Rio 2500 ?

[rhino]

Without wishing to be naive is the Rio 2500 thats gets all the bad press used as a return pump from the sump or are they used as powerheads ? Paul

[cath]

Most of what I've read is about Rio 600s as powerheads, but I suspect that the same holds true for that motor being used for return pumps. They are poorly constructed and subject to burn out!!!

Much better to ask about such stuff. We're all naive at this stuff from time to time. I'm sure some others can give you more details.

[thefatman]

i read in a few other threads as well, that the rio's that are bad are the NON UL listed models..

apparantly they make two models of each model.. a ul listed and a non ul listed that is cheaper..

i also read on a few sites that the 2500 was a safe one. but who knows.

[ShirleyM]

We used to use a Rio 2500 to run our skimmer in the sump. It would not have been powerful enough to run a return from the sump up to the tank. We replaced it due to all the problems people were having, and now use a Mag 7 on the skimmer.

~ Shirley

[Buzz_Hog]

Mag 7 on a skimmer??? Holy cow... I use a Mag 7 as my return pump.... but then again it's only a 55 gallon tank...

[icebear]

i bought a Rio (2600? return pump) a few months ago, then heard about all the horrid things they supposedly do...i havn't put my sump together yet, so its still in the box- and i was a little worried cause if its supposed to burn out real easy i was gioing to have to count it as a loss and buy another pump, but the other day i looked at it again and it said it was UL listed....now where i heard all the bad things, there was no mention of it being the ones that are NOT ul listed as being the bad ones...
cause i wondered about that....
Cause if UL listing i thought only means that they shouldn't leak electrical current into the water but the motors might still be weak pieces of junk...i dunno
So i'm still not sure if i need a new return pump and i'm going to have to use the Rio as a watermixer pump for waterchanges or not.... *arrgh*

i don't really want to take the chance if UL and non UL are both made just as carelessly

[hamburglar]

I've had a Rio 2500HP as a return pump in my sump for about 3 years with no problems. I remove the impeller every 6 months and give it a good soak in vinegar. I used a 1700 in a fish only tank driving a wet/dry filter for about 4 years previous to my reef tank with no problems also.

I have been thinking about replacing the 2500 with something else due to all the bad press they get on these boards. But I wonder how much of this bad press is just people repeating the same stories over and over again. I bet most of the people talking junk have never owned one

Then again, mine could die tomorrow

-Chris

[ShirleyM]

Originally posted by Buzz_Hog
Mag 7 on a skimmer??? Holy cow... I use a Mag 7 as my return pump.... but then again it's only a 55 gallon tank...

Well, it runs our Berlin Skimmer in a 20G sump under a 120G reef.

A Mag 5 runs the skimmer under the 125 fowlr, but that skimmer is slightly smaller, I think. It doesn't have a name brand, and it came from PA.

A Genx Mak 4 is the return pump for both tanks.

~ Shirley

[mikeMersot]

IMHO only good for mixing saltwater, thats all mine gets used for since it is so ungodly loud

[ShirleyM]

What's loud, the Rio or the Mag? I can't remember it being louder, but then the whole tank is loud! Plus the TV and the cockatoo.... The new fan we finally installed is tons quieter, though

[CatinHat]

I have a rio 2500 running my skimmer. The first one I had had a melt down. And I mean had a melt down. It melted through the case and was leaking power out. It worked like this for a while too. The only reason I bought another was because my skimmer is hard plumbed for the size of that pump and didn't know if a mag would fit.

[ShirleyM]

The Mag 7 fit our skimmer; the Mag 5 did not and we got the proper fittings to modify it to fit. Much better than losing your tank to a broken RIO.
Shirley

[mikeMersot]

Originally posted by ShirleyM
What's loud, the Rio or the Mag?

Every Rio I've had has been extremely loud, can't stand them, but I am pretty anal about noise from the tank, you can hardly hear it. I love my Mag, close off the output a little with a ball valve to keep it from vibrating, and I can hardly tell its on

[ShirleyM]

Our MH lights make noise. The tank is REAL quiet when the lights are out -- no fan, no MH lights. The waterfall doesn't make much noise compared to when we first had it set up and it sounded like the toilet all the time

The GenXMak4 exterior return makes some noise, but not much. The Rio 2500 used to vibrate until I put a sponge under it...I can't hear the Mag7. I also do not like the tank noise. Makes it hard to hear the dialogue on some TV shows.

[Junkzoo]

Originally posted by ShirleyM
The new fan we finally installed is tons quieter, though

How's the new GFI'S doing Shirley?