Ecotech Versa Questions and Issues

[Peter K]

Hi all,

I recently purchased a Versa pump to use as a feed for my calcium reactor but ran into a few things and I was curious on other peoples experience so far with the versa.

1. Only one of the push connect fittings actually locks in place. The other side, regardless of using the barbed fitting or regular RO tubing, does not lock in place. Has anyone had any issues with this leaking?

2. On continuous mode it seems to be locked at a max of 200 ml/min even though the pump is advertised at 300 ml/min. On manual mode it lets you go up to 300 ml/min as a setting choice, but I cannot figure out how to have it dose continuously on the manual setting - any suggestions? I do not need that flow rate right now but would like to have the option in the future.

3. How loud is this thing supposed to be at high rates? The video below is at 200 ml/min and this thing is LOUD. I can hear it above any other piece of equipment on my tank and from halfway across the room. Is this normal or a defective unit?

 

[ca1ore]

Curious what you are using currently to feed your CaRx? I bought a Versa (since returned) and concluded it was not yet an improvement over the MasterFlex that I have been using.

 

[Peter K]

Curious what you are using currently to feed your CaRx? I bought a Versa (since returned) and concluded it was not yet an improvement over the MasterFlex that I have been using.

Nothing fancy right now just a Sicce feed pump and needle valve.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

@Peter K, the max constant speed is 200 ml/min. It was never 300.. what confused me as well was the max dose rate. They can get away with 300 because it's not going to run constantly. I'm sure friction is a big reason for that... even if there is a way to trick the software into running 300 constant, I would advise against it, as they throttled it to 200 for a reason. I have a video out there somewhere of mine running 475 which could shoot water across the room...

As for the video, at 200 constant that's about what both of mine sounds like too... That's pretty much normal... curious how fast do you run it for the CaRx?

@ca1ore, i really like the engineering behind masterflex pumps, they're definitely work horses. The price is outrageous for even a used one...

My tank is fairly new and doesnt have a high demand, I run mine at 30 ml/min. What flow rate do you run yours at?

Kamoer had a max rate of 120... I think their new wifi version is 140... versa has a max of 200... I wonder how many people require more than 200? I was always under the impression 120 was plenty... if you needed more, you would have to upgrade you CaRx or change the pH in the reactor...

 

[Peter K]

@Peter K, the max constant speed is 200 ml/min. It was never 300.. what confused me as well was the max dose rate. They can get away with 300 because it's not going to run constantly. I'm sure friction is a big reason for that... even if there is a way to trick the software into running 300 constant, I would advise against it, as they throttled it to 200 for a reason. I have a video out there somewhere of mine running 475 which could shoot water across the room...

As for the video, at 200 constant that's about what both of mine sounds like too... That's pretty much normal... curious how fast do you run it for the CaRx?

@ca1ore, i really like the engineering behind masterflex pumps, they're definitely work horses. The price is outrageous for even a used one...

My tank is fairly new and doesnt have a high demand, I run mine at 30 ml/min. What flow rate do you run yours at?

Kamoer had a max rate of 120... I think their new wifi version is 140... versa has a max of 200... I wonder how many people require more than 200? I was always under the impression 120 was plenty... if you needed more, you would have to upgrade you CaRx or change the pH in the reactor...

Well this will be my first peristaltic pump on my CaRx and I was running effluent pretty slowly through it before and had the PH pegged at 6.6 so I don't expect to be anywhere near max of 200 ml/min anytime soon. However, I would really prefer to install a pump once and be done so I was playing around with the versa to figure out its capabilities as with a 360g display that will be SPS dom and with 100g of frag tanks plumbed in as well the demand is going to get high.

I am going to use it for now and see how it does though.

 

[ca1ore]

@ca1ore, i really like the engineering behind masterflex pumps, they're definitely work horses. The price is outrageous for even a used one...

Understood! I was fairly early to the ‘trend’ of using one on a CaRx, consquently paid only $150 for an economy drive model. It’s been running continuously now for almost six years. Its also very quiet. I’ll be brutally honest here, after having grinding gears on the first versa, it also started leaking from the connections and essentially stopped moving any water. I travel a lot for my job and if my CaRx stops working while I’m away the tank will drop 1 - 1 1/2 dkh per day. Three days of that and my tank is going to have a problem. For now the versa has failed the trust test for me and I returned it. Perhaps once the early market bumps have resolved themselves I’ll try one again, but for the foreseeable future I’ll be sticking with the masteflex. Too much sunk cost in my tank to risk it in something I don’t trust.

 

[GainesvilleReef]

I have a few issues to add as well.

1. I have a 4 pump base station and a separate single on a different tank. I have 2 of the 5 pumps installed. 1 works ok and the other will not hold siphon and drains the entire line back into the dosing container. You can see the liquid and bubbles going around the rollers. The tubing seems to be pushed up against the cover. We had the same issues with the APEX DOS early on and I was hoping not to have them with Versa.

2. I have an android phone and the mobius app seems very unstable. I keep getting random "BLE not connected errors". You can force it to direct connect and it works after that.

3. Last, the plug on the base station barely fits into the back of the base station. The opening is not big enough and you have to force it to get it in. I hope I have not broken the connector on the PCB.

I have submitted a support request.

 

[Peter K]

So got it hooked up finally today. Have it set at 50 ml/min pushing into the reactor and despite one of the push connect fittings not locking in place it is not leaking. So far so good on it. If I end up needing higher flow rates it might pose a problem but for now it is looking good and I am fan of the pump.

 

[GainesvilleReef]

I just had a second pump lose siphon. That is 2 out of the first 3. What is annoying, is that it did this after calibration and a siphon hold test. My opinion is that it is a combo of the "Home" "feature" and the plastic tubing being used behaving like plastic and losing shape. Both tubes that had the problem seem to be pressed up against the plastic cover at the roller home location on the upper right roller.

The Mobius app has not been updated and still suffers from the same issues.

Also, the mounting screws supplied are useless as they are way too long. Screw head height is also an issue as they did not leave any extra room in the mounting plate. The mounting plate is also not thick enough. If you have it tight against the what you are mounting it to. It will not seat properly. There are some clear rubber feet on the back getting in the way. The trick I found was to back off the screws at least one turn and let the plate float a little. Then it will seat properly on the bracket. I was able to find screws that work at Home Depot.

To EcoTech's credit. They replaced the tubing in all of my pumps. The 2 issues I have had were with original tubing.

I love the form factor of these pumps and can't wait till these initial problems are put to rest.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I'm glad you brought up the screws, they should've provided options, give at least 3 different sizes. Some of us screw into drywall, but others into 1/2" ply... we need options! And another thing, they needed to be stainless steel.

 

[xiaoxiy]

I just had a second pump lose siphon. That is 2 out of the first 3. What is annoying, is that it did this after calibration and a siphon hold test. My opinion is that it is a combo of the "Home" "feature" and the plastic tubing being used behaving like plastic and losing shape. Both tubes that had the problem seem to be pressed up against the plastic cover at the roller home location on the upper right roller.

The Mobius app has not been updated and still suffers from the same issues.

Also, the mounting screws supplied are useless as they are way too long. Screw head height is also an issue as they did not leave any extra room in the mounting plate. The mounting plate is also not thick enough. If you have it tight against the what you are mounting it to. It will not seat properly. There are some clear rubber feet on the back getting in the way. The trick I found was to back off the screws at least one turn and let the plate float a little. Then it will seat properly on the bracket. I was able to find screws that work at Home Depot.

To EcoTech's credit. They replaced the tubing in all of my pumps. The 2 issues I have had were with original tubing.

I love the form factor of these pumps and can't wait till these initial problems are put to rest.

Does your connector have 1 or 2 o-rings in it? I had issues with my first connector, which only had 1 oring and they sent me a replacement. The replacement had 2 o-rings and has sealed super tight.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Does your connector have 1 or 2 o-rings in it? I had issues with my first connector, which only had 1 oring and they sent me a replacement. The replacement had 2 o-rings and has sealed super tight.

From Ecotech themselves, all pumps being shipped out now will not have that problem...

what bugs? The leaking fittings are the only issue we have experienced and has subsequently been solved. Fewer than 3% of customers from the first shipments experienced this.

 

[GainesvilleReef]

None of my pumps have leaked around the o rings. They lose siphon because the rollers do not pinch the entire tubing. The tubing appears to walk to the side near the cover. Different issue. None of my pumps have leaked.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

None of my pumps have leaked around the o rings. They lose siphon because the rollers do not pinch the entire tubing. The tubing appears to walk to the side near the cover. Different issue. None of my pumps have leaked.

A bad o-ring doesn't always result in leaks. It usually manifests itself in air bubbles, sucking air from the bad o-ring seal.

What you describe was identified in beta testing and even if the tube was riding on the clear cover, it still maintain a seal.

 

[Shinister]

Had the leaking issue and the grinding noise, even stalling a few times. The replacement is working great. I have set to 80ml/min continuous (calrx feed) and I can hear a whine noise when right in front of my face but cant hear it when my cabinet is closed. I used a masterflex before this and still have it for backup since this the versa is a new product and too early to call it dependable. The masterflex was very loud and because of where it was sitting it vibrated the walls.

 

[GainesvilleReef]

A bad o-ring doesn't always result in leaks. It usually manifests itself in air bubbles, sucking air from the bad o-ring seal.

What you describe was identified in beta testing and even if the tube was riding on the clear cover, it still maintain a seal.

This has nothing to do with the o rings. The problem is that the liquid I am trying to dose flows back into the reservoir. And if that is happening then the pump is useless. There is no way it can dose accurately if that is happening and it will most likely not dose at all. This is a failure mode period.

If this was identified during beta testing and not fixed, shame on EcoTech. I am hoping that was not the case.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

you've peaked my curiosity, would it be possible for you to post a video of it leaking back into the container?

Can you actually see the bubbles feed backwards through the clear tube?

 

[Shinister]

This has nothing to do with the o rings. The problem is that the liquid I am trying to dose flows back into the reservoir. And if that is happening then the pump is useless. There is no way it can dose accurately if that is happening and it will most likely not dose at all. This is a failure mode period.

If this was identified during beta testing and not fixed, shame on EcoTech. I am hoping that was not the case.

This happened to me too. The liquid is going back down because the connection is not tight due to the o-rings. If the connection is not tight on the inlet side, the liquid will go back down or not siphon it at all. Try the reverse and see if the liquid will go up all the way to the tubing assembly and stay there after the pump has stopped. If that happens, then only one side is bad. In my case, both the connects were bad

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

edit: wrong thread

 

[GainesvilleReef]

This happened to me too. The liquid is going back down because the connection is not tight due to the o-rings. If the connection is not tight on the inlet side, the liquid will go back down or not siphon it at all. Try the reverse and see if the liquid will go up all the way to the tubing assembly and stay there after the pump has stopped. If that happens, then only one side is bad. In my case, both the connects were bad

In my situation, it pulls the liquid all the way back from where the line goes into the tank or sump. It is not a connector issue. The pump tubing is permanently deformed. I'm not new to peristaltic pumps. I have 8 of various other brands running now. It should not be like this.