BubbleHead December 21, 2012 Share December 21, 2012 As stated on a previous post I am getting back into the hobby after a 10 year absence. Slowing buying equipment here and there to get my 90 gallon cube up and running. I have a Aqua C EV-240 skimmer. Which pump would be better a Rio 20HF that does 1290 @ GPH or a MAG 12 @ 1200 GPH. In the past I had both, but I don't remember which performed better. I need one for the return and one for the skimmer.. The Rio is about $50 cheaper than the Mag and has a smaller footprint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barebottomcorals_Ed December 21, 2012 Share December 21, 2012 Ive never used a rio..but mag's are pretty easy to fix if you have issues and most parts available at local stores..I use to use 2 mag 7's as returns on my 180 . Only issue i had with them was the amount of heat they produce and if power was lost they would shipon and not start unless you broke the shipon (put that was only a issue after i had them for some time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind December 21, 2012 Share December 21, 2012 I prefer the Mag drives over the Rio because of reliability and safety. They seem to last longer plus one Rio almost killed me when it shocked me. I said I would never own another one after that. The Mag will use more power then the Rio, 110w to 60w. The Mag does have a higher head pressure which might help with your type of skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x-ray December 22, 2012 Share December 22, 2012 I have 2 mag 7's for 6 years total and have replaced 1 impeller. They have always started right back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati December 22, 2012 Share December 22, 2012 I prefer the Mag drives over the Rio because of reliability and safety. They seem to last longer plus one Rio almost killed me when it shocked me. I said I would never own another one after that. The Mag will use more power then the Rio, 110w to 60w. The Mag does have a higher head pressure which might help with your type of skimmer. I remember the days RIO was the brand NOT to buy. I don't think the organization could spell UL. Mag over RIO, all day, every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer December 23, 2012 Share December 23, 2012 IMHO the new line of Sicce Pumps blows away both Mags and Rios. They are very quiet, and put very little heat into the water. Dead quiet too. They seem to be a big upgrade for about the same money. Avast has the on their site. If you want to catch ip on the new gadgets, have a look at http://reefbuilders.com/. They review all the new equipment and have a great archive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 23, 2012 Share December 23, 2012 In my line of work, reliability and local parts availabilty is key. For this reason we use Mag pumps for all return applications. They run for years without maintenance, run in shallow water without burning up, and their impeller assemblies are durable. Hands down winner in my book. FWIW, we currently have 100+ in operation right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basser9 December 24, 2012 Share December 24, 2012 (edited) Get a deep blue for that AQUA-C......Half the money half the power draw and runs a aqua-c/etss way better then any mag. Now if you have 300.00 the dc pump 10000 is the best pump you can use you can get 3 deepblue5 for the same price however. A dp5 will only pull between 35/50 watts on a aqua-c and runs them great. PLEASE plug in any pump into a gfci they all have the real chance of frying you and i have had 1mj and 2mags trip a gfci so dont think any pump cant kill you. I have run aqua-c/etss and becketts over the years and Mags are horrible for any of these. The DEEPBLUE TRITON 5 has a different impeller then you find on mag type pumps and just works better then any other in sump pump i could find except for the DC10000. A DC10000 will push up to 2000gal thru that AQUA-C pull only 65/70 real world watt.....its a total beast for that skimmer. Edited December 24, 2012 by basser9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 December 25, 2012 Share December 25, 2012 I, too, was almost killed by a Rio. Twice. Mag < Sicce < Reeflo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbleHead December 25, 2012 Author Share December 25, 2012 Anyone else have experience with the Deep Blue pumps. For now I'm on a budget (someone took half of my money), so the Deep Blue sounds good but I do want a quality pump. I remember now having problems with Rio pumps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 25, 2012 Share December 25, 2012 I use a few products that Deep Blue has put their name on and honestly, the quality of any of the products is not as good as a brand name product. For instance, the DeepBlue T5 and DB LED lights both have noisy fans and hard to figure out built in light programs. The DB reef ready tanks have low quality plumbing parts and a crappy adjustable weir in the overflow that keeps the water just below the trim edge of the tank. For these reasons alone, we don't use any of the DB products anymore. If you really need a Mag pump, I have a box of used pumps on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbleHead December 25, 2012 Author Share December 25, 2012 I just want a quality affordable pump that does not have a high failure rate. Vacation + Murphy's Law = 180 gallons of water on the floor. I need to be mindful of heat and noise because everything is going to be contained in the stand. I might try a deep blue pump for the skimmer but I think a Mag is the best bet for the return pump. I use a few products that Deep Blue has put their name on and honestly, the quality of any of the products is not as good as a brand name product. For instance, the DeepBlue T5 and DB LED lights both have noisy fans and hard to figure out built in light programs. The DB reef ready tanks have low quality plumbing parts and a crappy adjustable weir in the overflow that keeps the water just below the trim edge of the tank. For these reasons alone, we don't use any of the DB products anymore. If you really need a Mag pump, I have a box of used pumps on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsbarber12 December 25, 2012 Share December 25, 2012 After reading this I'm really contemplating getting rid of my RIO 2500, I had one fail 6 months ago put my hand in the water and boom my a** flew back. I always thought it was something I did that caused the shock. But I'm guessing not now. Water level was fine but it burned out anyway. I replaced it with a same model RIO when it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 25, 2012 Share December 25, 2012 I was gonna write- "FWIW, I use Rio pumps for SW mixing but never had an issue with shocks." I look across the room and see the mix bucket with a Rio 1700 currently mixing SW and think to myself, "How ironic would that be if I stuck my hand in the water and got shocked?" Out with the old and in with the new- Anyone want a free Rio 1700? I'll just use one of the Mags from the bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRon December 25, 2012 Share December 25, 2012 I've only been shocked by one pump so far - it was my old Rio that did it too. Never again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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