Ordered an ELOS 120XL with Quiet Drain 2, it came with "Quiet Drain 3" surprise?

[kinetic]

What information are you looking for exactly?
I had a 120xl with the QD... worked great, no problems. A friend has it now. Again, no problems. I can only assume any redesign, especially when given a new name, has gone through improvements. Time and money doesn't get spent on a redesign/update, and called out, to make things worse.
The real question is... is it working ok for you???

Elos has always been a bit tight lipped on giving out details on the QD design. It's unique to the industry.

I literally don't know what the GPH is that it can handle. I ordered the tank with a Quiet Drain 2, but it came with this. Honestly, this overflow looks really crappy. The lid itself looks like the cheapest spare piece of plastic you can find (I don't even think it's acrylic). If you look at the Quiet Drain 2, it looks much higher quality and nicer. There's also the same really tacky black plastic glued to the glass around where the drain is, again looking way worse than the Quiet Drain 2.

I've had an ELOS before, probably the first version of the Quiet Drain, and it at least looked much better.

My concern in summary:
1. No idea the GPH it should handle
2. Looks pretty crummy, what is it even

I can't get it working because the stand they sent me is faulty and poorly done (they've admitted it and are trying to send a new one, but it's taking a long time as well). The screws they gave me also extend so far that it completely blocks all the plumbing, so that doesn't work either. Since I'm not going to be using this stand (whole other discussion), it makes no sense to set it up yet.

I think you're pinning this on me being sh*tty with all the question marks, but excuse me, I paid a ton of money for something that I didn't get, I really need to know what it is. I don't need to know all the specifics, but at least give me the dang GPH it can handle.

If you look it up, they talk about the Quiet Drain 2 all over the place. There's official PDF's and Francois even sent me the actual PDF for the Quiet Drain 2, even though the tank did NOT come with it.

I can only assume the redesign improved things as well, but I have no idea and am a bit skeptical especially because of how cheap this thing looks relative to the Quiet Drain 2 and what I had 10+ years ago.

 

[kinetic]

Not at all. They are INSANELY expensive. Beyond most people's reach.

I think I'm seeing more custom made tanks than ELOS (which are comparable or more). Might have been a good sign to just go custom.

 

[mdb_talon]

Elos has always been a bit tight lipped on giving out details on the QD design. It's unique to the industry.

I don't think he is asking for trade secrets just what the GPH rating is....

If I buy a car and they "upgrade" the engine I am still going to want to know the new MPG rating.

 

[d2mini]

I literally don't know what the GPH is that it can handle. I ordered the tank with a Quiet Drain 2, but it came with this. Honestly, this overflow looks really crappy. The lid itself looks like the cheapest spare piece of plastic you can find (I don't even think it's acrylic). If you look at the Quiet Drain 2, it looks much higher quality and nicer. There's also the same really tacky black plastic glued to the glass around where the drain is, again looking way worse than the Quiet Drain 2.

I've had an ELOS before, probably the first version of the Quiet Drain, and it at least looked much better.

My concern in summary:
1. No idea the GPH it should handle
2. Looks pretty crummy, what is it even

I can't get it working because the stand they sent me is faulty and poorly done (they've admitted it and are trying to send a new one, but it's taking a long time as well). The screws they gave me also extend so far that it completely blocks all the plumbing, so that doesn't work either. Since I'm not going to be using this stand (whole other discussion), it makes no sense to set it up yet.

I think you're pinning this on me being sh*tty with all the question marks, but excuse me, I paid a ton of money for something that I didn't get, I really need to know what it is. I don't need to know all the specifics, but at least give me the dang GPH it can handle.

If you look it up, they talk about the Quiet Drain 2 all over the place. There's official PDF's and Francois even sent me the actual PDF for the Quiet Drain 2, even though the tank did NOT come with it.

I can only assume the redesign improved things as well, but I have no idea and am a bit skeptical especially because of how cheap this thing looks relative to the Quiet Drain 2 and what I had 10+ years ago.

Hey, sorry if my tone came across as accusatory. Not my intention at all. It was just an honest question. I must have missed your gph concern.

And ya, I do agree that those marks on the overflow should not be there. ESPECIALLY at that pricepoint.

As to your gph question... I would bet my own tank that the overflow can handle far more GPH than you would want to put through it. You should be around 4-8x max turnover rate. Anything more than that and you are not giving your skimmer and other filtration a fighting chance. So although I understand your curiousity, and the frustration of not being able to get an answer, the max gph doesn't really matter. I would try to rough guesstimate your head height and buy a return pipe correctly sized to send around 800-1400 gph through your sump. Go bigger if you are going to feed reactors or something off it. There's no way that overflow can not handle that much water. Not even close.

My only question would be why they removed the lower return. On my 120xl I liked that it shot some extra flow across the back of the tank down low. And somehow they managed to design it with a siphon break somewhere.

 

[d2mini]

I don't think he is asking for trade secrets just what the GPH rating is....

If I buy a car and they "upgrade" the engine I am still going to want to know the new MPG rating.

I agree. I had missed the gph question earlier which is why i asked.

 

[FSP]

Not to nitpick, but an acrylic cover would be a bad thing here imo
I'd be pretty skeptical of any gph claims with an overflow that size too. Hard to move a lot of water through something that small quietly.
Seems like a raw deal all around, sorry to see that

 

[d2mini]

Not to nitpick, but an acrylic cover would be a bad thing here imo
I'd be pretty skeptical of any gph claims with an overflow that size too. Hard to move a lot of water through something that small quietly.
Seems like a raw deal all around, sorry to see that

That's the thing. The overflow may be able to handle X-amount of water but it gets to a point where pushing too much water through the sump creates too much noise and most of it is bypassing filtration. But bring it back to sane, recommended turnover rates and it's silent. The only issue I'm seeing here is the marked up overflow.

Here's the Quiet Flow on my old tank, same size Elos. It runs completely silent.

 

[kinetic]

Hey, sorry if my tone came across as accusatory. Not my intention at all. It was just an honest question. I must have missed your gph concern.

And ya, I do agree that those marks on the overflow should not be there. ESPECIALLY at that pricepoint.

As to your gph question... I would bet my own tank that the overflow can handle far more GPH than you would want to put through it. You should be around 4-8x max turnover rate. Anything more than that and you are not giving your skimmer and other filtration a fighting chance. So although I understand your curiousity, and the frustration of not being able to get an answer, the max gph doesn't really matter. I would try to rough guesstimate your head height and buy a return pipe correctly sized to send around 800-1400 gph through your sump. Go bigger if you are going to feed reactors or something off it. There's no way that overflow can not handle that much water. Not even close.

My only question would be why they removed the lower return. On my 120xl I liked that it shot some extra flow across the back of the tank down low. And somehow they managed to design it with a siphon break somewhere.

It's hard to read into intentions on the internet! I know you meant well. Thank you for the response! You're right, unless they did something really weird, the overflow should be able to handle what I want going through it.

I'm bummed that there isn't the lower return, but it reduces the complexity a bit I guess.

The thing that sets me off about this whole thing is the lack of communication around it, and the fact that it looks so cheaply done (way worse than the Quiet Drain 2). It just feels wrong.

I reached out to ELOS (Italy) directly for some answers, since ELOS America (Aquarium Partners) hasn't gotten back to me in weeks. We'll see if I get anything. Just all bad signs when they aren't responding.

 

[kinetic]

We are now into the middle of December, and nothing.

I've reached out to ELOS' headquarters, and after a couple of weeks they responded telling me absolutely nothing. Just boiler plate response. It's been over a month with zero response from Francois (ELOS USA). I've been extremely patient and kind in my emails, but this is absolutely ridiculous.

The stand I got from them has blemishes up and down all the sides and edges, the panels are yellowed at the bottom and jagged. The Quiet Drain 3 has zero information on them anywhere, everyone at ELOS refuses to provide them, and it looks honestly like crap compared to what I've had in the past (ELOS, Red Sea and more).

I cannot remain calm or patient anymore. ELOS is an incredibly crappy company. There, I've said it. They are complete nonsense. Never again. This is total bull.

 

[kinetic]

I've emailed two more times requesting some response. I finally got a response that said, and I quote exactly:

> I didn't understand that you were waiting for an answer from me

It's pretty crazy, because I sent many emails asking for answers and updates, so I'm not sure if that's a valid excuse. To top it off, there is no resolution to the stand, or quiet drain 3 either.

I contacted ELOS headquarters again, still no response. I get that we're nearing the holidays now, but it's been months of radio silence.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I suggest a charge back at this point and move on to another setup. That's bogus to keep you waiting this long!

 

[FSP]

Bummer. Sorry your luxury tank experience is going so poorly

 

[FMF0331]

Wow, thank you for posting this.
I currently have the Elos 160xl, looking to upgrade with another Elos ( Diamond series )
I guess I'll have to look elsewhere.

 

[kinetic]

Wow, thank you for posting this.
I currently have the Elos 160xl, looking to upgrade with another Elos ( Diamond series )
I guess I'll have to look elsewhere.

Yup! Doesn’t seem like a company that cares and is really running into the ground (and they know it). I wouldn’t be surprised if ELOS closes down at some point soon.

The lack of care of customers is one thing, but the pride in the product is gone.

It’s too late to do a chargeback, I’ll have to fight them on this. Sucks so bad.

I would probably go with a CADE or custom if I had to do it all over.

 

[ryanmcgookey]

Sorry about your experience. I've been running an older Elos System 120 now for 8+ years and love the design and quality. (including their sump which is perfectly designed for the cabinet). I've replaced the skimmer and other components but the aquarium is amazing. They no longer make sumps too, and require a custom sump design if you want it to fit perfectly in the cabinet.

I've been trying to replace my Elos 120 (set as a peninsula in my home) with a larger Elos 160 for a year+ now, and have not been able to make progress working with Elos USA. (simple responsiveness to email questions, missed phone calls, etc) It seems there isn't a team to support Elos in the US anymore. And the folks involved are at all of the shows to market the products but cannot sell me an aquarium I'm trying to purchase after being a happy Elos owner for many many years.

I almost think the older Elos aquariums were designed better than modern day. The cabinets were brilliantly designed even though they are wood. Metal panels look great, ship light and cheaply, but I want doors to open/shut at least on one side of the peninsula. The magnetic panels seem awful in practicality.

I'm not giving up on getting an Elos 160 but the lack of support, information, and interest in selling me one has turned me onto Cade or other brands. Red Sea and Waterbox are also not ideal for my use case but would even consider those before Elos at this point.
.

 

[Variant]

Just want to chime in to empathize with OP...

I loved (past tense) Elos tanks. But my recent purchase including their pricey absolute stand was very disappointing. The problem for me was that the design of their stand was literally different from the design shown online and the one another buyer who bought the same thing 6 months before me had gotten. They had the audacity to add thin magnetic straps instead of the proper recessed magnets built into the PVC paneling. This meant my panels on my tank were a bit sunken in.

All in all, the fact that you send money and depending on the day, you might get a terrible quality product that you don't get proper responses from.

Thinking back, the fact that Elos USA promotes their consumables more than their tanks should have spoken to what the company focuses and prioritizes now... fish food, additives, stickers and all the other fads out there including branding their own salt...

 

[kinetic]

Just want to chime in to empathize with OP...

I loved (past tense) Elos tanks. But my recent purchase including their pricey absolute stand was very disappointing. The problem for me was that the design of their stand was literally different from the design shown online and the one another buyer who bought the same thing 6 months before me had gotten. They had the audacity to add thin magnetic straps instead of the proper recessed magnets built into the PVC paneling. This meant my panels on my tank were a bit sunken in.

All in all, the fact that you send money and depending on the day, you might get a terrible quality product that you don't get proper responses from.

Thinking back, the fact that Elos USA promotes their consumables more than their tanks should have spoken to what the company focuses and prioritizes now... fish food, additives, stickers and all the other fads out there including branding their own salt...

I'm sorry to hear about this. Do you have photos of what your stand looks like, or at least the panels?

I've just sent them another email. They have been radio silent for 2 months so far from the last conversation (which was them saying they are working on getting the stand replacement painted). A lot of false promises.

 

[kinetic]

I got in touch with Aquarium Partners (the ELOS America distributor) just now on the phone. After 2 months of promises, they still don't have what I asked for, and refuses to move forward. They said ELOS won't send them any stands, they won't give him any information on the Quiet Drain 3, and he says ELOS will not be selling tanks in the US anymore, in fact they are probably not going to be in business much longer. He also said he has no more money, so he can't help me at all anymore. I've wasted my money completely on a crap product that will not get any support.

That's it. I'm plumb out of luck. This horrible company has taken my money and I've gotten a crap product in return. I regret this fully.

 

[dadnjesse]

Did you pay with a Credit card? Did you ever dispute the charge? I would think you would have won the dispute with all the times you tried to resolve this.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Did you pay with a Credit card? Did you ever dispute the charge? I would think you would have won the dispute with all the times you tried to resolve this.

I asked a few months back, OP said it was too long since original purchase.