WavySea vs. SeaSwirl Reliability

tbone28 · #1 04/12/2007, 01:56 PM

Which is more reliable for you guys? Do they ever stop "swirling"? If so, what cause it to stop, and what did you do to fix it?

Will be using them as sump returns

Shekki · #2 04/12/2007, 02:04 PM

I have two 1" Sea Swirls and they have not let me down in over a year.

Mojo Jojo · #3 04/12/2007, 02:16 PM

Both are the same thing when you think about it. The two devices have moving parts meaning eventually they will break down and need a little repair.

From what I have seen is that the Wavy Sea roates a little faster. It's also easier to to adjust where you want it to aim. The Sea swirl is a bit tricky since you do that messing with the top nozzle.

If you are low on cash I'd say Sea Swirl. If you have the money the Wavy Sea. I'm a proud owner of a Sea Swirl, but the people I know with Wavy Sea's are just as happy as I am. Good Luck!

tbone28 · #4 04/12/2007, 02:41 PM

Who has a reef who ISN'T low on cash?!?

lol...

Which of the 2 takes up less room inside the tank? From the pics, seems to be the WavySeas?

Hal · #5 04/12/2007, 09:34 PM

I've got two non-functional Sea-swirls. IMO, they're rather delicate. The slightest retarding of its normal motion will damage the oscillating function. I'm not real happy about it.

tbone28 · #6 04/12/2007, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hal
I've got two non-functional Sea-swirls. IMO, they're rather delicate. The slightest retarding of its normal motion will damage the oscillating function. I'm not real happy about it.

My coworker also has 2 non-functional sea-swirls. I thought it may have been a single case.

tentacles · #7 04/12/2007, 10:59 PM

I've had a sea-swirl running for almost 3 years with no problems. I will be using wavy seas on my new tank because of the adjustability that they offer, which is the one thing about the sea swirl I don't like.

cervidaejager · #8 04/13/2007, 06:09 PM

I have 8 Sea Swirls on my 210, 2-1" and 2-1/2" on my return and 4-3/4" on a closed loop, I love them. The 1/2" are about 5 years old, they came off my 55 when I upgraded, I've never had any problems with them. My 2-1" stopped working and I contacted Eddie at Aquarium Currents and he took care of it. In my opinion they are a great product with great customer service.

Hal · #9 04/14/2007, 11:30 AM

Mine were out of warranty, and they said I needed new motors at $35 each. Not terrible, but I was thinking about getting a Vortech anyway, so I applied the $70 towards it. Now my Vortech gives me the circulation flow that I wanted and the sea-swirls act as non-moving returns from my sump.

I mistakenly mounted mine too close to the corner so they couldn't go through there full 90 degrees of motion, and voila, broken sea-swirl.

Other than that, they seem to be a decent product. 'course, that's kind of a big "other than that".

38bill · #10 04/14/2007, 10:13 PM

I was thinking about getting a Wavy Sea unit but it seems fewer places carry them. Anybody have a good source for the WS.

Holyreefer · #11 04/15/2007, 09:34 AM

38bill,
i know premium aquaitcs carries them and they also have same day deliever

ReeferAl · #12 04/15/2007, 10:41 AM

I have 2 1" SS. One of them worked for about 3 years, requiring minor maintenance after about 2 years. It then quit- motor seems to have died. The other worked for about 4 years before quitting with no maintenance during that time. I still have both and maybe someday I'll try getting them to work again.
In the meantime I got 2 WS to replace them. I've had 1 only about 9 months and the other about 3 months. So, so far, I can't say they are more reliable than the SS. It'll be at least a couple more years before I know that.
Allen