Maxi-Jet Powerheads...Not like they used to be?

[jackson6745]

Over the past 4 months I had 3 MJ 1200's cease up on me. I clean them regularly with vinegar to remove calcium build up, and they still look relatively new when they stop working. I have had MJ's that have lasted 4 years. Seems that every new one I buy is not made with the same quality?

Have I just had bad luck with them or is anyone else having the same problem?

[KRAZ4REEFS]

I had 3 out of 4 new ones lock up in about 1 month. I just cleaned them in a vinegar soak and 1 is still not working.

[jackson6745]

same here. If I take the cover off and give the impeller a little push it starts spinning again but as soon as I put the cover back on it stops:confused:

[MattG]

aquarium systems and marineland merged (i dont know if merged is the official term). i know the maxijet box now say marineland on it and the powercord is much thinner then it use to be. it seems i have read of quite a few problems with maxijets lately which leads me to believe that more then the powercord and box was changed. anyone have any definitive information???

[jackson6745]

I noticed the power chord is thinner also....:confused:

I think i'm going to have to switch to another brand....but which one?

[MattG]

you cant go wrong with hagen or eheim.

[jackson6745]

Anyone ever try an eheim aquaglobe mini powerhead? The model I was look at pumps 300gph (MJ100-295gph) and it supposed to be very small. I can't seem to find much info on them but it looks like they come with a remote power supply.

[jscarb2]

i hope this is not true i just bought a case of maxi jet 1200's cause my hagen 802 where so old the make some noise now when the wave maker switches them of and on.hope these mj1200 are all right. the ones i got still say aquarium systems on them nothing about marineland is there a way to tell? maybe i got a case of the good ones!

[jackson6745]

Fat chord or skinny chord?
Not sure if this method of telling is 100% but all the new mj's that gave me problems have skinny chords

[jazztown]

I have 3 MJ 1200's,2 are the older ones and nice and quiet i just got one of the new ones running on a wavemaker makes a load rattle everytime it comes on plus a load humming noise.Last mj 1200 i'm buying,i'm going to try an Ehiem next.
Bill

[jackson6745]

OK, well I'm glad it's not just me experiencing these problems. I didnt even wash my old mj1200's and they worked perfectly for years....I just don't get it.

[BRG]

Same here, I have three of the new ones and they rattle when they come on

I have been using MJ's for years and they have been good pumps, hope that has not changed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bg

[Medaka]

Originally posted by jackson6745
Anyone ever try an eheim aquaglobe mini powerhead? The model I was look at pumps 300gph (MJ100-295gph) and it supposed to be very small. I can't seem to find much info on them but it looks like they come with a remote power supply.

Aquaglobe make Rio's look good.
I actually used to like aquaglobes, but after replacing about 10 of them every month or two, I got tired of the hastle. Sooooo many problems with them. The two main problems is that the impellers rust and fall apart within months and the other is that the plastic used to make the powerhead is extremely cheap and deform easily, so doing things like soaking them in vinegar will deform the plastic (some are deformed when there brand new so you need to glue them or they will fall apart when there on).

[bergzy]

the maxi-jet 1200's i recently purchased 8 months ago are still okay. i hope that they don't die. they are on the wavemaker and i do notice that one rattles a little every so often when it turns on.

i'll post if/when they die.

[ensley]

Another company lost to climax capitalism. The McDonald's syndrome. "Reduce quality to the lowest point the public will still accept." The dollars have all been squeezed out and it will soon be sold to the guy who has my pension fund. He dosen't know they will be living on reputation alone. I will discover the pumps are no good, quit buying and encourage my friends to do the same. The company will go broke and I will work 20 more years to pay for my brokers retirement.
Did i say that out loud?

[Agent Powder Tang]

Wow, I was going to buy MaxiJets today because my 3 month old Rio died on me. Now I don't know what to buy. :(

[Wind]

i've got one a few months back and it is thinner. i was like huh??... but i hope its okay..

sigh @ the companies now a days.. and i used to preach maxijets... i dunno now....

[jackson6745]

Originally posted by Wind
i've got one a few months back and it is thinner. i was like huh??... but i hope its okay..

sigh @ the companies now a days.. and i used to preach maxijets... i dunno now....

Same here dude. I also used to preach how good they were etc...
I miss the "old" days when the MJ's came in that Pink box:rolleyes:

SO What model and brand pump would you guys consider a good replacement for an mj' 1200 ( 295GHP)???

[Wind]

ya im curious what to replace..

there's that TUNZE but dang 100 bucks .... poor peeps like me, need alternatives.. i duno though.. i've saw the power sweep but some say they get stuck..

i really dunno.. maybe something made elsewhere... ehein is 265

[BryanJ]

If maxijet is the next rio, I sure hope eheim steps up the circulation on the aquaball. The most powerfull ball is only 171 gph.

[FunkieReefJunkie]

I'm trying out the mini AquaGlobes. www.aquaglobe.com The 300 halls ***. Did I just say that? My only complaint concerns the tiny suction cups which are prone to letting go if there's the slightest bit of coralline on the glass. Other than that, they're nice and small and light on the wattage.

[Scotsman]

I bought 2 of the mini Aquaglobes about 6 months ago for my 18g nano cube. 1 has already quit working and the other one is very noisy and only works if I clean it every 2 weeks and then baby it to just the right position so that the impeller turns. What a shame because it is really small and produces a great flow. But they suck so don't waste your money!

[Wind]

aqua ball <> to aquaglobe right??? it doens' equal

hows the eheim compact pump.. looks like those mini-jest.. but 250..

i may try one..!!

[Tomzpc]

I've had great success with the Hagen Aquaclear powerheads over the years. Never had one die in almost a decade.

[BryanJ]

My filter is a eheim 2026 rated at 250gph and my maxijets are 900's rated 232gph the eheim return pump in the filter appears to be moving nearly 2x the maxijet. I would buy any pump by eheim in second.

[ejmeier]

I think that with the "new" Maxi-Jets the most obvious difference (that I have noticed) has been the writing on the side of the pump itself. On the MJ 1200 it used to be a neon blue (quite ugly in a tank) but now they made the writing black so you can hardly notice it in the tank.

Other than that, I remember reading about a "thermal shutdown" thingamajig that was in the MaxiJets. I don't know why a PH would need this? :confused:

But the change that struck me the most, which outweighs all of the "benefits" was that they made the powercord really skinny. I don't know why, but when it comes to electrical components submerged in water, I REALLY want the powercord to be thick. :D

[dc]

LOL, I noticed the skinny cords also, but mine are over a year old and I've never had a problem with either.

[GailKaitschuck]

We've switched from Rio's ("hey look! The tank's on fire...dang; never knew water can burn!") to Hagen Aquaclear with great results (i.e, they work and we no longer have flames shooting out of the tank). Some good deals on these on ebay.

Gail

[ejmeier]

Had both the new and old maxijets out, so I figured, why not take a picture? :)

New one on left, old one on right. Notice the different lettering and cord size. Can't compare performance yet as I haven't used the newer one. At least the impeller seems to be the same. :)

[Sloth]

See my post here:

I'm done with maxijets (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=304654)

Before seeing this thread I thought it was just me. IMO - maxijets ARE the next RIO. They're garbage. Complete waste of time and money. I switched to Ehiem and have had 1 problem seizing so far, but I cleaned it and it works again.

[jackson6745]

Sloth you're not alone:)

ejmeier
Thanks for posting the pics. Wanna sell the old one;)

[FunkieReefJunkie]

Kind of depressing to hear this about the aquaglobes. In the meantime I'll just watch and see what happens with mine. I like Hagens but they get larger with increased gph. Eheims are excellent but pricey. It would be nice to have a PH with low wattage, longevity, with a price which doesn't break the bank. Until then I'll be dreaming of a single pump, closed loop system. With the hobby growing so quickly I have a hard time understanding why no one company can get their "you know what together" and fit this nitch.

[AquaticFins]

thebigmg hit it right on the head.

Marineland bought Aquarium Systems and the quality went down the drain.

On the plus side, the packaging is nicer now. :rolleyes:

[montepora]

Maybe this could be the MJ alternative???

Small and Powerful (http://www.aquaglobe.com/index.html)

[nf4sevenw]

i think we should all just closed loop our systems and all run mag 5's and mag 7's on wave makers. lol. at least it will last.(maybe)

[BryanJ]

If this is what happened to maxijets, I wonder what is going to happen to Perfecto aquariums? I was concidering getting one when I upgrade. Now I am not sure I want to take a chance on one.

[FunkieReefJunkie]

montipora I'm trying these out now. So far I like them, but it's too early for me to comment. Some negatives have been expressed. Need a few more people to give them a test drive.

nf4sevenw I just plan to stay home all day hovering over my aquarium, making waves with my hands, mimicing the sound of the ocean until I fall over exhausted.

[gunsablarrin]

I have 2 maxi-jet 1200s. I have been using them for only 3 months, but everything has been fine. They make almost no noise, even the one on my wavemaker. They are certainly much better then the Rios I had before. None failed, but they were incredibly noisy.

[Creade]

As a sidenote. If you watch Ebay, Some aquarium wholesalers still have an overabundance of the old model MJs they are pawning.
Just make sure you email them to make sure they are the old ones even if they are using the old pic.

[Sloth]

Update:
I don't like the new ehiem powerheads either. They don't start up 20% of the time. Then you have to pop them off the glass and the suction cups always come off. Then you have to kill your fingernails to get the casing open and fiddle with the impeller axel. If you push it too far in, the impeller will rub on the casing, too far out and it won't run. there is a button thing on the top of the pump that if you push it, it will shove the impellor down further. Dunno what thats all about. Anyway. I just decided that they aren't worth the trouble. The only powerheads I've had 100% success with for 2 years straight are minijet 404s.

I'm not saying anything bad about Eheim as a brand. I have a larger return pump and that thing is GREAT. Just the powerheads I don't like.

[johnny1]

Here is to hoping my old MJ 1200's last forever.

[K9]

I have two of the "new" MJ600s in my 30g, and I haven't had any problems yet. However they're both only 2mos old though, so we'll see. I bought them based on reputation, but that was before I learned of the "merger". Time will tell...

-K9

[ejmeier]

Thought I would drudge this thread up again. :D I'm getting back into the hobby, and I want to see if Maxis are still a decent PH or not? Are these problems still occurring, or did they get the bugs out?

[AllenFord_SC]

What about Seio's? I know they are made by TAAM but they have a better rep than the Rio's do. Just a thought.

[ejmeier]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6589101#post6589101 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AllenFord_SC
What about Seio's? I know they are made by TAAM but they have a better rep than the Rio's do. Just a thought.
Yeah, that's what I initially thought, but I guess they got some bad press too due to restart issues.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=591714

Maybe the problems with either PH aren't that big, and that it is just the minority who are reporting the probs and blowing it out of porportion?