Any experience with the Reef Breeders RP-M?

[Water Dog]

Following along and found these honeycombed silicone mats on Amazon...

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I bought a silicone dish mat from the hardware store that had a raised honeycomb pattern on it. I forget the brand. It was about 1/4" thick. I cut it to shape, and used it on the inside of the tank, between the pump and the glass. It reduced the noise by more than 90%. Logan also sent me a new impeller, and other new parts, but none of those things really did the trick. There is a lot of vibration with most pumps, and the plastic housing of the pump transmits that sound efficiently through the glass of the tank. I think that with this style of pump, the vibration noise can be worse than other styles, because the pump motor is pressed snugly against the tank wall. My tank is about 1/2" thick, and the magnet still holds the pump in place with the padding there. You might need to get a more powerful magnet to use this strategy.

Noise happens sometimes on these. 90% of the time a new impeller does the trick. We also recently updated the controller to a sine wave signal, which significantly reduces vibration noise.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I would not descibe mine as very quiet. I cant remember if it was in the beginning. It has been screeching loudly intermittently for awhile, then recently constantly screeched. I remember for the money I liked it a lot, as a first impression. I am back to like it. But my whole family agrees the Tunze is silent compared to the RP-M.

That's the only problem we have had with some pumps- the impeller gets knocked out of alignment in shipping sometimes. Since the impeller wraps around the motor block and is much larger than most impellers this can throw off the pumps balance a bit. We do have replacement impellers available under warranty.

The new sine wave controller has definitely helped reduce noise. It's tough with really thin glass though as the vibration can transmit. Most tanks in the 30-50g range have thicker glass and do just fine. The silicon pad mentioned earlier is a good way to help with that on tanks .3" or thinner.

The QP pumps we carry are definitely quieter- there are benefits and drawbacks to every pump design. The QP pumps protrude into your tank much more, but have a smaller impeller (more direct flow vs. the super wide flow on the RPM). Much of their length is due to the impeller style, and the 3 layers of vibration dampening (o ring at U clamp, 3 x rubber grommets between pump and magnet, plus rubber between magnet and tank wall).

By shortening the pump there is less vibration dampening. But you get a significantly shorter pump that is much easier to hide, and the wide flow allows you to put the pump on the back wall of your tank vs. the side wall for unobstructed viewing.

 

[hart24601]

I have been running 3 for about a year now. I had one fail, the impeller stopped moving, so replaced that one. Sometimes make some noise but running in reverse or cleaning impeller clears it up.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

How would you know if you have the newer controller that has the correct sine?

 

[Esage]

That's the only problem we have had with some pumps- the impeller gets knocked out of alignment in shipping sometimes. Since the impeller wraps around the motor block and is much larger than most impellers this can throw off the pumps balance a bit. We do have replacement impellers available under warranty.

The new sine wave controller has definitely helped reduce noise. It's tough with really thin glass though as the vibration can transmit. Most tanks in the 30-50g range have thicker glass and do just fine. The silicon pad mentioned earlier is a good way to help with that on tanks .3" or thinner.

The QP pumps we carry are definitely quieter- there are benefits and drawbacks to every pump design. The QP pumps protrude into your tank much more, but have a smaller impeller (more direct flow vs. the super wide flow on the RPM). Much of their length is due to the impeller style, and the 3 layers of vibration dampening (o ring at U clamp, 3 x rubber grommets between pump and magnet, plus rubber between magnet and tank wall).

By shortening the pump there is less vibration dampening. But you get a significantly shorter pump that is much easier to hide, and the wide flow allows you to put the pump on the back wall of your tank vs. the side wall for unobstructed viewing.

How wide is the flow ?

 

[JCrowe86]

Just bought and installed 2 last night. I like the flow they provide but I can definitely hear the vibrations and one has a slight squeak like a bad belt in a car. If it continues I'll see about getting a replacement.

Side question: 65g display, better to mount these on opposite ends or mount them on the back glass?

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

How wide is the flow ?

Each pump covers about 18-24" of width depending on the depth of your tank.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

Just bought and installed 2 last night. I like the flow they provide but I can definitely hear the vibrations and one has a slight squeak like a bad belt in a car. If it continues I'll see about getting a replacement.

Side question: 65g display, better to mount these on opposite ends or mount them on the back glass?

Back glass, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way down and evenly spaced, depending on rockwork.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

How would you know if you have the newer controller that has the correct sine?

Pumps shipped after July of this year should have the new controller version. They will say SINE on the back. I will see if I can get a photo

 

[Esage]

Each pump covers about 18-24" of width depending on the depth of your tank.

Wow, thanks for the info. Sounds like one of these would work great on my IM 50 lagoon the display is 30x20x16 softies and LPS. Would you recommend mounting on the back?

 

[Esage]

Are you able to change the minimum and max pump speed on nature mode and reef mode ?

 

[southerntnreefer]

Pumps shipped after July of this year should have the new controller version. They will say SINE on the back. I will see if I can get a photo

Building out a 72 bowfront. 1 or 2 of these beauties? Was gunna go gyre, but these look nicer. 48x18x23