Jebao wavmakers

Gene Ashton · Jul 26, 2018

I've been looking at wave makers and somebody said look at Jebao. Can anybody tell me what the Characters stand for in front of the letters. I see PP RW etc. I am thinking of getting a pair of RW-4's or PP-4s for my reefer 130max. I cant find anything to say the difference. Are they worth a hoot? I know you get what you pay for and all but the MP-10QD are are over $200.00. Are they worth that much more?

P-Dub · Jul 26, 2018

Not sure of what the letters stand for. But, as far as worth it... you're going to get some opinions. Take all with a grain of salt. I have had my pp-20's, controlled by my apex for a couple of months now. Have not had an issue. If I get a year or two out of them I can replace them with back-up's that I ordered as well. The total for all four and the apex controller interface cost me the same as what I would have to pay for one MP40 QD. Are the Jebao's worth it? My math says yes, for me... It all depends on your budget and what you are getting for the money spent. Some people can't stand cords in the tank. I don't like them as well but I can articulate the Jebao's head and change the current flow. Can't do that with the MP40's, not really at least. Not without moving their position on the glass. Again, for me, they are a good enough fit. Most of the time, what we get for out tanks turns out to be some sort of compromise anyhow. Find the compromise that best fits your needs and budget.

Bpb · Jul 26, 2018

It’s just different generations. The most current generation is the OW series where they changed to a 4 pole magnet whatever that means. FWIW I’ve owned ecotech, tunze, sicce, koralia, and jebao as far as powerheads are concerned. I’ve had a lemon show up with every brand listed. So if lemons are THAT common among powerheads, I won’t spend big bucks on them. I recently took some tunze units offline when one motor failed. The motor repair cost within $10 of a pair of equally sized Jebaos. I don’t like encouraging people to be cheap, but one area I feel like you can safely save money on and have negligible difference in results is powerheads.

EW_Fish · Jul 26, 2018

Some last some dont. Just keep them clean. rw and pp are different versions really the same thing if you ask me. I think the PP are the newer ones. I just ordered mine and happy I have been using them since they came out

Bpb · Jul 26, 2018

Another bit. I’ve got a wp40 and a wp25 from generation 1 back in 2013 that are still running without a problem

Retro Reefer · Jul 26, 2018

I hate to admit it but I have a RW 4 that’s been running nonstop for almost 3 years and has never been cleaned, best $40 I ever spent on a piece of reef tank equipment.. yes it has slowed down but it’s in a nano and will still slop water out of tank

adam finley · Jul 26, 2018

I own 2 Jebao-pp4’s and have used them for over a year with no problems. FYI I have only cleaned them once since getting them as well. I would say if your looking to save some money these are well worth the price compared to some of the more expensive brands.

Less · Jul 26, 2018

I have a set of OW-40 in 155 bow and they seem to be doing ok, all the way up they rock the water about half inch. The letters in front are just different generations, OW are the newest out.

LowLi · Jul 26, 2018

i used an ow-40 with its own controller

then i use two rw-4s connected to my apex and i am able to use profiles for my rw-4s

lots of flow in the tank although i wouldnt have gotten rw-4s if i knew the difference in power lol didnt do my research picked up the ow-40 2 weeks ago

tiggs · Jul 26, 2018

Personally, I've had good experiences with them. I ran a PP4 for over 2 years with only 1 cleaning and never had an issue. Some folks have had issues (although, a good portion of them were earlier generations) and some have been smooth sailing.

Put it this way. I'm the biggest Vortech snob you'll ever meet and love the wider, less turbulent flow they provide. With that being said, if I was ever in the market for a powerhead that provided a narrower, more turbulent stream again, I'd probably go with Jebao again. They definitely aren't premium, but IMO, they do almost as good of a job as most of the more expensive pumps in that classification at a fraction of the cost.

Travis Stewart · Jul 26, 2018

Fine pumps but like everything cheap electronically, you may have one crap out. I would def by and extra to have as backup.

Jackony · Jul 26, 2018

I burned through a few really fast running them at 100%- within the return period so I was lucky there. Others I have had running for years. I think they are worth it and will continue to use them as needed.

Also, watch some YouTube reef videos- it’s hard to find a privately owned aquarium that’s isn’t running some Jebaos!

klesel · Jul 26, 2018

Ran my pp4s at 100% for over 2 years no problem at all if got 3 on different tanks .

roberthu526 · Jul 27, 2018

I have an OW 25 and it is as dead silent as it gets. The PP series? Not so much. They all work well though.

ajm83 · Jul 27, 2018

Personally, I'd avoid them. If you get lucky and have two working ones, then they're fine.

However I bought three and:

1 works totally fine, never had a problem with it
1 keeps running backwards
1 keeps slowing down

I think the QC is not good enough and IMVHO the money saving is not worth the hassle of repeatedly taking them to bits to clean every few weeks.

JMetaxas · Jul 27, 2018

I've been running 3 pairs of them for about 6 months, without issue.

They're a true bargain in the hobby.

VR28man · Jul 27, 2018

Bpb said:
It’s just different generations. The most current generation is the OW series where they changed to a 4 pole magnet whatever that means. FWIW I’ve owned ecotech, tunze, sicce, koralia, and jebao as far as powerheads are concerned. I’ve had a lemon show up with every brand listed. So if lemons are THAT common among powerheads, I won’t spend big bucks on them. I recently took some tunze units offline when one motor failed. The motor repair cost within $10 of a pair of equally sized Jebaos. I don’t like encouraging people to be cheap, but one area I feel like you can safely save money on and have negligible difference in results is powerheads.

This. Just accept that they are disposable - i.e. if it fails you won't get any help, and you might as well just toss it and get a new one. Mine's run fine for about a year. But I'd get at least one backup for your tank (i.e. one back up total for your tank,even if you use say 5 jebaos). But that's the way of most electronics these days, even some laptops.

But other than that they're fully functional and good pumps.

The controller they come with is basic - maxiumum 1 second pulse mode, a ramp up and down mode, and then a random mode for one pump. I'd get one of the aqlink controllers (can be bought as a package on fish street.com) - offers apparently many more control options. Also, if you are in the U.S. and order from ebay, ebay will try to get you to buy like a year's insurance for like $10 extra. I did, figuring that if it didn't fail in the first year it last as long as I could reasonably expect.

pickupman66 · Jul 27, 2018

I have been using Jebao pumps and wavemakers since the OG WP40 came out about 8 years ago I guess. something like that. my OG units lasted a good 6 years. I replaced them with some WP25 that fit my tank better and also run a WP10. these three are all controlled with my Archon controller. I also just replaced a 6 year old DC6000 return pump that was failing to start on its own. I purchased a DCP6500 Sine wave and could not be happier.

67chevellemalibu2 · Sep 4, 2018

Gene Ashton said:
I've been looking at wave makers and somebody said look at Jebao. Can anybody tell me what the Characters stand for in front of the letters. I see PP RW etc. I am thinking of getting a pair of RW-4's or PP-4s for my reefer 130max. I cant find anything to say the difference. Are they worth a hoot? I know you get what you pay for and all but the MP-10QD are are over $200.00. Are they worth that much more?

What are the newest model PP? I want to get one too.

VR28man · Sep 5, 2018

I believe the newest model is OW. PP is 1-2 generations old. The numbers still denote the same power, though.

As far as are they worth it, that's a personal decision.

It's not good to compare them to the Ecotech MPs. The difference with the MPs is that the design theoretically allows a wider flow, AND that you don't need to run cords inside the tank. The ecotechs also have much better control modes (i.e. software advantage), which I think is useful.

A better comparison would be with more basic powerheads, like Koralia or Tunze. The advantage Jebao has here is price; the disadvantage is, anecdotally, lower reliability (though i've had no problems, and any piece of equipment certainly can break!). And that if they break there's no practical way to get customer service.