Jebao SOW vs SLW

[Reefs and Geeks]

I'm considering getting a couple of Jebao wavemakers to replace my constant flow aqueon constant flow powerheads. I'm not sure which one would be best though. I'm considering the SOW and the SLW. Anyone have any experience with these and have any input? I'm looking at getting SOW-15 and/or SLW-30, which are similar flowrates. Possibly 2 of the same kind, or one of each. I have a 150 gallon display.

Is the SLW able to pivot at all, or does it only point perpendicular to the glass?

 

[Beau_B]

I have slw-20s. They're quiet and have a nice wide flow. You can mount them on the included dished rubber thingy. Gives maybe 30* range.

 

[BighohoReef]

I have the SLW-20 and the SOW-20. (Note, I do monthly maintenance on all our flow equipment (water, vinegar soak, and scrub))

Quick reviews of both:
We used the SOW in our 100g tank for a few months, they've had an internment issue of automatically shutting off. I've replaced the controller and cleaned the fans but the issue persists, they'll stay on for a 30-40mins and then power off. You'll find that jaebo customer service is a joke, my best answers for fixes, and what not have come from R2R. I have since replaced them with a Maxspect xf330 and love it!
Pros: Moved a lot of water and moved it well, multiple flow control options, easy to adjust the directional flow, cheap for flow pumps.
Cons: Loud especially with variable control you'll hear a constant hum, quality is on the mid to low end, very direct flow hard to achieve the gyre effect we wanted, cheap.

Both pumps are now used in our mixing station where we only need short times of use. I am aware that some of the newer models of SOW have minor improvements in sound and quality. For the price, I got them at I really can't complain.

I am a big fan of the SLW-20 as it gives a good spread in the tank, the 30 does even more! We had it centered behind our SPS rock it was perfect adjustable flow for the area. The fan head itself can be moved on the magnet but doesn't give quite the range as the nero5 does. I found once I had it in the tank and found that sweet spot I did a minimal adjustment. I added a few pictures, I hope it helps. The SLW20 lasted a little over a year in two tanks, either I'm getting a bad batch of products or cleaning too much I'm not sure, but for $50 I was happy with it. I do tinker so if I figure out what's wrong with it and can fix it I'll create a post.
Pros: Moves water great front to the back of the tank, widespread of flow, silent
Cons: For a long tank it doesn't move water well left to right, the flow dies about the middle of the tank due to the shape of the housing, cheap, long term reliability.

As I'm sure you'll read jaebo isn't known to make lasting products but they get the job done at a low cost, me being cheap that's why I went with them. Let me know if you have any more questions happy to help!

 

[92Miata]

I've got two ow-10s which are the precursor to the SOW-4. They're dead silent. One is about a year old, other is new. My experience has been that they had some hum for the first couple days until they slimed up, but then have been silent. I also have a bigger jebao dc return pump - same story. Never had any problems - very happy.


I think the big issue with jebao is consistency - and I wouldn't be surprised if the people who have the louder pumps are also the ones who have had them fail earlier - probably a bad mold, or a tool out of square somewhere in the production line - so I'd say if you buy them, and can still hear them after a couple days - send them back as defective. Amazon is typically very good about this.

 

[homer1475]

I have the SLW-20 and the SOW-20. (Note, I do monthly maintenance on all our flow equipment (water, vinegar soak, and scrub))

Quick reviews of both:
We used the SOW in our 100g tank for a few months, they've had an internment issue of automatically shutting off. I've replaced the controller and cleaned the fans but the issue persists, they'll stay on for a 30-40mins and then power off. You'll find that jaebo customer service is a joke, my best answers for fixes, and what not have come from R2R. I have since replaced them with a Maxspect xf330 and love it!
Pros: Moved a lot of water and moved it well, multiple flow control options, easy to adjust the directional flow, cheap for flow pumps.
Cons: Loud especially with variable control you'll hear a constant hum, quality is on the mid to low end, very direct flow hard to achieve the gyre effect we wanted, cheap.

Both pumps are now used in our mixing station where we only need short times of use. I am aware that some of the newer models of SOW have minor improvements in sound and quality. For the price, I got them at I really can't complain.

I am a big fan of the SLW-20 as it gives a good spread in the tank, the 30 does even more! We had it centered behind our SPS rock it was perfect adjustable flow for the area. The fan head itself can be moved on the magnet but doesn't give quite the range as the nero5 does. I found once I had it in the tank and found that sweet spot I did a minimal adjustment. I added a few pictures, I hope it helps. The SLW20 lasted a little over a year in two tanks, either I'm getting a bad batch of products or cleaning too much I'm not sure, but for $50 I was happy with it. I do tinker so if I figure out what's wrong with it and can fix it I'll create a post.
Pros: Moves water great front to the back of the tank, widespread of flow, silent
Cons: For a long tank it doesn't move water well left to right, the flow dies about the middle of the tank due to the shape of the housing, cheap, long term reliability.

As I'm sure you'll read jaebo isn't known to make lasting products but they get the job done at a low cost, me being cheap that's why I went with them. Let me know if you have any more questions happy to help!

Vinegar is a pump killer(there's actually a thread around here about it). I have since switched to citric acid.

Found the thread for reference.

Beware of Vinegar - The Pump Killer

I have posted bits and piece of my vinegar story over the past three years, and I thought it would be beneficial if one post contained all that I've learn. You'll be surprised! This story will contain three parts; my history with vinegar, the cause and simplified chemistry what's happening...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[ca1ore]

Man, Jebao (and all the other names they go by) change their model numbers more than I change my …… well, you know. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks its so customers cannot easily compare models.

 

[92Miata]

Man, Jebao (and all the other names they go by) change their model numbers more than I change my …… well, you know. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks its so customers cannot easily compare models.

They've been pretty aggressive about improving their pumps - and every time they do, they change the model names.

The SW ->OW was a change from 2 pole motors to 4 pole motors, and the OW->SOW was a change from square wave drivers to sine wave.

 

[BighohoReef]

Vinegar is a pump killer(there's actually a thread around here about it). I have since switched to citric acid.

Found the thread for reference.

Beware of Vinegar - The Pump Killer

I have posted bits and piece of my vinegar story over the past three years, and I thought it would be beneficial if one post contained all that I've learn. You'll be surprised! This story will contain three parts; my history with vinegar, the cause and simplified chemistry what's happening...

www.reef2reef.com

@homer1475 Thank you! That's good to know... perhaps why my jaebo's aren't working. You think you're doing the right thing and them wham! Appreciate it!

 

[homer1475]

@homer1475 Thank you! That's good to know... perhaps why my jaebo's aren't working. You think you're doing the right thing and them wham! Appreciate it!

No problem. I have been doing the same for years, never had a clue. The more you know....

 

[BighohoReef]

No problem. I have been doing the same for years, never had a clue. The more you know....

I should mention I don't soak I just cleanse with a half water half vinegar mix scrubbing. Either way, I'm gonna dig into that thread more, interesting stuff and making the switch regardless. I don't want the expensive stuff breaking because of that.

Back to the regular scheduled program of SOW and SLW responses

 

[homer1475]

My 5 year old PP-8's still work great!

 

[SoggyNW]

I have an OW 10 & 25 in opposite corners of the of a 40b pointed at each other. They are linked together taking turns in an on off pattern, about 10 seconds each. The 25 is lower pointed toward the surface to disperse it's flow.

They are silent and my coral seem to love the flow they make. The wireless master/slave feature is easy to use and the flow pattern options are useful.

The only thing that had to monkeyed with was the night mode. It is controlled with a photo sensor on the controller. My controllers are under my tank in the dark so I hooked up a cheap light to a timer to tell them when to go on and off.

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

Thanks for all of the responses! Some great reading so far. Not sure yet at this point if I want to go with one sow-20 and an SLW-30, or maybe two of the slw's. The SLWs do look more sleek for sure, and seem like with some careful placement they should be versital enough. The sow is alog more adjustable though, so still considering one in case I need to moving it differently. I'll try to find some videos showing the flow. Maybe that will help.

 

[Steeevo6617]

I have an OW 10 & 25 in opposite corners of the of a 40b pointed at each other. They are linked together taking turns in an on off pattern, about 10 seconds each. The 25 is lower pointed toward the surface to disperse it's flow.

They are silent and my coral seem to love the flow they make. The wireless master/slave feature is easy to use and the flow pattern options are useful.

The only thing that had to monkeyed with was the night mode. It is controlled with a photo sensor on the controller. My controllers are under my tank in the dark so I hooked up a cheap light to a timer to tell them when to go on and off.

 

[Steeevo6617]

Hi
What do I need to purchase to ling to Jebao wavemakers together? Thx

 

[SoggyNW]

Hi
What do I need to purchase to ling to Jebao wavemakers together? Thx

They have the feature built into their controller.

 

[nightmarepl]

They've been pretty aggressive about improving their pumps - and every time they do, they change the model names.

The SW ->OW was a change from 2 pole motors to 4 pole motors, and the OW->SOW was a change from square wave drivers to sine wave.

whats the newest series SOW?

 

[LeftyReefer]

whats the newest series SOW?

No.
The SOW series has been updated too, now the newest is the MOW series. Same with the SLW series, which has been upgraded to the MLW series now. The MOW/MLW models now come with a new smart/wifi connected LCD controller. There is a Jebao app that you can install on your phone or tablet and you can control/program the controller from your device.

 

[Superd513]

No.
The SOW series has been updated too, now the newest is the MOW series. Same with the SLW series, which has been upgraded to the MLW series now. The MOW/MLW models now come with a new smart/wifi connected LCD controller. There is a Jebao app that you can install on your phone or tablet and you can control/program the controller from your device.

They have a Wi-Fi one now

 

[Superlightman]

how are the new model?