Stay away from WAV, 1Link - pumps start to fail after 1 year.

Reefer1978 · Feb 2, 2018

jaws789832 said:
I will start off by saying, I too am a loyal apex user and I think for the most part their products are great. I have had my all apex system for going on 7 years now with very few issues. Even the WAVs performed great when they were working, they really move some water and the adjustability is fantastic. But back on topic, after an inspection of the new pumps they sent me, the impellers look like they are my old ones and the magnets are definatly my old ones (you can still see some coralline on them and they are stuck together with the cardboard between them that I cut out LOL). The pump motor is new though (different serial number). I went back to my original ticket and asked about this and was told that they might have used my original impeller and magnets because there was nothing wrong with them. I told them that I wasnt happy about this as I had purchased a new pump (albeit at 30%off) and expected to get all new parts. Impellers wear, the nubs on the magnet mounts wear, the O-rings on the mounts wear. If I was going to get a refurbished pump it should have been way more than 30%off. I will keep you informed as to where this goes.

smh. If they will let you, feel free to use my 50%, I won't be using it. I will PM you my RMA and Ticket#.

Water Dog · Feb 2, 2018

So offering a discount is kind of being dishonest with the expectatition of getting a new replacement. They’re actually selling you partially refurbished gear without disclosing it to you!?! Not a good look for Neptune...

Reefer1978 · Feb 2, 2018

Water Dog said:
So offering a discount is kind of being dishonest with the expectatition of getting a new replacement. They’re actually selling you partially refurbished gear without disclosing it to you!?! Not a good look for Neptune...

Partially refurbished gear is not even the worst part. Single pump is $200. Now lets review parts that were not replaced:
Neptune Systems Replacement Impeller for WAV Pump $49.95
WAV Magnet Mount $49.95
WAV Rubber Mount Kit $9.95
If the Cage was not replaced - Neptune Systems WAV Pump Cage (Single) $24.95

Where's the discount????

CoralCache · Feb 2, 2018

I was waiting for the fall to start. And here it is.

Glad you guys didn't have the same issues I had with them. The first one that went ran fine it would just reset my Apex to 1997 or some year way off and the time would be off and it always happened in the middle of the night when I was trying to sleep.
The second rebooted the Apex every 1 to 2 minutes. Until I unplugged the last wave.
My buddy had 3. They all failed for him as well.
I sold everything Neptune. Many more apex issues that was very expensive to repair so I finally pulled the plug after 15ish years.

chamjack · Feb 2, 2018

jaws789832 said:
I went back to my original ticket and asked about this and was told that they might have used my original impeller and magnets because there was nothing wrong with them. I told them that I wasnt happy about this as I had purchased a new pump (albeit at 30%off) and expected to get all new parts. Impellers wear, the nubs on the magnet mounts wear, the O-rings on the mounts wear. If I was going to get a refurbished pump it should have been way more than 30%off. I will keep you informed as to where this goes.

If there is no fine print saying that they may do this option, I would definitely send them back for a refund and buy new. That said, I’ve been using the classic brain and eb8s for years without a hiccup. I don’t any of Neptune’s branch off plug in equipment though.

jaws789832 · Feb 2, 2018

Update: They got back to me and are making it right. Sending out the new pumps today. There was a mixup, where they thought it was a warranty product and were fixing the old pump, and didn't realize it was a new product order. I will give a great shout out to their customer service. I sent out my ticket complaint less than 12 hours ago (at night I might add) and the problem has been resolved.

chamjack · Feb 2, 2018

Good to hear

dealseer · Feb 2, 2018

Wow, that is shady reusing old parts without clearly disclosing.

I’m sad I bought into the Neptune craze. I’m out.

I’m loving my Reef Keeper controllers.

Greenstreet.1 · Feb 2, 2018

I’m a big apex fan. It’s sad to see what’s going on with them since this 2016 release it’s been downhill. I was thinking of upgrading to a new apex cause of the trident and my love for apex but with all these bad reviews they have me thinking more about the GHL which cost a lot more than an apex.
I hope they work out these issues before trident is released or I may have to make the switch [emoji22]

WWIII · Feb 2, 2018

jaws789832 said:
Update: They got back to me and are making it right. Sending out the new pumps today. There was a mixup, where they thought it was a warranty product and were fixing the old pump, and didn't realize it was a new product order. I will give a great shout out to their customer service. I sent out my ticket complaint less than 12 hours ago (at night I might add) and the problem has been resolved.

So they got back to you and sent brand new replacements after you posted what really happened here? I'm sure they were very attentive to your situation after they read this here

Reefer1978 · Feb 2, 2018

WWIII said:
So they got back to you and sent brand new replacements after you posted what really happened here? I'm sure they were very attentive to your situation after they read this here

Whichever way works - I am glad some mistakes are being corrected. All we want is a decent product, or at least service when they are not so decent.

Reefer1978 · Feb 2, 2018

My story gets more and more interesting. I sent my pump in 2-day air, as I wanted it looked at and possibly replaced quickly. At the conclusion of the story, Neptune offered to either recycle it for me (Did they forget there's a magnet, cage, impeller still there that I could use on my other pump????) or send it back to me. Ofcourse I want it back, I am cutting that baby up to see what's wrong with it. Just tracked it - FedEx ground that's going to take a full week to get here.

dealseer · Feb 2, 2018

WWIII said:
So they got back to you and sent brand new replacements after you posted what really happened here? I'm sure they were very attentive to your situation after they read this here

I feel sure that is what happened. I saw Terrence watching the thread but not responding. Obviously I don’t know that for fact, but seems most likely.

Reefer1978 · Feb 2, 2018

dealseer said:
I feel sure that is what happened. I saw Terrence watching the thread but not responding. Obviously I don’t know that for fact, but seems most likely.

I noticed that also. I am guessing responding will require acknowledging issues with both the product, and the customer support. Here's a screenshot from Saltwater Scammers group on FB. I guess I am just not special enough.

Raptor72 · Feb 2, 2018

nvladik said:
I noticed that also. I am guessing responding will require acknowledging issues with both the product, and the customer support. Here's a screenshot from Saltwater Scammers group on FB. I guess I am just not special enough.

This last post is gold right here. Just what I was looking for today. Thanks

Reefer1978 · Feb 2, 2018

Raptor72 said:
This last post is gold right here. Just what I was looking for today. Thanks

Glad I could help

... Love it how some people think we (reefers) don't talk to each other.

jaws789832 · Feb 2, 2018

WWIII said:
So they got back to you and sent brand new replacements after you posted what really happened here? I'm sure they were very attentive to your situation after they read this here

Whether it was through my ticket or through the forums is irrelevant to me, the fact that they made it right is what matters. I would expect any good business to monitor the forums these days. I really don't think the product is faulty, If I did I wouldn't have purchased another set (or actually 2 sets). When the original pumps went down, I immediately bought a whole new package (two pumps with the 1-link) through a vender. I knew it would take some time to get this sorted out and didn't want my tank without a good quality pump for that long. I had a gyre and a Tunze as a backup, but don't like the flow on the Tunze and the gyre has given me problems since the day I bought it. I decided to purchase this set as a backup to the new set I had just bought. As I stated above. the flow these things put out cant be beat and the adjustability through the controller is fantastic.
The Saltwater environment is harsh on any piece of equipment and I don't expect anything to last forever (although I would expect them to last more than 2 years which most probably do). In the 7 years I have been in the hobby I have had to replace two return pumps, many heaters, a few dosing heads, and various other gadgets and gizmos. Now I try to keep a replacement of everything on hand. I don't ask for anything for free but I do ask for good customer service and after a mistake (which we all make), they made it right in a timely manner.

JoshH · Feb 2, 2018

Greenstreet.1 said:
I’m a big apex fan. It’s sad to see what’s going on with them since this 2016 release it’s been downhill. I was thinking of upgrading to a new apex cause of the trident and my love for apex but with all these bad reviews they have me thinking more about the GHL which cost a lot more than an apex.
I hope they work out these issues before trident is released or I may have to make the switch [emoji22]

What has you thinking GHL costs a lot more than Neptune products? Pretty much all are really close or cheaper... minus the issues

Reefer1978 · Feb 2, 2018

jaws789832 said:
Whether it was through my ticket or through the forums is irrelevant to me, the fact that they made it right is what matters. I would expect any good business to monitor the forums these days. I really don't think the product is faulty, If I did I wouldn't have purchased another set (or actually 2 sets). When the original pumps went down, I immediately bought a whole new package (two pumps with the 1-link) through a vender. I knew it would take some time to get this sorted out and didn't want my tank without a good quality pump for that long. I had a gyre and a Tunze as a backup, but don't like the flow on the Tunze and the gyre has given me problems since the day I bought it. I decided to purchase this set as a backup to the new set I had just bought. As I stated above. the flow these things put out cant be beat and the adjustability through the controller is fantastic.
The Saltwater environment is harsh on any piece of equipment and I don't expect anything to last forever (although I would expect them to last more than 2 years which most probably do). In the 7 years I have been in the hobby I have had to replace two return pumps, many heaters, a few dosing heads, and various other gadgets and gizmos. Now I try to keep a replacement of everything on hand. I don't ask for anything for free but I do ask for good customer service and after a mistake (which we all make), they made it right in a timely manner.

I highly appreciate the thoughts, but respectfully have to disagree on both fronts with you here.

Is the pump faulty or not?
I am sure you saw my post above with the 3 pumps that failed at 2 years. That's 100% failure for a single customer. Don't you think that's odd? We will never know true failure rates for the units, but I hope through conversation we hear from more and more reefers when they do experience failures, so we can learn. Lets compare to the auto industry - things fail, there's regulation, and recalls issued. Do you ever see a recall in our hobby? of course not - we are only killing animals when equipment fails, not humans (Ignoring occasional electrocution or house damage). Now what about longevity? If the pumps do indeed start to fail after 2 years, I would love to see expected lifespan on the box, as you do with light bulbs for example. But we don't, thus we are forced to converse and define what we believe is bad design vs. expected failure %.

Customer service
If indeed your situation was corrected because of a forum post - that's not customer service, that's reacting to bad PR. I hope this wasn't the case, and Neptune simply realized their mistake. Offering different discounts to different customers is also very shady at best. Trying "to sell" those discounts by then responding with "my usual discount is 20% but I am giving you 50%" is also very shady. And did we forget the customer who got all 3 replaced at no cost??? I work with customer service and this is NOT it. At the least I think you are owed a refund from Neptune. That would be customer service (If they came up with that on their own, not by reading this post).