Another Very close call with a Rio 900

[RichMacys]

Well, I almost got zapped by my rio 900. I was actually moving it from the sump to the tank for more water flow. I put it in and it started chattering like was trying to start up and put my hand in and gave it a couple of taps. That didnt work, so I take the cover off the bottom and take out the impeller and it was steaming. The top lid then popped off and I saw a huge crack in the epoxy that seals it. Then I got the whiff of burning plastic. Luckily nothing was harmed. I didnt realize that the UPS which had been beeping a couple hours earlier was beeping because it detected a ground fault. I thought the UPS was on the blink because the power had gone out earlier. Guess what? Ive learned a few things.

1. DONT BUY RIOS!!!!!!
2. When your UPS is Beeping at you dont ignore it.
3. Replace any rios you have.

Put my order in tonight for my maxi-jets.DONT BUY RIOS!!!!

[ July 08, 2001: Message edited by: RichMacys ]

[ July 08, 2001: Message edited by: RichMacys ]

 

[Stringztoo1]

I almost bought a Rio simply because the packaging was nicer, before hearing all the headaches about it. The only reason I didn't was because the LFS only had 2 Rio models, slow and insanely fast. Instead for the same price I bought an Aquarium Systems Maxi-Jet MP600. It's for my 37 gallon reef and pumps out 680liters/hour or 160 USg/h which is more than enough. I had first bought the MP900 for $3 more but the damn thing was a jet engine underwater.

Look for it if you can, The Maxi-Jet PH, it's in a pink and blue box, made by Aquarium Systems and cost me $26 bucks!

[edit:after reading thorugh your entire post I see you already said you were buying a Maxi-Jet... whoops!]

[ July 08, 2001: Message edited by: Stringztoo ]

 

[Tremelle]

Yes, you are lucky. I had a Rio 1100 get most of my tank. And the worst thing about it, my Maxijets came in the mail the next day.

 

[MIKE NY1]

I bought a Rio....it lasted less the a year....enough said!

Mike

 

[Lark]

Why do so many skimmer manufacturers seem to recommend (or even require without retrofitting) rios as their pumps?

For those of you who refuse to buy rios but run skimmers that recommend rio pumps, are the flow rates on the rios accurate enough and consistent enough that you use a straight 1-1 conversion for figuring out what pump to get? (E.g., If my skimmer says to use a rio 2500, is the mag 7 the correct choice?)

 

[smokinreefer]

Lark, for comparisons sake,
2100-690gph
2500-780gph
mag7-700gph
so yes that is a good replacement. just as an example, cuz i'm sure there are other pumps out there that rated about the same too

HTH, plus the pump dimensions are somewhat similar, so retrofitting shouldnt be a big job

 

[RichMacys]

I say if your going to retro-fit another pump on a skimmer to get bigger than your need then you can adjust water flow with a valve. You never know when or if youll upgrade to a bigger skimmer,tank, whatever.

The reason they do this is probably to reduce costs on their side. Cheaper pumps mean cheaper products which means you the consumer buy more of their product.

 

[jethro]

I hate the Rio 600 that is on my Remora. It is so noisy. I want to replace it.

Not sure what I will do with the Skimmer box that I blew $30 on. Nothing else will fit in it.

Spend and learn.

 

[ncosper]

The more and more I read these damn posts the more nervous I get. I use ignornant and bought a rio about oh 60 months ago. Its been fine, but Im getting more and more scared or failure. I have a Sen coming, I just have a wait a little while. I'd die if the damn thing blew right before the new PH got here...

 

[RichMacys]

I ordered 4 maxi-jet 1200s last night for a little under $16.00 a piece. I got them through petwarehouse. I think they are the lowest on price Ive ever seen when it comes to maxi-jets. Im going to use one for my skimmer, and 3 for the recirculation in the tank. I already have a Mag2 and a rio600 in the tank so I will replace the rio with the maxi and just add two more powerheads to the wavemaker.