Never heard of them? Neither had I. But if the “peoples” ATS #1 guy (Turbo Aquatics) is just a guy who knew what he was doing and started his own business, why not give some other unknown a shot. I did want a Turbo L2 Rev 4 but unfortunately the production is on hold. And with the Rev 5 in the works (obviously id want to wait for a better version if it’s in the works) and production for Turbo delayed, it would be months, so looking to alternatives. Apparently, there are not many companies’ who make ATS.
IceCap: was hard to find (sold out), cheap, but poor reviews.
Clearwater: to commercial, way to expensive, hate the add on cost of the covers, do not like the way they represented themselves (on threads I came across here). I considered, but even at the high price, they were sold out in many places, and just so expensive (at that price, I really preferred Turbo).
Santa Monica Filtration: lol. Okay, they are the original (?). I liked the Rain2, simple, seemed like a great price (direct from Santa Monica I could get a two LED light version that was under $300). Since I never tried a ATS, why not! Ok, here we go.
The Rain2. I purchased and received in a timely manner (great). I’m excited, but then, there is damage to the product (cracked bottom plate). Okay, I email, they send me a new bottom plate (asking me to send back the broken piece, ok, that is strange, return the cheap piece of broken plastic, but no problem). As I replace the broken plate (finally inspecting the product more thoroughly), I noticed a cheap piece of white plastic (clip) covering the inlet pipe. Not shown in any product pics, I investigate to find its basically a band aid! Covering a cracked pipe!
So, I email again, and they responded, and I quote: “we put on some poles; it’s not really needed. But it is not supposed to come off, If you’d like to glue it on yourself with pvc cement, I can refund you $20”. I responded questioning why they would put on “some poles” and not others. I pointed out that it was clearly cracked and used to cover the crack. I really wanted to try out the Rain 2 (again, I liked the simplistic design). I asked them to send me a complete replacement (not broken), instead, they refunded me my money. Which I guess is good, but if you cannot sell a product and guarantee not sending out a broken unit, that is a little disappointing.
So, Turbo Aquatics is not accepting orders, IceCap is sold out and probably obsolete and bad reviews, Clearwater is a greedy cooperate conglomerate (which I may have still bought from) but sold out as well, and Santa Monica Filtration can’t guarantee a quality product and didn’t want my money! LOL
Okay, so then I stumbled across Aquatic Guzs and their ATS. No reviews, I couldn’t find much info outside their website. But the specs on the product vs the price was a no brainer. Same as with the UV sterilizer I found: At worst case, I wasted a few hundred on testing new equipment; wouldn’t be the first time. At best case scenario, I found a gem in the wild!
