Maxspect Gyres are trash!!!

[landlubber]

What would you consider the difference between vinegar (dilute) - and citric acid? They are both 'weak acids' - and from my experience, citric acid is more acidic than acetic acid (vinegar). So - if its the 'acid' that is supposedly causing damage - wouldn't citric acid be harsher? Or do you think there is another factor?

Is acetic acid stronger than citric acid? | ContextResponse.com

Both of these are relatively weak acids, butcitric acid is slightly stronger than acetic acid.Both of these are relatively weak acids, but citricacid is slightly stronger than acetic acid. The strengthof an acid is a measure of its tendency to donate a hydrogenion when in solution.

everythingwhat.com

i don't have a hard facts explanation on why its a safer option but in my 8 years of reading user experiences over degradation of aquarium pumps using vinegar followed not finding any using citric i decided to give it a shot and while i know its anecdotal, its been great. i wish i had a better answer for you.

 

[MnFish1]

i don't have a hard facts explanation on why its a safer option but in my 8 years of reading user experiences over degradation of aquarium pumps using vinegar followed not finding any using citric i decided to give it a shot and while i know its anecdotal, its been great. i wish i had a better answer for you.

Yeah - I wasn't trying to argue - just curious if you had more information. I've read this as well. Of course - yesterday - my one Maxspect F350 stopped working lol. I'll be taking it apart and soaking it. I think I might just use 'lemon juice' (Citric acid) - diluted.

 

[landlubber]

Yeah - I wasn't trying to argue - just curious if you had more information. I've read this as well. Of course - yesterday - my one Maxspect F350 stopped working lol. I'll be taking it apart and soaking it. I think I might just use 'lemon juice' (Citric acid) - diluted.

no no you did a good job of conveying calmness :)
yea, the price of these things coupled with the horror stories caused me to just scrub the beans off of my equipment with no more than a brush and rodi. citric has been a godsend for cleaning parts and equipment.

 

[ReefRondo]

I’ve had 8 gyres, 4 sets of two until now and I can say after a year or so one side jams. When investigated the cylindrical magnet is slightly out of shape with flat spots. Very odd. I use citric acid to clean and I’m very thorough. I’m very fortunate to have contacts within the industry to replace them at cost but it is still quite disappointing. I love how they work to begin with however and on my 7ft tank two of the largest ones do a great job along with 2 MP60’s. I won’t be replacing them next time though and will be adding 2 more MP60’s instead. I’m not sure how the magnets get so out of shape. Possibly I need to lube them up like I do all of my vortechs with molykote 111 before rebuilding?

 

[Sean Clark]

I get shadow banned (not here) every time I critique something and include verifiable sources to support my position. So... I am going to stay out of this one.

 

[ReefRondo]

I get shadow banned (not here) every time I critique something and include verifiable sources to support my position. So... I am going to stay out of this one.

I’d just like to know if there is a way to avoid these issues. Great pumps when new.

 

[A Young Reefer]

I have even heard that the jump series wave makers are worse. The guy working at my lfs told me that 70% of the units sold broke within the first few months of its release.
Edit: I went with the jebao gyre style wave makers with no issues till this day.

 

[Sean Clark]

I’d just like to know if there is a way to avoid these issues. Great pumps when new.

Great pumps when new. Nailed it. I prefer Tunze or even Ecotech when in a pinch. I have nothing bad to say about other pumps.

 

[MnFish1]

I’ve had 8 gyres, 4 sets of two until now and I can say after a year or so one side jams. When investigated the cylindrical magnet is slightly out of shape with flat spots. Very odd. I use citric acid to clean and I’m very thorough. I’m very fortunate to have contacts within the industry to replace them at cost but it is still quite disappointing. I love how they work to begin with however and on my 7ft tank two of the largest ones do a great job along with 2 MP60’s. I won’t be replacing them next time though and will be adding 2 more MP60’s instead. I’m not sure how the magnets get so out of shape. Possibly I need to lube them up like I do all of my vortechs with molykote 111 before rebuilding?

Which version do you have? What I have noticed (with the older versions) - that the area where the magnet connects to the motor starts to wear - before eventually 'jamming'. I believe once the bushing area wears, it spins erratically - and that can damage the magnet. If its happening in a year - I would check with Maxspect.

 

[ronnyh]

I have 2 Maxspect XF350, have had a lot of problems, have had them for 2.5 years and have already replaced 2 motors, the problem with the motors was cable problems right where the cable goes into the motor. If I twist the cable correctly, the motor works, if I release the cable, it stops immediately. I announced Maxspect support and was then told that I could buy a new motor where I bought the pumps. Right now I have another engine with the same problem, the cable hangs loosely over the edge of the aquarium, just like the ones my Tunza streamer that I had no problem with. So I agree that the Maxpect Gyre XF350 is crap.

 

[reef tank 2.0]

I was skimming through a lot of these posts, I was surprised to hear I'm not the only one that had the same types of problems. I've had my (2) 200 series gyres running for almost a year. I had issues with the motors not turning at all, and the plastic bushings melting due to the excessive heat. At one point, the controller also malfunctioned and the screen became unable to read. I talked to Coralvue and they sent me replacement motors (like others have mentioned), and they also sent me a controller. Although they sent me the replacement parts, I've had to clean it a lot, again, like others have mentioned.

I thought I was the only one that had issues, but I also never googled it to see otherwise. I hope they will continue working for me once my new tank is up and running. When they were new, I enjoyed them a lot. I was very impressed. but it didn't take long for them to get loud, and not work efficiently.

 

[ReefChasers]

We bought like 16 of the xf350s for the farm.... they have been, unfortunately, frustrating to deal with

They are very efficient gyres and also the control they give you in terms of the cycles is probably best in class. The issues are more with how easily they lock/jam and the degradation of the rubber orings

Its something we learned to work through but it does seem they jam more than others

 

[NowGlazeIT]

At least the wet side doesn’t fall and then your out 300 bucks. These xf350s are very finicky tho. They fall out of adjustment and start to make noise. They slow down from build up quickly. The water diverters fall easily and putting those back on risks the connection falling out of adjustment, causing noises or rubbing of the stationary and rotating parts. The less you touch them the better but it’s a pain to realign after a cleaning.

 

[MnFish1]

At least the wet side doesn’t fall and then your out 300 bucks. These xf350s are very finicky tho. They fall out of adjustment and start to make noise. They slow down from build up quickly. The water diverters fall easily and putting those back on risks the connection falling out of adjustment, causing noises or rubbing of the stationary and rotating parts. The less you touch them the better but it’s a pain to realign after a cleaning.

This is true - I would not want to be managing 16 of them lol:). @ReefChasers

 

[jmichaelh7]

We bought like 16 of the xf350s for the farm.... they have been, unfortunately, frustrating to deal with

They are very efficient gyres and also the control they give you in terms of the cycles is probably best in class. The issues are more with how easily they lock/jam and the degradation of the rubber orings

Its something we learned to work through but it does seem they jam more than others

I can’t imagine cleaning 16 every month to keep them running 90%

 

[Andrew Mc]

It’s no mystery as to how CoralVue grew so fast and became so big… I loved Reef Octopus and am very disappointed to see what they have become. I’ll never give them another penny of mine. Sorry Carlos!

 

[ReefChasers]

At least the wet side doesn’t fall and then your out 300 bucks. These xf350s are very finicky tho. They fall out of adjustment and start to make noise. They slow down from build up quickly. The water diverters fall easily and putting those back on risks the connection falling out of adjustment, causing noises or rubbing of the stationary and rotating parts. The less you touch them the better but it’s a pain to realign after a cleaning.

It's funny you mentioned that, we had the dry sides on the MPs falling and definitely lost around 5-6 pumps this way. They were mostly repaired under warranty though so it was okay.

We came up with a good solution for it so now they never fall. I wish the mounting came with them was better but I guess nothing is 'perfect'

 

[WVNed]

i don't have a hard facts explanation on why its a safer option but in my 8 years of reading user experiences over degradation of aquarium pumps using vinegar followed not finding any using citric i decided to give it a shot and while i know its anecdotal, its been great. i wish i had a better answer for you.

It is explained somewhere on R2R that acetic acid dissociates as an acid into something small enough to penetrate plastic and degrade it while citric acid doesn't because it is a much larger compound. This was done by people much smarter than me but that was the gist of it that I remember.

This is much more likely to occur if you are someone that soaks pumps a long time like overnight on a regular schedule.
I never did that and never had a problem with vinegar. I never had extra pumps so mine got cleaned and went back in the tank and were only in vinegar about 5-10 minutes a few times a year. I usually scrub with hot tap water and return to use.

 

[fity2pounder]

Just bumping this up as I have yet again had problems with these things. Anytime the magnet has to be taken out of the motor housing it’s almost impossible to get it back in and spinning smoothly again even with brand new bushings. So frustrating. One day I’ll be able to afford different pumps…one day…

 

[Eienna]

After reading the initial post, I have to ask - does anyone know if the IceCap gyres are any better?