Stay away from Hydor

[jasonrusso]

When I was setting up my 150 FOWLER 3 years ago, I bought 2 Hydor Evolution 1050 (1150gph model) circulators to put in the back to prevent dead zones (I have a dual corner overflow). Over the last few months, I've had to restart one of the circulators multiple times. I chalked it up to debris and didn't think anything of it.

Recently, there was a thread on here about someone getting shocked by stray current. I realized that I could be a little more responsible so I bought a grounding probe (I installed a GFCI when I put up the tank) and installed it on Thursday. Five minutes after I walked back into the room and noticed my pumps were off. I pressed the reset on the GFCI and it immediately tripped. I have a couple power strips so I isolated which one it was and unplugged all the devices. When I plugged in one of my Hydors the GFCI tripped. With it unplugged it has been ok for 2 days. I bought a stand alone GFCI and an extension cord at Lowes and the same thing happened. I removed the circulator (which I wired up the corner of the overflow!) and I was shocked to find multiple cracks in the motor housing. Now that I look back, was this the reason the pump kept stopping? I have lost 3 dwarf lions suddenly who were healthy and eating 2 days before, anglers as well. My puffer also gets weird scars on his body at times (he's the boss so no picking there). Was there stray current in the water that wasn't being picked up until I installed the grounding probe?

I bought a Vortech MP10QD as a replacement. It is 6 times the price, but it keeps the motor out of the water and seems to be a far superior unit. I am going to start saving my loose change to buy another Vortech because I still have the other Hydor in the water that I don't trust now. It pains me to think that I have been harming my aqua pets for some time (and putting myself in danger) when maintaining the tank.

I will never buy another Hydor product. We buy these things to last years and years, not for 3 years (or who knows when this started) and kaput. This is a big fail for Hydor.

 

[mcarroll]

A $78 Tunze 6045 will do a better job in that tank and save you a bundle. Their pumps are pretty darned bullet-proof. 2 year warranty.

If you want to get fancy, buy four 6045's and run them on a pair of timers as a tide simulation....2 ON, 2 OFF, reversing them every three hours or so. Only $300 and you have some pretty nice flow for the whole tank! (Enough to grow coral if you wanted.)

A single Tunze 6150 would also probably do the trick if you're after fewer pumps....$350, but it comes with a 5 year warranty and it's doubtful there's anything quieter out there.

They have a gamut of options in between what I just named too...most of which would perform better in a 150 than what you're working with. You'd need at least three or more likely four mp10's to do what the packages I just described will do.

 

[jasonrusso]

I'll look into it for the other one. I already placed the order for the Vortech. I have no way to hide the wires now. I cut the plug off the end, drilled a small hole in the bottom of the overflow, ran the wires up the overflow, and reconnected the plug.

 

[Usctom]

Did you contact hydor by any chance. I had an issue with one of their pumps. It would spin backwards. They sent me all the parts to fix even though I was out of warranty.

 

[jasonrusso]

No,I did not. Honestly, I have no confidence in their product, so I don't want it in my tank. I'd rather buy something better, than get an inferior product for free. It will always be in the back of my head that it can go at any time and possibly kill me or my fish. I really liked all my lions. Lots of personality, now I'll never know of it was this pump that killed them or something else. I have read since that lions are sensitive (I'd imagine all fish are sensitive) to stray voltage.

 

[mcarroll]

I already placed the order for the Vortech. I have no way to hide the wires now. I cut the plug off the end, drilled a small hole in the bottom of the overflow, ran the wires up the overflow, and reconnected the plug.

A lone mp10 is going to be disappointingly inadequate in a tank that big...it has a very short area of effect in front of the pump....it might flwo an 18" cube pretty well. For the price, if you can cancel the order, I would. (Sorry to say it.)

I'm not sure I follow you on the wire cutting part. Was the Hydor's wire cut and reconnected? Can you show a pic of why this was necessary?

I'm no expert on double-insulated wiring (class II appliances), but I think cutting the cord and repairing it might defeat it's Class II'ness....could have been a source of some or all of that voltage.

@Paul B or any other electricians, etc familiar with what effect cutting and repairing a power cord on a double insulated pump like this might have? Is there a proper way to maintain the Class II protection after a repair?

 

[Sabellafella]

A $78 Tunze 6045 will do a better job in that tank and save you a bundle. Their pumps are pretty darned bullet-proof. 2 year warranty.

If you want to get fancy, buy four 6045's and run them on a pair of timers as a tide simulation....2 ON, 2 OFF, reversing them every three hours or so. Only $300 and you have some pretty nice flow for the whole tank! (Enough to grow coral if you wanted.)

A single Tunze 6150 would also probably do the trick if you're after fewer pumps....$350, but it comes with a 5 year warranty and it's doubtful there's anything quieter out there.

They have a gamut of options in between what I just named too...most of which would perform better in a 150 than what you're working with. You'd need at least three or more likely four mp10's to do what the packages I just described will do.

I had my tunze pumps for over 5 years with about 1 cleaning. It took a hurricane to blow out my electric before my tunze got toast.

 

[Brew12]

A lone mp10 is going to be disappointingly inadequate in a tank that big...it has a very short area of effect in front of the pump....it might flwo an 18" cube pretty well. For the price, if you can cancel the order, I would. (Sorry to say it.)

I'm not sure I follow you on the wire cutting part. Was the Hydor's wire cut and reconnected? Can you show a pic of why this was necessary?

I'm no expert on double-insulated wiring (class II appliances), but I think cutting the cord and repairing it might defeat it's Class II'ness....could have been a source of some or all of that voltage.

@Paul B or any other electricians, etc familiar with what effect cutting and repairing a power cord on a double insulated pump like this might have? Is there a proper way to maintain the Class II protection after a repair?

Double insulated really doesn't have anything to do with the cord. As the name implies, a device that is double insulated has 2 insulating barriers between the energized electrical parts and the user. Typically these have plastic housings as the 2nd barrier. Connecting a ground to a plastic case doesn't do anything hence there being no requirement for a ground plug.
It is really never a good idea to cut a cord and repair it, especially if you don't know what you are doing. A repaired cord by a non authorized agency would still be double insulated and could still be safe but would no longer have it's UL listing unless repairs were made using UL listed parts. For home use this doesn't matter much but it would be very unwise to sell it or give it away.

 

[jasonrusso]

A lone mp10 is going to be disappointingly inadequate in a tank that big...it has a very short area of effect in front of the pump....it might flwo an 18" cube pretty well. For the price, if you can cancel the order, I would. (Sorry to say it.)

I'm not sure I follow you on the wire cutting part. Was the Hydor's wire cut and reconnected? Can you show a pic of why this was necessary?

I'm no expert on double-insulated wiring (class II appliances), but I think cutting the cord and repairing it might defeat it's Class II'ness....could have been a source of some or all of that voltage.

@Paul B or any other electricians, etc familiar with what effect cutting and repairing a power cord on a double insulated pump like this might have? Is there a proper way to maintain the Class II protection after a repair?

Who said it's "lone?" I still have to other hydor, I have a maxi jet at the surface and 2 Eheim return pumps. The hydor was rated at 1150gph, the MP10 is rated at 1500.

Like I said, I drilled a small hole in the acrylic at the bottom of the overflow. I ran the wire through it, up the overflow box and out of the tank. I also had to extend it because it didn't reach the powerstrip under the tank. I made no connections in the water.

I'm an Audi tech by trade so I have a lot of experience repairing wires for permanent repairs. I used water tight butt connectors even though they weren't exposed to water. I also rewired the extended portion into another GFI and it tripped that too. So, no the wiring is not the issue. Did you see the pictures? Are you disputing that the cracks in the pump motor are causing this issue?

 

[mcarroll]

No, I actually looked at the photos and missed the crack....and somehow read past the line in the middle of the post where you said it. Dang!
The re-wiring just made me think about possibilities.

I meant "lone" only to imply how the pump will feel in the tank. There's a funny story about the flow number on the box, but it's basically caveat emptor just with some irony. In short, numbers don't tell the whole story.

The mp10 is really a small-tank pump....nano-small, not 50 gallons (or 150 gallons) small.

It's tiny size it what makes it worth running in the nano environment though....there's just about nothing else in it's class, size-wise. (The Tunze 6020 and 6040 are about as close as you get, I think.) But it's area of effect is literally about 18"...maybe more like 12" if you only count flow strong enough to move detritus in a meaningful way. Plus it's completely non-adjustable - always pointing straight out from the wall it's attached to. For the price, in your scenario (and having used the pumps in question)...I don't see how you'll be satisfied with it.

It's notable that pumps from Tunze have much longer 2 meter (78") cables. For example:
Turbelle® nanostream® 6045

The cables on Hydors have always been comically short, even considering the size tank they're intended for.

BTW, do you have a long (72") 150 gallon or a tall (48") 150 gallon?

 

[jasonrusso]

It's actually a 60” tall. Kind of a weird size. All I do with the circulators is move water from the lower corners of the overflows to the front. The returns do a good job. I really don't want wires running down the back. That's why I hid them in the overflow and buried the wires. I also like not having the power source in the water.

 

[mcarroll]

Interesting! Can you post a pic of that tank?

 

[jasonrusso]

I'm out now, I will tomorrow. I'll also take a pic of the other Hydor so everyone can understand what I'm talking about.

 

[Kershaw]

I don't really know if one failed korila can justify the whole brand being bad. I have korilas that are 5 years old and sure they may stick every now and again but they don't have any voltage leaking I put them in buckets and checked them about once a year. Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience but atleast or ok.

 

[jasonrusso]

Let Google be your guide. Look up Korila voltage leak and you will find a bunch.

 

[nemo1017]

Lost my vote of confidence too. One kept rattling on me, so i tried to fix it multiple times. I ended up snapping the metal rod and rendered the rattling pump useless. I Bought pump number 2, and shortly after the motor burned out. So I bought pump number 3 that has now been effectively relegated to mixing duty. I use a jebao rw 8 now. No problems whatsoever, Super Quiet. Oh and also I believe that I had voltage issues with my koralias previously as well. I grounded the tank to fix the issue. I understand that experiences will vary from person to person however. Product A for some will be flawless; while product A for others will be nothing but headaches.

 

[Humblefish]

FWIW; I've used lots of Koralias over the years, and on average I've found them to be no more problematic than Tunzes, Vortechs, Jebaos, Gyres, you name it. There is always a certain percentage of all those products that seem to crap out after only 2-3 years worth of use.

As far as leaking stray voltage, that's a risk anytime you put a wire in water and what a grounding probe/GFCI is for. The only way around that is to use nothing but Vortechs, and quite frankly not everyone can afford that luxury. Don't even get me started with how many times I've seen a heater crack and leak stray voltage.

 

[Brew12]

FWIW; I've used lots of Koralias over the years, and on average I've found them to be no more problematic than Tunzes, Vortechs, Jebaos, Gyres, you name it. There is always a certain percentage of all those products that seem to crap out after only 2-3 years worth of use.

As far as leaking stray voltage, that's a risk anytime you put a wire in water and what a grounding probe/GFCI is for. The only way around that is to use nothing but Vortechs, and quite frankly not everyone can afford that luxury. Don't even get me started with how many times I've seen a heater crack and leak stray voltage.

Have you tried a fresh water dip and copper treatment on your Koralias prior to putting them in your display tank?

 

[Humblefish]

Have you tried a fresh water dip and copper treatment on your Koralias prior to putting them in your display tank?

Is this your way of telling me to get back into the fish disease forum where I belong?

 

[mcarroll]

I've used lots of Koralias over the years, and on average I've found them to be no more problematic than Tunzes, Vortechs, Jebaos, Gyres, you name it.

How long have Tunze been making pumps compared to the rest?? Seems like that comparison is tilted in favor of the new guys and anyone with a track record gets a blank slate. That's not fair!