Toyota/Lexus of Return Pumps? - Poll

[FishTruck]

I had reliability for years with older reeflo pumps, but, the ones I bought after 2020 had problems with the seals leaking. Very annoying. None ever just failed though.

I love my Abyzz pump. External and waterproof, nothing to leak, dead silent, and the ability to ramp the power up and down is more useful I thought it would be. However... it has gone into shutdown mode due to brown outs... so this does not leave me with supreme confidence when I travel. Still trying to work this out. This particular vulnerability can't be overcome by two of the same pumps either.

 

[SeaDweller]

Iwaki has my vote too.

Not only does my man Adam here know corals… he knows pumps too.

 

[4roaming]

Iwaki, at least the Japanese version, last forever but use more power and are a little louder. I have a 12 year old one that I trust completely.
I’ve gone to internal pumps now to save electricity. I use sicce and tunze ac versions. Don’t go dc they’re not as reliable.
I made a bad choice and purchased the ecotech Vectra M2. I like being able to control it for feeding and such but it’s died on me twice in the three years I’ve owned it.
The first time the the motor block started falling apart and leaching metals into my tank. That was replaced under warranty but I lost a lot of corals and had to pay to ship it back. The second time the controller died when I shorted it by plugging the battery backup in. I had to pay for a new controller. Not sure how that happened but I think it’s possible to plug the backup plug into the wrong port. I am still using it but if I go on vacation I swap out with my spare for peace of mind. It’s a Sicce syncra ADV 5.5

I’d say if you have the room go with two smaller return pumps for redundancy.

 

[jimfish98]

it’s pump by pump but multiple could use a vote. My Vectra is running on almost 5 years without an issue. My IM Mighty Jet Mini is the same way. Sicce utility pump the same. My Sicce 1.0 was a bit loud for my small tank, but great at mixing 5g buckets and pumping the water up into the tanks. A lot of solid options out there.

 

[Tamberav]

I bought a used eheim return 8 or 9 years ago and it just keeps on going, no repairs, no issues, clean it maybe once every 3-4 years.

 

[Spare time]

I don't think I've ever had a sicce pump or wavemaker fail.

 

[Reefering1]

However... it has gone into shutdown mode due to brown outs... so this does not leave me with supreme confidence when I travel. Still trying to work this out. This particular vulnerability can't be overcome by two of the same pumps either.

Connect it to a UPS unit... probaly wouldn't be a bad idea for the rest of the equipment also

 

[AlanS]

Which brand(s)/format(s) of returns pumps are long term reliable, fairly indestructible, and require minimal maintenance? I'm less concerned about fancy bells & whistles.

The reason for the question/poll is that I might be starting a job that requires 30% travel soon and I am in the process of setting up a large reef tank. I'd like to buy two 1500+ gph return pumps that I can trust to have minimal issues while I'm away from home.

Thank you for your input!

Reeflo Dart or Hammerhead. Very reliable.