Don’t buy eshopps skimmers

[rkpetersen]

Love my eshopps S-200. Seriously, it is a fantastic skimmer; quiet, powerful, well-made, lots of features, easy to service, dependable. I bought a second one for a different tank. I can't speak to customer service, as I've had no reason to contact them. And I probably wouldn't for most issues, anyway. If the pump on one of my skimmers went bad, I'd replace it with the spare Sicce in my gear cabinet.

 

[Steve_Skullsplitter0]

Hey,
First time posting....Hi everyone. So my new tank build which ill post about sooner or later I ran a new circuit with GFCI outlets behind my tank just for this reason.

It really is a bummer this happened to ya.

A word about surge protectors.... they are meant to protect your DIGITAL equipment from power spikes outside the home like powerpole transformers blowing up or lightening strikes and brown outs. Power strips that are not measured in Joules provide no protection. Dont buy a cheap one either they most likely wont provide enough protection. In this case the SP tripped after the pump reached 15 amps which is about 20 times the amount of amps it normally uses. It only tripped to protect itself from melting down.

If you lost all your livestock it would seem that they were electrocuted. A GFCI outlet would have tripped as soon as a short begun. Also an Apex would have alerted you of increased power consumption long before the pump died.

Sorry to be Captain Hindsight my appolgies.
PS... Throw out that surge protector and install GFCI outlets where all your tank equipment is plugged in at.

That said its despicable how they treated you on the phone. I won't be buying Eshopps stuff.:mad:

 

[gcarroll]

Guys please stop asking the OP about a GFCI. Just as I told him to stop posting pictures earlier, I am advising him to not discuss GFCI’s as admitting that he did not have one, would imply that he is partially to blame.

The pics were enough for me. Claiming that the skimmer and pump were cleaned every one to two months showed me that the OP lacked credibility. Ignoring the inquiries regarding a GFCI reinforced those thoughts. I just don’t see how anyone could believe the rest of the story.

 

[Selk Oner]

Guys please stop asking the OP about a GFCI. Just as I told him to stop posting pictures earlier, I am advising him to not discuss GFCI’s as admitting that he did not have one, would imply that he is partially to blame.

The pics were enough for me. Claiming that the skimmer and pump were cleaned every one to two months showed me that the OP lacked credibility. Ignoring the inquiries regarding a GFCI reinforced those thoughts. I just don’t see how anyone could believe the rest of the story.

Obviously you have to much time on you’re hands .. if you don’t like the post don’t look at it .... I don’t understand what’s all the hate about... I hope this or nothing happens to you and someone talk bs To you .. ... have a great day the internet is a big place keep on scrolling

 

[DSC reef]

Obviously you have to much time on you’re hands .. if you don’t like the post don’t look at it .... I don’t understand what’s all the hate about... I hope this or nothing happens to you and someone talk crap To you .. ... have a great day the internet is a big place keep on scrolling

He's got a point though, there is responsibility on your part as hobbyist. Eshoppes offered a replacement then you even admitted you don't clean the pump often as you previously stated. I think you got your message out and I hope you remain in the hobby but your message that eshoppes is the main fault is inaccurate. Not trying to be harsh.

 

[Selk Oner]

He's got a point though, there is responsibility on your part as hobbyist. Eshoppes offered a replacement then you even admitted you don't clean the pump often as you previously stated. I think you got your message out and I hope you remain in the hobby but your message that eshoppes is the main fault is inaccurate. Not trying to be harsh.

If you say so ... that’s your opinion... and you’re entitled to one ..

 

[Orbela]

If you say so ... that’s your opinion... and you’re entitled to one ..

Hope you come to terms and wish you luck in your next build. Lots of factors for this lost. Just because of the customer service I will removed the sump and the skimmer I was going to get. Even though blunt and straight to the point I feel people need to learn on how to deliver there points. You started good but it seems you slowly shut down when people started to pick at your story. Thanks for the heads up this should be a lesson for Eshopps to look into this issue as it will cost them brand damage and lost of sales.

 

[Laura SICCE]

From SICCE : we would like to mention that the pump applied on the mentioned skimmer is not a SICCE production or traded skimmer pump. We grant maximum service and quality out of any sales, through our OEM partners.

 

[AZ_R33F]

Let me start off by saying I was a very big fan of the eshopps.... from day one I started this company and recommended to customers or friends......

And I don’t know what happened but customer service and product starting to fail little by little

First was the magnet probe holder...... I called the company and will send a new one after mine was full of rust.......

Then to Doser heads failed after four months of use!!!!!
Contact them again they send me new heads......

After that I noticed that the E shops 5.0 supplement box holder failed!!!! Putting my magnesium into my sodium so I was double dosing without even noticing....... I called and then after a few weeks they replaced it........ smfh ........

This all happened within a month apart of each other....... never have I ever have a problem with this company and all of a sudden everything went to [emoji90].....


Then one of the worst days I’ve ever had happened....... woke up in the morning looked at the tank and went on my way to work .......came back from work and decided to change and go get a car wash.......

My car was being dried and I get an alert from my nest smoke detectors saying there was smoke in the living room...... A few seconds later I get aanother alert saying there’s smoke in my Kitchen !!!

I look at my nest cameras and see smoke in my living room so I get in my car and raced home luckily my car wash was a quarter-mile away down my street......
As soon as I entered my apartment you can smell electrical fire I immediately went to my tank and looked at the wires and I did not see anything on usual then I searched all the outlets looking to see if I can find the source of the smell and I didn’t find anything!!. At this point the power went off ... I open all my windows and started to check all the outlets..... but nothing !!

After looking everywhere I glanced inside my tank and noticed all my fish are belly up and the water was milky........ I thought to myself oh no I immediately tried to save all the fish nonetheless it was a lost cause.....

I open up the stand doors and a lot of smoke came out of the stand .... so the problem was something inside the sump so I started take out everything one buy one smelling and inspecting everything... 1st I started with the heater ... I have heard horror stories about heater is exploding.... but no the heater was fine then I took out the return pump each take I took something out my hand was covered with black plastic.... the return pump was fine... then I took out the skimmer .. all inside the skimmmer was all black ... the skimmer was on trying to pick up the melted plastic it was in the skimmer cup ... the I look at the pump and it was fine ... The part that the wire goes into the pump was fine.... I was so confused there was nothing else inside my sump that can cause a fire ..... but something told me to check the skimmer because it was full of black melted stuff and it smelled bad like electrical fire.... I took the pump off the skimmer and nothing !! Then I screw off the neck of the skimmer pump and there it was !!!!!!! ... The pump malfunction and started electrical fire underneath water the pump kept running like that for a good 10 to 15+ minutes before the search protector went off and electricity stopped...... it killed everything!! All my coral all my fish .....

I couldn’t believe I invested so much money into this aquarium and it was all taken away for me.....

After I threw everything out in a couple of days pass by I called eshopps spoke to sandy warranty supervisor.... and there wwarranty supervisor advise me right away that they’re not responsible for anything and that if I send them pictures of everything that they can replace my skimmer pump!!

Really big replace my skimmer pump after everything that I have and work so hard for was gone....... I kept my composure and was very respect full...

I told sandy that the pump malfunction and kept running while I was on fire and she said once again that they’re not responsible for anything had no sympathy at all and told me that they could replace the pump if it was still on the warranty .......

So I sent over the pictures of everything and of the skimmer that malfunction..... two weeks pass by or more and did not receive any phone call or email back every time I try to call they would not answer they would not answer any emails either


So I finally called another extension and had me transfer to the warranty department and guess who answered Sandy......

I said hi Sandy it’s me I send over pictures and all the information you requested on the pump that malfunction and she said oh yes I did receive them I have not got a chance to contact you back and I said that’s fine and once again she said all the best I can do for you and send you a new pump I advised her that the skimmer was far beyond needing a new pump and I did not have a tank to put a skimmer and anyway and she replied as follows” so what the heck do you want me to do then ...”

I stood on the phone dumbfounded..... I replied to her that I needed to speak to a supervisor and she said that she was the supervisor and that would be the only person that I can speak to.....

I told her that I spent a lot of money with the company and would like to be talk to with respect and she replied she’s good she’s only going to do what she said and send me a new pump that she cannot do anymore and that they’re not responsible for anything.....

I told her that every time that I got on the phone with her I felt like I was annoying her and now she’s being a suspenseful and she replied that they’re not responsible for anything and she told me 1 million times already.... .

Talk about customer service..... I told her that I was gone no longer going to use any and of products and I was not going to recommend it to anyone and I was going to make a post about on the forum and she said go ahead she didn’t care


I also forgot to mention that she said that my skimmer wasn’t the latest model so I told her since I don’t have the latest model that means that my skimmer could catch on fire at any time and she said no but that I did not have the current the current model ......what kind explanation and customer service is that!!!

I would like to let all my fellow reefers know so be careful with their products they’re bound to fail that’s why every new skimmer now has a sticker that says they’re not responsible for anything because they have a lot of failures if you look on the net you’ll find a lot of other horror stories..... here is pictures of the skimmer.....

Selk oner I fill your pain I currently have a r-300 sump and has cracked between the refugium and skimmer area 2-3 weeks ago so skimmer is not stable because water is leaking from refugium to skimmer area so skimmer has to be tuned all throughout the day ... Anyway I called sandy the supervisor ur talking about is rude and don’t care I’ve gave her my number multiple times and had to email her three times with same photos and I keep hearing she doesn’t have my sump in stock like smfh u guys are suppose to be big time jeez so I keep calling everyday to get them moving some times I call she’s not there and another person is waiting for my calls.... anyways Neither of them can give me a specific time That I will be getting my warranty replacement and they can’t even give me a time frame so we are about 3 weeks in and I lost it on last phone call I didn’t care at this point no more mr nice guy so I gave them there rudeness back and finally I got sandy to say I will have my warrantee replaced in the middle of July if not later but she say’s her distributors has the sump that I need but she will not pull it because she’s not going to pay for the extra fees to get it to her to get it to me Smdh now I’m sitting with no choice tell idk

 

[AZ_R33F]

Let me start off by saying I was a very big fan of the eshopps.... from day one I started this company and recommended to customers or friends......

And I don’t know what happened but customer service and product starting to fail little by little

First was the magnet probe holder...... I called the company and will send a new one after mine was full of rust.......

Then to Doser heads failed after four months of use!!!!!
Contact them again they send me new heads......

After that I noticed that the E shops 5.0 supplement box holder failed!!!! Putting my magnesium into my sodium so I was double dosing without even noticing....... I called and then after a few weeks they replaced it........ smfh ........

This all happened within a month apart of each other....... never have I ever have a problem with this company and all of a sudden everything went to [emoji90].....


Then one of the worst days I’ve ever had happened....... woke up in the morning looked at the tank and went on my way to work .......came back from work and decided to change and go get a car wash.......

My car was being dried and I get an alert from my nest smoke detectors saying there was smoke in the living room...... A few seconds later I get aanother alert saying there’s smoke in my Kitchen !!!

I look at my nest cameras and see smoke in my living room so I get in my car and raced home luckily my car wash was a quarter-mile away down my street......
As soon as I entered my apartment you can smell electrical fire I immediately went to my tank and looked at the wires and I did not see anything on usual then I searched all the outlets looking to see if I can find the source of the smell and I didn’t find anything!!. At this point the power went off ... I open all my windows and started to check all the outlets..... but nothing !!

After looking everywhere I glanced inside my tank and noticed all my fish are belly up and the water was milky........ I thought to myself oh no I immediately tried to save all the fish nonetheless it was a lost cause.....

I open up the stand doors and a lot of smoke came out of the stand .... so the problem was something inside the sump so I started take out everything one buy one smelling and inspecting everything... 1st I started with the heater ... I have heard horror stories about heater is exploding.... but no the heater was fine then I took out the return pump each take I took something out my hand was covered with black plastic.... the return pump was fine... then I took out the skimmer .. all inside the skimmmer was all black ... the skimmer was on trying to pick up the melted plastic it was in the skimmer cup ... the I look at the pump and it was fine ... The part that the wire goes into the pump was fine.... I was so confused there was nothing else inside my sump that can cause a fire ..... but something told me to check the skimmer because it was full of black melted stuff and it smelled bad like electrical fire.... I took the pump off the skimmer and nothing !! Then I screw off the neck of the skimmer pump and there it was !!!!!!! ... The pump malfunction and started electrical fire underneath water the pump kept running like that for a good 10 to 15+ minutes before the search protector went off and electricity stopped...... it killed everything!! All my coral all my fish .....

I couldn’t believe I invested so much money into this aquarium and it was all taken away for me.....

After I threw everything out in a couple of days pass by I called eshopps spoke to sandy warranty supervisor.... and there wwarranty supervisor advise me right away that they’re not responsible for anything and that if I send them pictures of everything that they can replace my skimmer pump!!

Really big replace my skimmer pump after everything that I have and work so hard for was gone....... I kept my composure and was very respect full...

I told sandy that the pump malfunction and kept running while I was on fire and she said once again that they’re not responsible for anything had no sympathy at all and told me that they could replace the pump if it was still on the warranty .......

So I sent over the pictures of everything and of the skimmer that malfunction..... two weeks pass by or more and did not receive any phone call or email back every time I try to call they would not answer they would not answer any emails either


So I finally called another extension and had me transfer to the warranty department and guess who answered Sandy......

I said hi Sandy it’s me I send over pictures and all the information you requested on the pump that malfunction and she said oh yes I did receive them I have not got a chance to contact you back and I said that’s fine and once again she said all the best I can do for you and send you a new pump I advised her that the skimmer was far beyond needing a new pump and I did not have a tank to put a skimmer and anyway and she replied as follows” so what the heck do you want me to do then ...”

I stood on the phone dumbfounded..... I replied to her that I needed to speak to a supervisor and she said that she was the supervisor and that would be the only person that I can speak to.....

I told her that I spent a lot of money with the company and would like to be talk to with respect and she replied she’s good she’s only going to do what she said and send me a new pump that she cannot do anymore and that they’re not responsible for anything.....

I told her that every time that I got on the phone with her I felt like I was annoying her and now she’s being a suspenseful and she replied that they’re not responsible for anything and she told me 1 million times already.... .

Talk about customer service..... I told her that I was gone no longer going to use any and of products and I was not going to recommend it to anyone and I was going to make a post about on the forum and she said go ahead she didn’t care


I also forgot to mention that she said that my skimmer wasn’t the latest model so I told her since I don’t have the latest model that means that my skimmer could catch on fire at any time and she said no but that I did not have the current the current model ......what kind explanation and customer service is that!!!

I would like to let all my fellow reefers know so be careful with their products they’re bound to fail that’s why every new skimmer now has a sticker that says they’re not responsible for anything because they have a lot of failures if you look on the net you’ll find a lot of other horror stories..... here is pictures of the skimmer.....

I even asked for my money back since I do have the recipe and sent to her as well and she had denied me of returning product for my money... I asked for her boss twice and once with other lady and will not get me to him

 

[DSC reef]

How long have you had the sump? Sounds like there getting a replacement for you. You can always drain it and use acrylic glue fix the crack until your new sump arrives...

 

[AZ_R33F]

How long have you had the sump? Sounds like there getting a replacement for you. You can always drain it and use acrylic glue fix the crack until your new sump arrives...

I had sump for about 3 -4 months now .. yea there trying to get a replacement but it’s been 3 weeks now and nothing and they told me sometime in the middle of July if not later . It’s just kinda crazy they don’t have it stocked or even pull product From distributor .. I also thought to use glue but I’m not trying to fix the problem because I don’t want to hear that I tampered with it or anything

 

[Selk Oner]

Selk oner I fill your pain I currently have a r-300 sump and has cracked between the refugium and skimmer area 2-3 weeks ago so skimmer is not stable because water is leaking from refugium to skimmer area so skimmer has to be tuned all throughout the day ... Anyway I called sandy the supervisor ur talking about is rude and don’t care I’ve gave her my number multiple times and had to email her three times with same photos and I keep hearing she doesn’t have my sump in stock like smfh u guys are suppose to be big time jeez so I keep calling everyday to get them moving some times I call she’s not there and another person is waiting for my calls.... anyways Neither of them can give me a specific time That I will be getting my warranty replacement and they can’t even give me a time frame so we are about 3 weeks in and I lost it on last phone call I didn’t care at this point no more mr nice guy so I gave them there rudeness back and finally I got sandy to say I will have my warrantee replaced in the middle of July if not later but she say’s her distributors has the sump that I need but she will not pull it because she’s not going to pay for the extra fees to get it to her to get it to me Smdh now I’m sitting with no choice tell idk

Wow that’s crazy but from sandy nothing surprises me anymore and herded horror stories about their products including sumps be carful..... I honestly would ask for a refund ...

 

[Selk Oner]

How long have you had the sump? Sounds like there getting a replacement for you. You can always drain it and use acrylic glue fix the crack until your new sump arrives...

Why have to risk glueing it and it failing again .... it’s a new sump should be perfect...

 

[AZ_R33F]

Wow that’s crazy but from sandy nothing surprises me anymore and herded horror stories about their products including sumps be carful..... I honestly would ask for a refund ...

I did she declined it

Why have to risk glueing it and it failing again .... it’s a new sump should be perfect...

Exactly

 

[DSC reef]

Why have to risk glueing it and it failing again .... it’s a new sump should be perfect...

I meant it as to get him by if its causing a problem. Don't let your hate get in the way of logical thinking. Lol. I've had plenty of products fail and you do what you have to for the tank to get by. @Selk Oner it's a crack, not a big deal and adding glue won't make it fail again

 

[Selk Oner]

I meant it as to get him by if its causing a problem. Don't let your hate get in the way of logical thinking. Lol. I've had plenty of products fail and you do what you have to for the tank to get by.

1st off you can glue all you want ... but there’s a chance it can open up and drain all the water out ... it’s common sense... 2nd no hate at all .. 3rd as you can see it’s not only me with problems.. they have half butt products and every one is now noticing.....

 

[AZ_R33F]

I meant it as to get him by if its causing a problem. Don't let your hate get in the way of logical thinking. Lol. I've had plenty of products fail and you do what you have to for the tank to get by.

You know what your very true don’t let my hate get in the way witch that ain’t the case it’s just how hard it is to get it replaced.. If I didn’t have this vertex alpha 250 of a workhorse of a skimmer I wounder how other skimmers would react in the fluctuation of water

 

[DSC reef]

You know what your very true don’t let my hate get in the way witch that ain’t the case it’s just how hard it is to get it replaced.. If I didn’t have this vertex alpha 250 of a workhorse of a skimmer I wounder how other skimmers would react in the fluctuation of water

Fluctuation of water can wreak havoc on skimmers. I was just trying to help out with a quick fix until you get your sump. Others are just mad at the company and criticize everyone. I agree with you, I'd be hesitant in gluing due to warranty and tamper issues.

 

[Selk Oner]

You know what your very true don’t let my hate get in the way witch that ain’t the case it’s just how hard it is to get it replaced.. If I didn’t have this vertex alpha 250 of a workhorse of a skimmer I wounder how other skimmers would react in the fluctuation of water

Ridiculous this is one of the top companies as they don’t have a extra sump ?!

And rather not pay extra to make you happy ... wow ... amazing