What size rio pumps should I purchase ?

hooked · 03-30-2002, 06:18 PM

Hello all,

I was thinking about taking the 2 whisper 2's off the back of my tank. I am using them for water circulation and also for the carbon packs. This is on my 38g, I have a cannister filter also on the tank but with the 30lbs of LR I am not sure I really even need to use the whispers. What size rio's would you purchase? What would be the best placement for them? I was thinking putting one near the surface to move water around for oxygen exchange and also was thinking about putting one down low in tank on opposite side. Should I put them both on the same side of tank or does that even matter? Please see my tank page for all info on my tank if you need more.

Thanks,

beach bum · 03-30-2002, 06:53 PM

opposite sides for more turbulent conditions,at least one should create surface agaitation. You could probably put carbon in the canister instead of the whispers. maxi-jets are quieter, function better, and have a more elegant look than the rios IMO. make sure you have enough flow to turn your tank volume 10x or more, good figure to shoot from.

Rick O · 03-30-2002, 07:30 PM

I can't speak from personal experience but Rio's have been getting some bad publicity lately. Mostly from poor reliability and that they don't have internal overload protection. This means that when they short out they burn up and foul the tank water. I would strongly consider another pump such as Maxi-Jet. They are about the same size as a comparable Rio.

Alice · 03-30-2002, 07:37 PM

I have two tiny Rios in my nano and even they make me nervous. Micro Jets are on my shopping list. I wouldn't even consider any of the larger Rios for my tank.

I've seen the after-effects of a Rio meltdown and it was horrendous.

Alice

Doug1 · 03-30-2002, 08:43 PM

If you have been following my recent tank decline threads, all I ca say is thank Gawd I had Sen and not Rio, the horror stories are terrible

Graned main pump failure is not good) but at least if nothing else my igmnored Sen didnt leak PCB's in my tank creating a really ugly hazmat situation. At the very least the Maxijets or Hagen power heads should work fine, but I would avoid Rios unless you see a UL approved sticker on them

hooked · 03-30-2002, 10:03 PM

THANKS ALL

I am still new at all this and really appreciate everybody helping me out. I will look into the maxi-jets. Anybody got a good deal going on right now.

Thanks

MontanaRocknReefer · 03-30-2002, 10:08 PM

Well here goes! I have run nothing but RIO pumps on my reef tank from day one and so far-----I say this loosely----have had no problems----well sort of. I had 2 RIO 2100 powerheads and one is still going great after a year and a half. The other one I had for six months and then quit working. Cleaned it all out and it still would not work. Replaced it with a different brand.
I also have a RIO pump on my Remora Pro Skimmer for about a year now and no problems. I will eventually replace the RIO's I have left and like Doug says if they are UL approved then they will probably be ok. Johnny

hooked · 03-30-2002, 10:13 PM

STUPID QUESTION,

What does UL approved mean

Thanks,

MontanaRocknReefer · 03-30-2002, 10:49 PM

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, not-for-profit product safety testing and certification organization.

hamburglar · 03-30-2002, 11:21 PM

I always get my Maxi-Jets from Premium Aquatics. looks like they have the 600's (160 G/H) for $15.95 and the 900's (230 G/H) for $17.95.

I don't think you need the 1200's, but that's up to you.

I really really like Maxi-Jet power heads, and I wish they made one that would do around 500-700 GPH to replace my Rio 2500.

As a side note, I recently replaced the little Rio that came with my CPR SR-2 (sump bak pak) skimmer with a Maxi-Jet 1200. It is skimming a whole lot better now. I raised the collection cup about 1 inch higher than with the Rio and I am getting a nice dry foam. (that Rio was replaced because it locked up on me)

reefguy · 03-30-2002, 11:29 PM

first of all, i wouldn't buy rios. maxi-jets or hagen aquaclears are a better way to go. i don't have maxi-jets readily available in my area, so i use the aquaclears. i have had no complaints with them so far

beach bum · 03-31-2002, 12:41 AM

Whether or not they crash your tank is one thing, but here are two others:

Rio's are noisy - MJ's are not

Rio has cr*ppy suction cups - MJ's actually stick

The small things matter too, IME.