tropical countries like mine, i have huge problem with temperature from the adapter and controller, then i have added 2 small fans for it to have 36-42 Celcius degrees while working at 56%, ironically.
Controller: well built, monochrome-screen look cheap but reliable, some function is fun like saving electricity bills money (who’d care if you own a Rolls Royce).
Function: good, one of the best i have, quiet, less vibration (who’d said that it has no vibration? it has but acceptable) one of the heaviest power i tried, for example, to pumping to my SPS tank with same water level, i used one AC Red Dragon 8000l/h, or a Red Dragon RD3 DC 150w 17.000l/h at 70%, while i just need and Abyzz A200 14.500l/h to work at 54% the A100 seem weaker at the same wattages than A200 as my observations. AND, the Abyzz doesn’t loss many of power after used for long time or aging, that’s the main point.
Another thing i realized that Abyzz uses 12V source, it means the pump needs really good electric wire to transfer the high amps. So no doubt every parts in the Abyzz pumps is high quality proposed, not always the best but so high.
Compare the dimensions of Abyzz A200 14.500l/h to Tunze 5000l/h and Royal Exclusiv AC skimmer 1500 pump. I dont know why they don't give us the intake guard, so i have to 3D print, so strange.
Application: the Apex module for Abyzz is ridiculously expensive. They have the option of BOOST, that I found good for get less detritus on the pump.
Overall: I’m thinking of 8.0 points (-1 point for the price, -1 point for the reliability that they advertised their reability and then my A100 died caused one mandarin fish and one SPS died because of no pump during night time, -0.5 point for application - connect, -0.5 point for cooling that i have added 2 fans for its controller).
Jugement: A200 and above is good, DON’T buy A100, it’s waste of money.
Royal Exclusive: i’ve tried AC Red Dragon 8.000l/h, the AC skimmer pump for Supermarin 200 and testing the RD3 150watts in few days.
Rotor, shaft and bushing: AC version has the normal technique, normal magnetic, ceramic shaft and busing, quite light, nothing special, well finish than cheaper pump (for sure!) like Reef Octopus/ Apex/ Tunze/ Sicce…. For DC RD3 and DC 24V, they’re using titanium cover the magnetic only and ceramic shaft that’s I appreciated a lot (like Zoox Titanium version, but RD3 Rotor’s finition is less good than Zoox and Abyzz).
Stator: good and heavy (especially the AC version with huge acrylic base, easy to be broken while transfer), the DC seems using the ABS plastic so lighter and safer. I’ve seen many complain about the AC version than the RD3 in term of rotor and stator broken, that’s I can understand because the rotor has accelerated too fastly in the phase of working causing shocked to the system, easily get broken. The RD3 that I observed is mostly about its controller, some of my friend got it burned. They have OPTION of pipe of anti-calcination on impeller, that’s good with extra. AND, the RD3 cover the stator with titanium, i appreciate it alot ( same with Zoox titanium verstion, better than Abyzz).
It’s ridiculous that at thousand dollars, the screws is staniless steel, and it has rusted in my tank! The electric wire, parts is good but not precious as Abyzz.
Impeller: good plastic, I’ve seen it’s less sleek than Abyzz’s but still good, RD3 looks less reliability than the old version in my opinion but honestly, the finish, well, cheaper than Zoox.
the AC version, sorry the DC i didn't take the photo, but you can search in the internet.
Adapter: AC has no adapter, so I just judge the DC version: same with Abyzz, but smaller, I think the parts is cheaper than Abyzz in any point, at least the Abyzz has the heatsink with few metal bands, but RD3 is just flat, so I’m curious how aging it is while using a long time in hot temperature. And many people complained about their pumps died because of Adapter- Controller.
Controller: easy to use, nothing special, but I think not suitable with hot temperature in tropical countries.
Function: AC version: noisy, vibrates a lot due to it made by Askoll group (so Laguna pumps…) i have one old pump left for 6 years and reuse, still okay. DC pumps: hmm that’s the questionable thing ( i just talk about the RD3, for ECO and RDX, I’ve just touched and didn’t test with them so no comment because i’m thinking they’re not worth to try) while i think that the main problem with any DC pump but lost 41% of power while pumping to 2m is huge, unacceptable to the pump at the price, (so that’s why i decided not to use the RD3).
rusty screw... hmm
Heavy is good but in this case, it crack down the wire...
Application: hmm, nothing special
Overall: i would leave it 7.0 points for AC pump and 6.0 point for high end DC pump ( same loss points: -1 for the price, -0.5 for the reliability, many of my friends have Red Dragon in death, but mine still work so.. i still have some litte confidence of durability on them,) (not share point: AC pump: -1 for the vibration than DC version and the screw has rusted, -0.5 because of the material is so heavy and easy to be broken, especially the acrylic base); for high end DC version: -1 because of the unforgiven weakness of the DC pump, -0.5 of the vibration/ noise more than Abyzz, -1 because of the bad quality controller/adapter).
Jugement: AC pump still good, DC, hmm , for RD X should be never.
ZOOX Poseidon: i’m using one normal version 15.000l/h and one upgraded titanium cover everywhere version 15.000l/h changing for my Abyzz due to my disappointment with Abyzz. So with NO regret.
The normal version and the titanium cover version, as see, the end of the shaft is chamfered, so less corrosion and more performance than the normal one.
Rotor, Shaft and bushing: i think the best for me, with the full titanium version, they use the ceramic shaft, covering titanium around the magnetic rotor to protect it in contact surfaces, 6-poles rotor- that i never seen in any aquarium pump in the market, it worth, the pump works smoother, less vibration and noise than any pump i’ve test, even better than Abyzz.
Stator: i’d love the version titanium cover, there’s no where cover the stator with titanium like them (except Royal Exclusiv RD3), even Abyzz doesn’t do that. They have a small hole of anti-calcination like some high-end pumps, that’s good. The pump outside is covered in really good quality (and heavy also) ABS plastic, much better than acrylic.
Impeller: PEEK plastic, if you do some searches, PEEK is one of the best for aquarium use: high temperature resistance (Over 200°C), excellent chemical resistance to solvents, acids, bases, one thing that i don’t like is the colour of PEEK is not too attractive like Orange ABS of Abyzz, but who’d care the look inside, lol.
Adapter: Meanwell, so i have no complain, one of the best.
Controller: LCD colour display like Maxspect XF350 (but the quality is far better than Maxspect), that i don’t like the most in this pump, even many loves it, because i scared that the LCD lifetime rests shorter than the monochrome screen of Abyzz or RD3. But it’s much modern techno looks than the old man monochrome, for sure. The pump should last longest in the tank, years by years. In the controller they added a good heatsink, that’s so good in any detail.
To compare with Abyzz
Function: flawless, that’s the most interested thing, super strong and quiet (the strongest in my list, lost only 13-15% to pumping to 2m!), silent, for reliability, i’m not sure because i’ve used them more than a month, so i can’t say, the toughness as i was confident with my Abyzz A100 and 6 months later one died suddently. And in reality: to pump to my SPS tank, I need Abyzz A200 14.500l/h to work at 56%, while the Zoox Poseidon Ti version 15.000l/h needs only 45% (the manufacture said while update to Ti version, the pump works at reality at 18.000l/h, even like that, it still has more performance than Abyzz A200). The schedule online is as good as Sicce SDC.
Application: because they use a lot of technologies so for sure it’s fancier than the 2 above, but honestly I don’t need it, I just need a pump is controlled and durable.
Overall: I would leave 8.5 point (the best in my list) (-0.5 for the fancy LCD display, -1 for the difficulty of finding suppliers and parts because I think many don’t know this brand, me either before)
Impeller of Abyzz A200 and Zoox Poseidon 15.000l'h, the two have titanium screw, happily not like some high-end brand who is using stainless steel.
Dimensions comparison between Abyzz A200 and Zoox Poseidon 15.000l/h normal version. while Abyzz is bigger, but Zoox heavier.
Judgment: the best of all time I’ve tried, strongest, good finish and engineering, have all fancy functions as need and much much cheaper than Abyzz and Royal Exclusiv. It’s worth a try in the category of high-end pump.
Sicce and Tunze: hmm, i have no beating that they’re famous of reliable pump for long time, and i believe Sicce and Tunze have been manufactured at same factory, so no need to juge, but i’ll skim a bit:
Rotor: good quality per price (at this price i can’t demand a lot that it must sleek, chamfer at the shaft to more motivate when roll, etc. It’s corect to the price.
Stator: same with rotor, no complain. But it’s noisy and vibrate a lot (at most AC version). Also it’s heavily durable, i’ve use it 10 years and NO issue, i’ve tortured my Tunze 1073 5000l/h to pump waste household water in my cellar but the pump is stille okay until now.
Adapter and controller (DC version only): it’s the most fancy in the world of pump now, with temperature, wifi, alarm, it’s so good to setting it up by time. The adapter looks correct.
Jugement and function: i’m using it on some actions need less heavy pump: automatic water changing, pump reactor (Fauna Marin zeolite reactor), secours pumps… because of its reliability and … cheap. For heavy pump i considered not to use, because it vibrates a lot, can cause damage to the glass and pipes. The DC version is much better, but the heaviest pump they can make is only 9.000l/h, not enough for me. Red Sea and Sicce use more power to push water than others, for example, Reef Run need 200 watts to push 9.000 l/h while Zoox needs only 130 watts to pump 15.000 l/h but at least the SDC is better than Abyzz A100 and Royal exclusiv RD3 in term of power. So for sure they’re the best of Entry level pump.
I would leave them 7.5 points (-1 because of the vibration, -0.5 because of power consumption, -1.0 point because they reduce their power while using long time significantly)
Red Sea Reeftun: i’m thinking that they have same base as Sicce SDC, only thing that is different is the controller. So my jugement is the same with Sicce SDC.
I would leave them 7.0 points (-1 because of the vibration, -0.5 because of power consumption, -1.0 point because they reduce their power while using long time significantly, -0.5 point because the controller seems less realiable than Sicce, and the application’s connection is not good in here)
Aquabee: i used them (mostly AC version) before for skimmer pump, calcium reactor pump and water change pump. Just touched and tested the DC version for a while.
Rotor: good quality per price, nothing special (at this price i can’t demand a lot that it must sleek, chamfer at the shaft to more motivate when roll, etc. It’s corect to the price. Realiable but not as Sicce, because their technical design is easy to break the shaft while open it for cleaning.
Stator: same with rotor, no complain. But it’s noisy and vibrate a lot, less than Sicce (at most AC version).
Adapter: they’ve used Meanwell adapter, for sure better than Sicce and Red Sea Reefrun ?
Function: good as it was, less controllable than Sicce SDC. Consuming less power than Sicce in DC version, 12.000l/h need only 130w while Sicce 9.000l/h need 200w but loss 31% of power to pumping to 2.0m, while Sicce lost only 13%, so same-same.
I would leave them 7.5 points (-1 because of the vibration, -0.5 point because the controller seems less function (but like Royal Exclusive and Abyzz), -0.5 point because of the price is double than Sicce, -0.5 point of difficulty while take apart to cleaning in AC version), so worth to use.
Ecotech Marine L1 and L2: just used them for a while. While techinical check the M and S version seem less performance than the L.
Testing the L1 in process
Rotor: same as Sicce, but the “plastic stay” of rotor to stator looks so thin, i’m quite confused of the quality.
Stator: heavy and sturdy, but i’ve heard many complains about it.
Adapter: Meanwell plastic version, seem still good to me, less flawless and heatsik than the HLG version but okay.
Controller: physically it’s so heavy and sturdy with metal heatsik, look good, even better than Red Dragon RD3 and, also many fancy function settings.
Function: okay, quiet, but quite weak, lost 40% of power to pump to 2m.
Overall: it’s cheaper than Aquabee Universal UP 12.000l/h, silent and fancy functions, but the reliable is the question to me.
I would leave them 7.0 points (-2 because of the reliability, -0.5 point because of the price is more than Sicce, -0.5 point because of the less performance), so worth to use.
Reef Octopus: i’m using 2 Varios 4, 1 Varios 4s for skimmer and just check the equivalent over 12.000l/h is Varios 10.
Rotor: nothing special, just like Sicce, but the impeller is way smaller than their competitors ?
Stator: it’s quite good plastic cover the stator but the base is too light and looks cheap. Honestly, when received the pumps, i didn’t think that at that price, same class with Ecotech pump but the looks are like cheaper pumps. But when touched, it’s quite acceptable, just the design is not match with.
Adapter and cotroller: it’s okay, not Meanwell one, but i’m using 2 pumps since 1 year and no problem at all. Same function offline like Abyzz and RD3 but, you can change the power by each 10% only, like cheap chinese pump.
Function: weak, so so weak is my first thought, that proved on the technical chart of manufacturer, that the pump lost 46-47% of power while plumping to 2m. Anyway, durable and quiet are the additional points. And the pump lost its flow quickly after using during a month, unacceptable.
Overall: 6.5 points (-0.5 for the price, -2 for its performance, -0.5 for the controllability, -0.5 for losing power too fast)
Jugement: so if still like Reef Octopus, i should upgrade the pump by the realtime power performance, for example, if i need pumping 6000 l/h to 2m, should i buy a Varios 10, working at 69%, or Varios 8 working at 92% (so if using the Varios 8, the pump will die soonly) that costs expensively.
Maxspect: i’m using 2x 10.000l/h pumps.
Rotor: normal to under normal a bit, but it’s quite cheap so okay.
Stator: quite big, the paint cover is soft and mat, i’m not sure it’s worn out in future or not, quite bizzare.
Adapter and controller: the connection cable is loose, makes me got angry when the pump wasn’t working it’s even worst than some its chinese competitors like ZKSJ and Jebao.
Function: good but as weak as Octopus, loosing performance fastly, until now it’s still not died as my Abyzz A100, lol.
I was using one of them for feeding my protein skimmer that need about 4000l/h, and i have turn the pump up to level 10/20 after running of 2 months, meaning 50% of power, even the skimmer is just 90cm higher than the pump, ironically.
Overall: 6.5 points (-1.0 for the bad quality materials, -2 for its performance, , -0.5 for losing power too fast)
Jugement: if the connection cable is not bad, the pump is quite okay in term of price.
Some chinese entry level pumps as ZKSJ and Jebao: i’ve used ZSKJ 6.000l/h and 12.000l/h, Jebao DC 12.000l/h:
To be honest, the ZKSJ is much better than Jebao (so more expensive) but all of them have the same problem (so Reef Octopus and Maxspect) is too weak and loosing power significantly after used.
ZKSJ must check their material parts, because the screws is rusty (like some Royal Exclusive pumps, lol)
Overall: 6.5 points as Maxpect.
I’m in the hobby from 12 years and I have a small niche hobby which is the pump (the return and also the power head, but at this topic, i’ll talk about return pump only), I’ve used almost every middle and high end pump (except the DC pump of Deltec that I found good technique but nothing special and the COR of Apex, that I found it looks ugly and cheap finish), then here is my experiences and technical points to every pump I’ve tried and research, I’ll evaluate in rotor, stator, shaft and bushing, impeller, adapter, controller, function and application.
First of my all comment, I’ll judge the DC and AC pump about its real performance, the main problem with any DC pump (except: Abyzz, Zoox, Deltec E-flow, they have better performance than AC pumps) that they said for example 10.000l/h of power, but the reality of pumping to 1.5 meters in the normal tank, the DC pump has lost a lot of power to compare with AC one, and especially, we never force the DC pump works at 100% power like AC version, the safe perfoming percentage is 60% to me, so have to pay more money to upgrade the pump (for example, my tank need only 6000l/h to pump to 2m, so i’m using 8.000 l/h AC pump, but with DC, i have to buy 14.000 l/h to work at 60% if they have the same performance, so wasting money to the power that i can’t profit).
the part of my collection, some pumps are still working in the tanks.
So here my list of expericncing and researching:
What i’m using and used: Abyzz A100 (7.500 l/h) and A200 (14.500 l/h); Royal Exclusive Red Dragon AC 8.000 l/h, RD3 150w 17.000 l/h (tested few days), Red Dragon skimmer Supermarin 200; Zoox Poseidon upgraded titanium version 15.000l/h and base version 15.000l/h; Ecotech Marine L1 and L2 (few days); Reef Octopus Varios 4 (return pump, skimmer pump and calcium reactor pump); Sicce Syncra 0.3, 1.0, 2.0, 2.5 (water changing tank, calcium reactor, zeolite reactor, feeding pump), Sicee SDC 6.000 l/h and 9.000 l/h (just testing); Aquabee Up 2000 (calcium reactor, Deltec skimmer and mixing salt station); Red Sea Reefrun 9000 (testing); Sera 5000 (Koi pond); Tunze 7013 5.000l/h (secours pumps); Zksj 12.000 l/h and 6.000 l/h (return pump); Jebao 10.000 l/h, Maxspect Jump 10.000 l/h and pump for SK400 skimmer.
What i’m interested and do research: Deltec E-flow, Aquabee DC pump.
Generally, as my observation with same condition of pumping to 2m (to precise, the height is 1.5m but i added 0.5m to power loss on the pipes), (some pumps have less power base, so I’ve checked the factory’s chart of technical specs) so the lower of loss the better of power on pump, here is my experiences and also some of my researches to the pump that i have no use but touching to it:
The AC pump:
- Red dragon AC/ Laguna/Askoll lost about 25% of power
Sicce Syncra/ Tunze AC (they have maximal 5000l/h version, seem less legit to judge beside some heavy pumps): 25% loss
Aquabee DC (same problem like Sicce, they have maxi 7.000l/h, so not equivalent): 20% loss
The DC pump:
The DC pump which are stronger than AC:
The best is Zoox Poseidon/Ultimate 15.000l/h, Deltec E-flow 16, Sicce SDC 9, Red Sea Reefrun 9(???), pumping 2 meters and lost only 13-15%. I didn’t test the Deltec E-flow 16 but I checked their technical chart, meanwhile I have 2 Zoox Poseidon 15.000l/h ( the base version and the upgraded titanium rotor, stator and PEEK impeller, that i appreciate a lot of its performance), so my question is come back to Deltec, is it that real performance? because while Zoox uses a lot of advance technical thing, Deltec is just use traditional way (no neodymium magnet, no titanium cover, no precision ABS or PEEK impeller, just normal like every normal pumps). Quite fun that the E-flow below the 16 (4 to 12 is less performance than the 16, loss at 21% at 2m)
Sicce SDC and Reefrun from Red Sea (that’s no equivalent to category them to here because they make only small pumps, maxi 9.000l/h, we know the small pump can react more performantly than the heavy pump, especially the limit of 12.000l/h and above) so the biggest SDC 9.0 and Reefrun 9000 lost only 13% while pumping to 2.0m, same normal material parts like Deltec E-flow. Then i checked what is real or not, then see the power consumption, so finally found that they (Red Sea and Sicce use more power to push water than others, for example, Reef Run need 200 watts to push 9.000 l/h while Zoox needs only 130 watts to pump 15.000 l/h) well, so at least Sicce and Red Sea are powerful.
The second king is Abyzz, lost only 25% ( i have 2 Abyzz (A100 and A200, seem the A100 is less performance than its bigger version).
So then the DC pumps which are weaker than AC version:
Ecotech Marine L1 and L2: 40%
The Red Dragon RD3: hmm the RD3 150 watts lost 41% to pump to 2m, that sound not so good at all, but at least it’s saving electric bill (who’d care if having money to buy an expensive thing?)
Reef Octopus Varios: lost huge! 46-47%.
Maxspect Jump: seem like Varios, but the worst is when using long time, the power is nerfed a lot, i’m thinking of 25% or more, while the above pumps i’ve tried is losing 10-20% because of aging)
Jebao: like Maxspect, but the price is good, so i have the strategy for someone using Jebao: if you need 6.000l/h of water pumping to you tank, buy a Jebao at 20.000 l/h, so at the first month, the pump works at 60% (60% of 20.000l/h is 12.000l/h, then you lost 47% on pipes and height of water so the real pumping water is only around 6.000l/h), then after one month, rise the power to 65-70-80% if you have the water flow measurement or just same water lever in the tank as is.
Here my judgement of pumps:
The high-end pumps:
Abyzz: the Rolls Royce of pump, I’m using one A200 and one A100, and the A100 died suddenly (stator deformation) so i have really bad opinion with the reliability of Abyzz but overall, they make them good except the price.
12 months of use, then the A100 died at first 6 months...
Rotor, shaft and busing: well-built, titanium cover whole the body and also the shaft, really heavy and strong neodymium magnet, that i appreciated the best in Abyzz pump. Titanium shaft and ceramic busing, at this price, should every perfect. But in my opinion, I’d prefer ceramic shaft than titanium, because ceramic is more stiff and stronger than titanium, and, just in theory, the titanium can be bended and make vibration/ noise and reduce age of the pump. Only 4-pole rotor, the magnetic can be fallen out to to be inclined the stator that have more energy/ electric than others and be deformed that i experienced when my A100 died, I’ve seen something happened, because of strong magnetic rotor. Also, the magnetic of Abyzz is unbeatable, the strongest.
Impeller: orange ABS plastic, light and good. I’ve seen a guy in Taiwan got his A200’s impeller broken because of the impeller flying out the shaft and rotor, that’s fun to the question of 10 years warranty of Abyzz, we don’t need the marketing, we need the real reliability. One time the pump is broken, the tank has disaster, and we can’t wait until the pump repaired in few weeks or months. Said it with our fishes and corals.
Stator: covered by ABS plastic, that strong, flexible and can make the body thin and light, that’s why the body of Abyzz is lighter than Royal exclusive. Well built. They have a small hole of anti-calcination on impeller, that’s good. High grade titanium screw, the top.
Well built stator, solid and unify, it's better if they can cover the house in titanium can help the deformation.
Adapter: Abyzz and Royal Exclusive (German made version) have used adapter and controller in the same base, it’s good for saving space, but the bad thing is, it’s bad for the spare parts, and, in some tropical countries like mine, i have huge problem with temperature from the adapter and controller, then i have added 2 small fans for it to have 36-42 Celcius degrees while working at 56%, ironically.
Controller: well built, monochrome-screen look cheap but reliable, some function is fun like saving electricity bills money (who’d care if you own a Rolls Royce).
Function: good, one of the best i have, quiet, less vibration (who’d said that it has no vibration? it has but acceptable) one of the heaviest power i tried, for example, to pumping to my SPS tank with same water level, i used one AC Red Dragon 8000l/h, or a Red Dragon RD3 DC 150w 17.000l/h at 70%, while i just need and Abyzz A200 14.500l/h to work at 54% the A100 seem weaker at the same wattages than A200 as my observations. AND, the Abyzz doesn’t loss many of power after used for long time or aging, that’s the main point.
Another thing i realized that Abyzz uses 12V source, it means the pump needs really good electric wire to transfer the high amps. So no doubt every parts in the Abyzz pumps is high quality proposed, not always the best but so high.
Compare the dimensions of Abyzz A200 14.500l/h to Tunze 5000l/h and Royal Exclusiv AC skimmer 1500 pump. I dont know why they don't give us the intake guard, so i have to 3D print, so strange.
Application: the Apex module for Abyzz is ridiculously expensive. They have the option of BOOST, that I found good for get less detritus on the pump.
Overall: I’m thinking of 8.0 points (-1 point for the price, -1 point for the reliability that they advertised their reability and then my A100 died caused one mandarin fish and one SPS died because of no pump during night time, -0.5 point for application - connect, -0.5 point for cooling that i have added 2 fans for its controller).
Jugement: A200 and above is good, DON’T buy A100, it’s waste of money.
Royal Exclusive: i’ve tried AC Red Dragon 8.000l/h, the AC skimmer pump for Supermarin 200 and testing the RD3 150watts in few days.
Rotor, shaft and bushing: AC version has the normal technique, normal magnetic, ceramic shaft and busing, quite light, nothing special, well finish than cheaper pump (for sure!) like Reef Octopus/ Apex/ Tunze/ Sicce…. For DC RD3 and DC 24V, they’re using titanium cover the magnetic only and ceramic shaft that’s I appreciated a lot (like Zoox Titanium version, but RD3 Rotor’s finition is less good than Zoox and Abyzz).
Stator: good and heavy (especially the AC version with huge acrylic base, easy to be broken while transfer), the DC seems using the ABS plastic so lighter and safer. I’ve seen many complain about the AC version than the RD3 in term of rotor and stator broken, that’s I can understand because the rotor has accelerated too fastly in the phase of working causing shocked to the system, easily get broken. The RD3 that I observed is mostly about its controller, some of my friend got it burned. They have OPTION of pipe of anti-calcination on impeller, that’s good with extra. AND, the RD3 cover the stator with titanium, i appreciate it alot ( same with Zoox titanium verstion, better than Abyzz).
It’s ridiculous that at thousand dollars, the screws is staniless steel, and it has rusted in my tank! The electric wire, parts is good but not precious as Abyzz.
Impeller: good plastic, I’ve seen it’s less sleek than Abyzz’s but still good, RD3 looks less reliability than the old version in my opinion but honestly, the finish, well, cheaper than Zoox.
the AC version, sorry the DC i didn't take the photo, but you can search in the internet.
Adapter: AC has no adapter, so I just judge the DC version: same with Abyzz, but smaller, I think the parts is cheaper than Abyzz in any point, at least the Abyzz has the heatsink with few metal bands, but RD3 is just flat, so I’m curious how aging it is while using a long time in hot temperature. And many people complained about their pumps died because of Adapter- Controller.
Controller: easy to use, nothing special, but I think not suitable with hot temperature in tropical countries.
Function: AC version: noisy, vibrates a lot due to it made by Askoll group (so Laguna pumps…) i have one old pump left for 6 years and reuse, still okay. DC pumps: hmm that’s the questionable thing ( i just talk about the RD3, for ECO and RDX, I’ve just touched and didn’t test with them so no comment because i’m thinking they’re not worth to try) while i think that the main problem with any DC pump but lost 41% of power while pumping to 2m is huge, unacceptable to the pump at the price, (so that’s why i decided not to use the RD3).
rusty screw... hmm
Heavy is good but in this case, it crack down the wire...
Application: hmm, nothing special
Overall: i would leave it 7.0 points for AC pump and 6.0 point for high end DC pump ( same loss points: -1 for the price, -0.5 for the reliability, many of my friends have Red Dragon in death, but mine still work so.. i still have some litte confidence of durability on them,) (not share point: AC pump: -1 for the vibration than DC version and the screw has rusted, -0.5 because of the material is so heavy and easy to be broken, especially the acrylic base); for high end DC version: -1 because of the unforgiven weakness of the DC pump, -0.5 of the vibration/ noise more than Abyzz, -1 because of the bad quality controller/adapter).
Jugement: AC pump still good, DC, hmm , for RD X should be never.
ZOOX Poseidon: i’m using one normal version 15.000l/h and one upgraded titanium cover everywhere version 15.000l/h changing for my Abyzz due to my disappointment with Abyzz. So with NO regret.
The normal version and the titanium cover version, as see, the end of the shaft is chamfered, so less corrosion and more performance than the normal one.
Rotor, Shaft and bushing: i think the best for me, with the full titanium version, they use the ceramic shaft, covering titanium around the magnetic rotor to protect it in contact surfaces, 6-poles rotor- that i never seen in any aquarium pump in the market, it worth, the pump works smoother, less vibration and noise than any pump i’ve test, even better than Abyzz.
Stator: i’d love the version titanium cover, there’s no where cover the stator with titanium like them (except Royal Exclusiv RD3), even Abyzz doesn’t do that. They have a small hole of anti-calcination like some high-end pumps, that’s good. The pump outside is covered in really good quality (and heavy also) ABS plastic, much better than acrylic.
Impeller: PEEK plastic, if you do some searches, PEEK is one of the best for aquarium use: high temperature resistance (Over 200°C), excellent chemical resistance to solvents, acids, bases, one thing that i don’t like is the colour of PEEK is not too attractive like Orange ABS of Abyzz, but who’d care the look inside, lol.
Adapter: Meanwell, so i have no complain, one of the best.
Controller: LCD colour display like Maxspect XF350 (but the quality is far better than Maxspect), that i don’t like the most in this pump, even many loves it, because i scared that the LCD lifetime rests shorter than the monochrome screen of Abyzz or RD3. But it’s much modern techno looks than the old man monochrome, for sure. The pump should last longest in the tank, years by years. In the controller they added a good heatsink, that’s so good in any detail.
To compare with Abyzz
Function: flawless, that’s the most interested thing, super strong and quiet (the strongest in my list, lost only 13-15% to pumping to 2m!), silent, for reliability, i’m not sure because i’ve used them more than a month, so i can’t say, the toughness as i was confident with my Abyzz A100 and 6 months later one died suddently. And in reality: to pump to my SPS tank, I need Abyzz A200 14.500l/h to work at 56%, while the Zoox Poseidon Ti version 15.000l/h needs only 45% (the manufacture said while update to Ti version, the pump works at reality at 18.000l/h, even like that, it still has more performance than Abyzz A200). The schedule online is as good as Sicce SDC.
Application: because they use a lot of technologies so for sure it’s fancier than the 2 above, but honestly I don’t need it, I just need a pump is controlled and durable.
Overall: I would leave 8.5 point (the best in my list) (-0.5 for the fancy LCD display, -1 for the difficulty of finding suppliers and parts because I think many don’t know this brand, me either before)
Impeller of Abyzz A200 and Zoox Poseidon 15.000l'h, the two have titanium screw, happily not like some high-end brand who is using stainless steel.
Dimensions comparison between Abyzz A200 and Zoox Poseidon 15.000l/h normal version. while Abyzz is bigger, but Zoox heavier.
Judgment: the best of all time I’ve tried, strongest, good finish and engineering, have all fancy functions as need and much much cheaper than Abyzz and Royal Exclusiv. It’s worth a try in the category of high-end pump.
Sicce and Tunze: hmm, i have no beating that they’re famous of reliable pump for long time, and i believe Sicce and Tunze have been manufactured at same factory, so no need to juge, but i’ll skim a bit:
Rotor: good quality per price (at this price i can’t demand a lot that it must sleek, chamfer at the shaft to more motivate when roll, etc. It’s corect to the price.
Stator: same with rotor, no complain. But it’s noisy and vibrate a lot (at most AC version). Also it’s heavily durable, i’ve use it 10 years and NO issue, i’ve tortured my Tunze 1073 5000l/h to pump waste household water in my cellar but the pump is stille okay until now.
Adapter and controller (DC version only): it’s the most fancy in the world of pump now, with temperature, wifi, alarm, it’s so good to setting it up by time. The adapter looks correct.
Jugement and function: i’m using it on some actions need less heavy pump: automatic water changing, pump reactor (Fauna Marin zeolite reactor), secours pumps… because of its reliability and … cheap. For heavy pump i considered not to use, because it vibrates a lot, can cause damage to the glass and pipes. The DC version is much better, but the heaviest pump they can make is only 9.000l/h, not enough for me. Red Sea and Sicce use more power to push water than others, for example, Reef Run need 200 watts to push 9.000 l/h while Zoox needs only 130 watts to pump 15.000 l/h but at least the SDC is better than Abyzz A100 and Royal exclusiv RD3 in term of power. So for sure they’re the best of Entry level pump.
I would leave them 7.5 points (-1 because of the vibration, -0.5 because of power consumption, -1.0 point because they reduce their power while using long time significantly)
Red Sea Reeftun: i’m thinking that they have same base as Sicce SDC, only thing that is different is the controller. So my jugement is the same with Sicce SDC.
I would leave them 7.0 points (-1 because of the vibration, -0.5 because of power consumption, -1.0 point because they reduce their power while using long time significantly, -0.5 point because the controller seems less realiable than Sicce, and the application’s connection is not good in here)
Aquabee: i used them (mostly AC version) before for skimmer pump, calcium reactor pump and water change pump. Just touched and tested the DC version for a while.
Rotor: good quality per price, nothing special (at this price i can’t demand a lot that it must sleek, chamfer at the shaft to more motivate when roll, etc. It’s corect to the price. Realiable but not as Sicce, because their technical design is easy to break the shaft while open it for cleaning.
Stator: same with rotor, no complain. But it’s noisy and vibrate a lot, less than Sicce (at most AC version).
Adapter: they’ve used Meanwell adapter, for sure better than Sicce and Red Sea Reefrun ?
Function: good as it was, less controllable than Sicce SDC. Consuming less power than Sicce in DC version, 12.000l/h need only 130w while Sicce 9.000l/h need 200w but loss 31% of power to pumping to 2.0m, while Sicce lost only 13%, so same-same.
I would leave them 7.5 points (-1 because of the vibration, -0.5 point because the controller seems less function (but like Royal Exclusive and Abyzz), -0.5 point because of the price is double than Sicce, -0.5 point of difficulty while take apart to cleaning in AC version), so worth to use.
Ecotech Marine L1 and L2: just used them for a while. While techinical check the M and S version seem less performance than the L.
Testing the L1 in process
Rotor: same as Sicce, but the “plastic stay” of rotor to stator looks so thin, i’m quite confused of the quality.
Stator: heavy and sturdy, but i’ve heard many complains about it.
Adapter: Meanwell plastic version, seem still good to me, less flawless and heatsik than the HLG version but okay.
Controller: physically it’s so heavy and sturdy with metal heatsik, look good, even better than Red Dragon RD3 and, also many fancy function settings.
Function: okay, quiet, but quite weak, lost 40% of power to pump to 2m.
Overall: it’s cheaper than Aquabee Universal UP 12.000l/h, silent and fancy functions, but the reliable is the question to me.
I would leave them 7.0 points (-2 because of the reliability, -0.5 point because of the price is more than Sicce, -0.5 point because of the less performance), so worth to use.
Reef Octopus: i’m using 2 Varios 4, 1 Varios 4s for skimmer and just check the equivalent over 12.000l/h is Varios 10.
Rotor: nothing special, just like Sicce, but the impeller is way smaller than their competitors ?
Stator: it’s quite good plastic cover the stator but the base is too light and looks cheap. Honestly, when received the pumps, i didn’t think that at that price, same class with Ecotech pump but the looks are like cheaper pumps. But when touched, it’s quite acceptable, just the design is not match with.
Adapter and cotroller: it’s okay, not Meanwell one, but i’m using 2 pumps since 1 year and no problem at all. Same function offline like Abyzz and RD3 but, you can change the power by each 10% only, like cheap chinese pump.
Function: weak, so so weak is my first thought, that proved on the technical chart of manufacturer, that the pump lost 46-47% of power while plumping to 2m. Anyway, durable and quiet are the additional points. And the pump lost its flow quickly after using during a month, unacceptable.
Overall: 6.5 points (-0.5 for the price, -2 for its performance, -0.5 for the controllability, -0.5 for losing power too fast)
Jugement: so if still like Reef Octopus, i should upgrade the pump by the realtime power performance, for example, if i need pumping 6000 l/h to 2m, should i buy a Varios 10, working at 69%, or Varios 8 working at 92% (so if using the Varios 8, the pump will die soonly) that costs expensively.
Maxspect: i’m using 2x 10.000l/h pumps.
Rotor: normal to under normal a bit, but it’s quite cheap so okay.
Stator: quite big, the paint cover is soft and mat, i’m not sure it’s worn out in future or not, quite bizzare.
Adapter and controller: the connection cable is loose, makes me got angry when the pump wasn’t working it’s even worst than some its chinese competitors like ZKSJ and Jebao.
Function: good but as weak as Octopus, loosing performance fastly, until now it’s still not died as my Abyzz A100, lol.
I was using one of them for feeding my protein skimmer that need about 4000l/h, and i have turn the pump up to level 10/20 after running of 2 months, meaning 50% of power, even the skimmer is just 90cm higher than the pump, ironically.
Overall: 6.5 points (-1.0 for the bad quality materials, -2 for its performance, , -0.5 for losing power too fast)
Jugement: if the connection cable is not bad, the pump is quite okay in term of price.
Some chinese entry level pumps as ZKSJ and Jebao: i’ve used ZSKJ 6.000l/h and 12.000l/h, Jebao DC 12.000l/h:
To be honest, the ZKSJ is much better than Jebao (so more expensive) but all of them have the same problem (so Reef Octopus and Maxspect) is too weak and loosing power significantly after used.
ZKSJ must check their material parts, because the screws is rusty (like some Royal Exclusive pumps, lol)
Overall: 6.5 points as Maxpect.
