Rio Bashing!!! Come on join in

scarybo

scarybo

Member
I hate Rio powerheads. Before I joined this board I purchased 4 Rio's for water movement. The first one failed in a month. Yesterday I went home to find another one had stopped. I took it apart, banged it around, and finally got it to work again. Now however it rattles like it's dying. I just ordered some Maxijets to replace all the Rio's. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER RIO PUMP!!!
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
Although I agree that MaxiJet is better, I have had 4 RIO's for going on 8 months with no problem with any of them...2-180's, 1-600 and 1-800...
 
stacyt

stacyt

Active Member
I was running my rio for a few months without any problems. Then after reading so many posts about them breaking down, and leaking stuff into the tank, I just figured it wasn't worth the risk. I replaced the rio with a maxijet. I still use my rio for mixing up my water for water changes, and it's still working.
 
cowabonga

cowabonga

Member
i had a rio 1400 for my remora pro skimmer...and one word...unreliable.....i can never turn off the pump because i wouldnt know if it would start up again. Which was 90 percent of the time. It was just a big hassle and a big mess to get that stupid thing going again...You had to leave it on....and take the pump out of the water and shake it in the air...once it starts running again..i had to connect it back to my skimmer...soo running crazy pump+under water with output toward the surface = very big mess :mad: but i recently replaced it with a mag 3...and i love it!!!!
 
cowabonga

cowabonga

Member
ps. dont know if it was in my head or not..but everytime that happened..i felt some electric current in the water....not a good thing
 
hairtrigger

hairtrigger

Active Member
I worked at an LFS back in the day and we had people return rios all the time. Also, rios are bad because unlike other pumps/powerheads, when they burn out they can really screw up your tank. Instead of simply seizing up like others, since they are oil cooled, they sometimes also release the oil into the water. In turn, your entire tank dies. Just something to think about. :cool:
 
banshee

banshee

Member
I don't think it was in your head, COWabonga. I had the same problem when I was using RIOs. I would stick my hand in the tank and.......ooooooooooboy! It felt good! :D
 
saltyshark

saltyshark

Member
I thought rios were great pumps before I joined this site and heard all of the problems people had with it. But I've had a rio 600 on my CPR Bak-Pak for more than 3 years now with no problems. Believe it or not I've never cleaned the damn thing and take no special care for it. Lucky? Obviously. But since I've heard about their horrible reputation I've decided to use a maxi for my skimmer instead. I sure would be ticked off if my rio went hay-wire on me. Not worth the risk. I'd hate to bash a product that I have been fortunate with...but why would anyone make an aquarium pump so potentially dangerous to our tanks?? Seems like it's more fit for circulating $**t ;) IMO
SaltyShark
 
robchuck

robchuck

Active Member
I've had no problems with smaller Rios, specifically the 600. All of the ones I've owned have worked flawlessly, and have refired everytime w/o fail. I used one to circulate my HOT filter on my previous set-up, and now use one on a CPR overflow. The larger Rios are the ones that are always giving me problems. I was using a 2500 as a return pump, and it blew up after a few months of use. It would never restart on its own, and I was constantly banging it against the side of the sump to start it. I also have a 1700 that I use for mixing fresh saltwater that needs just the right amount of "babying" to start.
 
reef fool

reef fool

Active Member

Originally posted by jamesurq
jeez. quoting Duran Duran, you should be ashamed.
No more ashamed than being able to reocognize someone quoting Duran Duran! I'm blushing!
 
reef fool

reef fool

Active Member

Originally posted by jamesurq
jeez. quoting Duran Duran, you should be ashamed.
No more ashamed than being able to reocognize someone quoting Duran Duran! I'm blushing!
 
entice59

entice59

Active Member
ive been using aquaclears, ive had no problem other then that humming noise, i got a rio 50 for the intank refuge... hopefully it wont fail
duran duran, thats soooooo 80's :D
 
reefur.

reefur.

Member
duran duran is good stuff! Hahaha
Ive had two rio 600s for over a year and never had any probs. I Today i jsut replaced the rio 800 that was on my skimmer, which was also over a year old.
 
nightraven

nightraven

Member
When I was purchasing equipment to begin my Saltware experience, there was a nice guy in the LFS that saw me looking at a rio and recomended that I go with the Maxijet instead. He didnt bash rio or anything like that just simply gave me his opinion.
I have never regretted it.
 
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