Jebao, is it really "bad?"

[Tuan’s Reef]

Went from a complete noob reefer over a year ago and have been using the Jebao DP4 to dose the big 3. Would not hesitate to buy another if I have the need ! Value is amazing !

 

[Shooter6]

You asked about the doser. I had to grab one recently as my 1.5 yr old bubble magnus took a **** and cost me a number of high end colonies like my homewrecker. So far it works great no syphon either way, although i dont have it hanging i to the water where it could syphon.
I also run 2 of the dcp20000 return pumps,
1 of the dcq10000 return pumps. 2 ow-25
2 slw-20 and 2 cp40 gyres from them. This is on my 180gal. The gyres are the oldest, have been cleaned 4 times in almost 2 years and work great. The slw-20 are nero knockoffs and put out a soft wall of water that the sps actually grow towards. The ow-25 are strong but not laser beam flow . They filled in som dead spots.
The dcp pumps i run one and the second i swap in to clean the other. Super powerful and dead silent 4+years on them. The dcq i use to send water to a seperate sump that houses my skimmer. Again dead silent and powerful.

The dcq has me excited as it has a built in wave function where it pulses up and down and can be adjusted for the max flow on that setting just like while on constant flow. I have a 300gal display 1200gal total system build going now. Im planning ti run 4 of the dcq10000 on closed loop with the random flow generator nozzles on them. That should make plenty of random flow without the need for as many wavemakers in the tank.

 

[happysalt]

Seems like lots of people have weighed in here but this is my two cents. I would always look at a piece of equipment and ask yourself "what is the worst that happens if it fails" I have used Jebao powerheads and return pumps through my apex when I was starting out because if a powerhead fails its not the end of the world.

That being said, if this dosing pump fails on and dumps a ton of alk or calcium into the tank you could lose everything you have and in some peoples cases thats over $10,000 in corals. So for me when I look at it that way, id rather spend the extra 200 dollars making sure that will never happen.

 

[VillainzReefExotics702]

I’ve been using jebao for years no problems here I just found another cheaper brand uniclife so far so good with those just limited on what they make but wavemakers are good and so are their DC pumps

 

[Cheche]

Seems like lots of people have weighed in here but this is my two cents. I would always look at a piece of equipment and ask yourself "what is the worst that happens if it fails" I have used Jebao powerheads and return pumps through my apex when I was starting out because if a powerhead fails its not the end of the world.

That being said, if this dosing pump fails on and dumps a ton of alk or calcium into the tank you could lose everything you have and in some peoples cases thats over $10,000 in corals. So for me when I look at it that way, id rather spend the extra 200 dollars making sure that will never happen.

All mechanical items are subject to fail .. even if it you pay extra 200$ is not if .. but when it happens.. now you lost all your corals 10,000 plus 200$ I do QC on my job and Jebao is as good or better then a lot of equipment out there and is nit over price.

 

[MichaelReefer]

It's very interesting because even on BRS, the expensive units only have about a 60-70% approval rating. The Jebao has higher than that on Amazon.

 

[LC8Sumi]

I always thought my dp4 was an okay doser, until recently I’ve bought a second hand old ghl dosing unit for $50 (they pretty much look the same). Now I can see how poor the dp4 quality is. That said, I’ve been using the dp4 for 3 years without issues. It’s just a PITA to program & needed check valves (and those regularly replaced). So for the money it’s a great doser IMO. Ofcourse there are better ones on the market, but those are only 2-3x better, while they cost 5-10x more.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I know this thread is still going and many other weighed in, I am an advocate of getting what you can afford at the time. I myself started with cheap lights, cheap dosing pump (dp-4) and cheap wave makers. I did this to find my own confidence in reefing. If your success is achieved, then its at your discretion to make upgrades. If success has failed due to equipment and it hasn't completely killed your passion for the hobby, then upgrade. Its a great learning experience and the upgrade will be that much more rewarding. That said, jebao dosing pumps are hit and miss but worth the cost. Just stay away from expensive coral at first.

 

[happysalt]

All mechanical items are subject to fail .. even if it you pay extra 200$ is not if .. but when it happens.. now you lost all your corals 10,000 plus 200$ I do QC on my job and Jebao is as good or better then a lot of equipment out there and is nit over price.

Yea that is correct. All items are subject to fail the question is at what likelihood. For example, I haven't seen any stories of a neptune DOS getting stuck on and dumping an entire bottle of anything in someones tank whereas I have seen that on numerous occasions with Jebao Dosers (thats how they got this negative reputation). There is a difference between breaking (because Neptune DOS have had their own issues) and breaking in a way it could wipe out your entire tank.

 

[Reefer40b]

I think you will see a lot of back and forth here, they dont have the best QC or any maybe but... I have used quite a few of their products from wave makers to dosers and the only ones I had issues with are the SW series waves straight garbage.

If you are looking for good wave makers I have been using OW series and they have been wonderful! Also have a DP4 thats 3 years old still rocking it!

DCT for return pumps also for 3 years straight 24/7 only cleaned once a year!! great pumps

 

[MichaelReefer]

I think you will see a lot of back and forth here, they dont have the best QC or any maybe but... I have used quite a few of their products from wave makers to dosers and the only ones I had issues with are the SW series waves straight garbage.

If you are looking for good wave makers I have been using OW series and they have been wonderful! Also have a DP4 thats 3 years old still rocking it!

DCT for return pumps also for 3 years straight 24/7 only cleaned once a year!! great pumps

I'm more looking at dosers. But I have noticed that honestly, almost every make and model of doser has bad reviews lol. Or at least nothing "impressive."

 

[Duncan Tse]

Have been running 2 jebao pumps and their doser for over 2 years and no problem so far.

 

[jpas]

If you had the opportunity to visit their manufacturing facility in China your unsubstantiated comments regarding how good there quantity control will be very different.

 

[Richard savage]

From personal experience I saw this on amazon and was tired of hand dosing my aquarium and thought hey that’s not a bad price and I tried it out. I am one of the people who reviewed this as a horrible product, I watched countless videos on how to set up the program so I know I did it right but it would either not dose or would over dose, I completely hated it and have learned that if you want success in this hobby you have to do it right the first time and put out a little extra money to get results that you want. I currently use the eshopps doser and have been for a couple years with no problems, 100% recommend so do It right the first time !!!!!!

 

[Snuggs]

My jebao s have running for three plus years with no complaints.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

2 PP-8 powerheads bought new, DC 1200 return pump bought used, DP-4 bought used NIB. No issues with the PP-8s and DC 1200 after 20 months of use. DP-4 was only used for a few months until I switched back to kalk but it worked fine and gave me no issues with dosing as programed. As with any electronic product especially one used in a saltwater environment has a high chance of failure no matter what the price range. There are several threads on Vortech MP powerheads having several issues. Do you get what you pay for, yes but lower price may not always be lower functionality. If my Jebao pumps fail I can replace them at a much lower cost and still have saved money over one MP40.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I like my vortechs... but I know plenty of people who swear by Jebao. I think the key is always have backups...and in the case of Jebao, back up your backups...

 

[derek.gray.988]

So, I have been looking around and am considering to start dosing sometime this year. I found these Jebaos on Amazon and after a little research, some people say they've had them for years and never had a problem and others say they're garbage. Does anyone here use them or have experience with them?



Appreciate any advice.

I have an old version of the DP-4 doser on my reef tank and it has lasted years and worked flawlessly. I purchased ten units recently for work (a research project) and five of them have failed within a couple months. I don't know what they changed, but the new version is not reliable. They work fine at first, but don't last.