DC Pumps: Ecotech vs. Royal Exclusiv vs. Abyzz

[92Miata]

Ok I tested the jebao dc3000 and hygger 1060 pumps (i suspect they have the same oem). These were my findings of the four pumps I tested:
syncra silent 3.0 rated 48 watts measured 48 watts; rated 714 gph
syncra silent 4.0 rated 85 watts (measured 71 watts) 951 gph
dcp-3000 rated 25 watt (measured 30 watt) 845 gph
hygger-1060 rated 33 watt (measured 42 watt) 1060 gph
-
I though the syncra silent 4.0 was 'silent' and it was relative to the 3.0; but the two dc pumps were like no noise at all - they made the silent 4.0 sound like a freight train relatively speaking.
-
I had no way to measure actual flow so that is a flaw in my testing.
-
The dcp-3000 was sold by amazon (not a reseller) but required a erupean to usa adapter (very annoying). I.e, it comes with a two prong plug not suitable for american sockets - but the power supply will accept ac current - it just needs an adapter not a converter.
-
I was blown away at just how quiet the dc pumps were - i was expecting the a power savings.

Anyway if the a100 or a200 are massively discounted over black friday I think i'll get 6 a200 to meet my setups but i mean like massively discounted - like 80% off
---
one big negative with the hygger/dcp is that neither have an off switch. When I push the 'stop' button it goes into feed mode which means it will auto start in 10 minutes. I couldn't find a way to actually turn it off short of unplugging.

Told you they'd be quiet.

Weird on the European adapter thing - all of mine have standard American plugs. I have had a ton of issues with Amazon lately though - wrong products, misdescribed stuff (measurements on tools being wrong) - just a pain.

If you don't feel like fighting with Amazon about it - 24vDC 2-3A power supplies/wall warts are cheap.

 

[jake37]

Told you they'd be quiet.

Weird on the European adapter thing - all of mine have standard American plugs. I have had a ton of issues with Amazon lately though - wrong products, misdescribed stuff (measurements on tools being wrong) - just a pain.

If you don't feel like fighting with Amazon about it - 24vDC 2-3A power supplies/wall warts are cheap.

Yea i consider getting some and i probably will in the end but they were around $14 and the adpater was $3.

 

[jake37]

Told you they'd be quiet.

Do you know if the larger jebao pumps are also quiet - they go up to 5000 gph. I need approx 4000 gph and will likely want to use 2 pumps for fault tolerance so perhaps the dcp-1300 or dcp 10000

 

[Cjeippert]

What the heck are you guys doing that your return pumps freeze up every 3 months?

I mostly buy super cheap Chinese pumps and I don't clean return pumps anywhere near every 3 months, and I've never had one freeze up in a reef tank. I've had a couple pumps stop in the greenhouse, but that's freshwater and they're usually full of leaves and snails.

Is ecotech just that much of a dumpster fire? Or are you dripping kalk into it or something?

Yes, about 2 gallons of kalk a night into return chamber with very high flow from 2 powerheads. In the day, 200 ml of soda ash and calcium chloride, 45 mag, etc…. I learned to space the alk and calcium drips an hoir apart to avoid precipitation. I think higher ph calcifies them quicker. Plus lots of baby snails like trochous and the small flat ones I can’t thinknof the name….

i considered moving dosing lines right into tank above a vortech…. But things are good now with abyzz. Plus no terrible mobius crap to worry about. Ecotech uses flimsy plastic that breaks too. The always covered me in their warranty tho.

 

[92Miata]

Do you know if the larger jebao pumps are also quiet - they go up to 5000 gph. I need approx 4000 gph and will likely want to use 2 pumps for fault tolerance so perhaps the dcp-1300 or dcp 10000

I don't - I don't have any use cases where I need one that big.

Yes, about 2 gallons of kalk a night into return chamber with very high flow from 2 powerheads. In the day, 200 ml of soda ash and calcium chloride, 45 mag, etc…. I learned to space the alk and calcium drips an hoir apart to avoid precipitation. I think higher ph calcifies them quicker. Plus lots of baby snails like trochous and the small flat ones I can’t thinknof the name….

i considered moving dosing lines right into tank above a vortech…. But things are good now with abyzz. Plus no terrible mobius crap to worry about. Ecotech uses flimsy plastic that breaks too. The always covered me in their warranty tho.

Yeah - that'll bother most pumps. They're all water cooled - impeller/magnet/motor are all a bit hot and transfer that heat to the water to cool themselves - and that creates a real nice place for precipitate to happen if you're pumping saturated solution into that area.

 

[Cjeippert]

I don't - I don't have any use cases where I need one that big.


Yeah - that'll bother most pumps. They're all water cooled - impeller/magnet/motor are all a bit hot and transfer that heat to the water to cool themselves - and that creates a real nice place for precipitate to happen if you're pumping saturated solution into that area.

And right after the return pump is the oversized pentair uv sterilizer which itself is an aquarium heater. That glass sleeve gets a thick cloudy white coat of calcification very quickly. So, I am now scratching my head wondering why this is the most popular place to dose….. Is there any drawback in dosing right in DT?

 

[92Miata]

And right after the return pump is the oversized pentair uv sterilizer which itself is an aquarium heater. That glass sleeve gets a thick cloudy white coat of calcification very quickly. So, I am now scratching my head wondering why this is the most popular place to dose….. Is there any drawback in dosing right in DT?

You don't want it dripping on a coral or anything, but no - any high flow area is good. You just want it mixed quickly.

 

[opwan]

I can't speak for Ecotech but the Neptune Cor return pumps, in my experience, have been rock solid. I've had all since they became available to the public and reliably available through online retail. So give or take a month after launch. 2 x Cor 15 and 1 x Cor 20. No issues at all.

In fact I thought I had a issue with one of the 15's that runs my skimmer but turns out a Strombus snail got sucked up and stuck in my venturi A lot of debugging, swapping pumps, similar issue and thought it may have been a driver before support asked me to check it Totally my error - the clue was the intake impeller which I included an image below. And yes, that pump was still moving water.

I know Ecotech had a major design flaw with either the L1 or M1 upon launch with it seizing up. However they quickly addressed that issue while doing an incredible job supporting the community. At least everything I remember about it. I was going to orignally get those pumps but ended up waiting while using something else.

At the end of the day most pumps do work as long as we are taking care of them, cleaning them, sized properly, and of course not dumping harsh chems like kalk directly in the intake.

Try getting parts for the Neptune pumps. It’s atrocious.

 

[piranhaman00]

Jebao DCP

 

[amoore311]

I've been reefing for 18 years. My return pump has never died. I used Eheim AC pumps until 5-6 years ago, then switched to all Jebao Returns. This 5-6 year old jeboa DCP 8,000 and 20,000's are still running just fine, zero issues.

February 2024, 2 years later all the same Jebao DCP still humming right a long.

 

[jake37]

I've only had my 16 jebao for about 8 months but so far so good. The models range from 2000 to 3500 (i have too many large aquariums - 600,500,4x200). Really need to empty some of them...