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Reviewer Of The Month
Congrats to Salty O'Shen!
You have been selected as Octobers Reviewer of the Month!
Salty submitted many in-depth, comphrensive review and for his efforts will be rewarded with a $50 gift certificate to Saltysupply.com.
Thank you Richard (from saltysupply.com) for your generous donation.
I...
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Featured Reviews
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Great product, easy to set up and use. Will accept different types of dry food (flakes, pellets, etc.). Highly recommended.
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| Liked about it: |
Nice size, I like that it has multiple feeding options in a 24 hour period. There is also an integrated ventilator (as they call it) to keep flake food from clumping due to high humidity (though you'll need to make sure it's drawing dry air). A great choice if you're looking for a highly reliable feeder.
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| Didn't like: |
The only negative thing for this item is that there's no great mounting feature. It has to sit on a 'shelf' above the tank (so a middle tank brace would work well). Even so, it's my favorite feeder (I've had 4 different brands over the years).
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| Installation and Operation: |
Easy to install, though some setups can be a bit complex depending on how you plumb things. Both the instructions and the online help via vendor forum were very helpful. Spectrapure really does a good job of walking you through setup, especially calibrating the unit so that the ratio of waste/RODI is proper. This ensures that your RO lasts it's full life. I set my system up with a RO (only) drinking water reservoir plumbed 25 feet away on the kitchen sink. Spectrapure provided all of the valves, T's, and pressure sensors to make the setup easy.
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| Performance vs. Expectations: |
Exceeds my expecations. My tank has never looked beter, and I attribute that to good RODI with low TDS. There are two built-in TDS meters, showing both in put and output. This allows you to monitor the effectiveness of the RO and DI membranes.
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| Value for money: |
You can buy a RODI for less, but I doubt that you could buy one that was the same quality anywhere. Spectrapure has a variety of types of pre & post filters depending on your water type. Each RO unit is tested, and the quality is fantastic. Surprisingly, I have not had to change my RO filter in almost two years, though I have changed my carbon block and prefilter. I still get 0-1 TDS, and I make 30gallons a month or more.
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| Customer Support: |
Fantastic. I was missing a piece for the installation, and they sent it, and a few other pieces, Fed-ex next day no questions asked. I would buy another unit without hesitation.
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| Liked about it: |
Water quality is great. Easy of use...simply on/off. Easy to change all of the filters. Great customer service.
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| Didn't like: |
This unit might be $50 more than other leading units, but worth it.
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| Installation and Operation: |
It was very easy to install, just place in tank, allow the glass to get the same temp as water and plug it in. The added length of the heater may make it difficult to place in some sumps with multiple compartments.
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| Performance vs. Expectations: |
It performed very well as expected. The box was somewhat confusing as it showed the old Jager heater that was not fully submersible. It had a large UL sticker declaring it as submersible as well as the markings on the heater itself. I had heard people make claims this heater was not submersible and this may be the source of this confusion.
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| Value for money: |
This heater was very fairly priced for it's attributes. Other heaters in this wattage range are similarly priced and some of them are not as well made. This is probably the best heater you can buy without going to titanium, a very good value.
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| Customer Support: |
I have not had to return any of the products I have purchased previously from this company.
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| Liked about it: |
The heater performed very well. It has a clear setting knob on it to set the temperature. The extra length should allow for more even heating. The wiring is a single large coil throughout the tube unlike other brands which use smaller coils seperated by ceramics. I would assume this should allow for more even heating as well and less hot spots. The cord was long (roughly six feet), well insulated, and has more rigid plastic around the plug to deter fraying from bending. It is fully submersible which is a big bonus. The suction cup attachment system was also well designed. There are...
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| Didn't like: |
The length (17.5 inches) allows for more surface area but may make it difficult to get into some segmented sumps. It was also slightly thinner than other models. It still appeared solid but made me question if it would take the abuse other glass heaters would. The suction cup system is better than other suction cups but I still believe a better system like a magnet would perform better. The temperature was remained stable but it kept the water about 2 degrees F above what the setting was according to the mercury thermometer in the system. However the system was about 85 gallons, under...
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| Installation and Operation: |
The unit came very nicely and securly packaged with all parts very cleanly packaged. The sterilizer comes with everything you need to install it (threaded fittings, flared outlet nozzle, metal hose clamps, threaded L nipple feed fitting, a nice sturdy plastic base for beside tank/sump installation, vinyl tubing to hook up your feed pump, 25W UV bulb, and the power cord/ballast to power the 25W UV bulb), minus a feed pump. I was impressed by the fact that the parts bag even included pipe tape to wrap the fittings and a bottle of silicone O ring lubricant to help care for and extend the life of...
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| Performance vs. Expectations: |
This is a hard area to judge. UV sterilizers are ideally used to irratiate your tank water with UV light to destroy harmful pathogens. Given that my tank has not really been prone to major ick or other disease outbreaks (mainly due to husbantry techniques such as not adding too many fish to my tank, ensuring species compatability, maintaining stable and high water quality, reducing stress/competition between tank mates) I did not find much effect on the overall "health" of my tank. I have found that algae growth in my tank has slowed significantly. I have not needed to wipe the front and...
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| Value for money: |
In my situation, I would have to say no as I did not see a large appreciable difference in the overall look of my tank (other than the water clarity improvement that I mentioned before) to justify the products cost in my particular situation. Having said that, I in no way feel the product is over or inappropriately priced. And depending on your setup and potential issues, this product may indeed be a benefit.
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| Customer Support: |
I did not need to access LifeGuard's customer support for this product.
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| Liked about it: |
Easy installation.
Multiple different installation options/configurations.
Impressed with all the "extras" in the supplied parts.
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| Didn't like: |
Metal instead of plastic hose clamps. If you would ever need to mount this unit standing up in a sump (which could be a conceivable need) the metal clamps can rust and potentially generate a water quality issue.
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| Installation and Operation: |
This is a great versatile pump. I like that it has the option to be plumbed external or a submersible. I chose to go submersible so it was a simple matter to install. You might have to get metric size hose to use the hose barb that comes with it. Or you can get a 3/4" adapter that threads in, in place of the one that come with it. Or I found that regular 3/4" hose fit over the stock barb but was a bit loose. I was able to use the compression fitting to hold it on though. Or you could use plastic hose clamps to hold it securely. I thought the directions on taking it apart for cleaning and...
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| Performance vs. Expectations: |
I was very impressed with the performance of the Eheim 1262. My previous return pump was rated at a very similar GPH. This pump has way more power than my other, and the water came gushing out of the locline the way I had it pointed and it almost came out of the top of the tank! So I had to adjust it to say the least. Not only that, I have had a low pH for a long time. I always thought I had decent turn around and aeration. After installing the Eheim my pH has risen
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| Value for money: |
I think its an excellent value for the money. It is just slightly more than the last return pump I had, and its light years better. In build quality and performance. I will always use Eheims from now on.
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| Customer Support: |
I have had no dealings with Eheim.
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| Liked about it: |
I would say the very best thing I like about it is, how powerful it is. Many other pumps exaggerate there GPH rating. Its super quiet which is nice because my tank is in my bedroom, and my other pump could get annoyingly loud sometimes. I would also have to say I like how robust it is, the shaft and impeller look and feel solid. You won't easily accidentally snap that shaft like I have on others.
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| Didn't like: |
I really have no complaints what so ever. But if they had an option for a 3/4" hose adapter for the American version it would be helpful I think. Mainly for people adding the pump to an established tank that already has a hose there. If it was a new tank you could easily get the correct hose.
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| Comments: |
While intrigued by various methods of dosing nutrients for corals, I'd never been totally sold on the expensive and complicated commercially available products. After reading a bit on Seachem's Aquavitro Fuel, I decided to give it a try. The product is marketed as an additive featuring an algae known as chlorella, which is said to contain high levels of vitamins, amino acids, etc. As received the product was well packaged and the directions were quite clear. Shake well, and recommended dosage is 7ml per 30 gallons. Refrigerate after opening. Simplicity is definitely appreciated, and Fuel...
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| Liked about it: |
Quality product which is simple to use.
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| Didn't like: |
May not be great for all applications, see review for more details.
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| Read Full Review |
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Quick Stats
Total Reviews: 2415
by 221 members
Reviewers: 44
Senior Reviewers: 12
Elite Reviewers: 2
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