Gerwin--Hydor Evo Help!

[bluwtr]

Gerwin, I noticed the other day that both of the HE 1050's that I got from you guys were missing pieces from the front screen of both units. Looks like something busted the plastic grating out. The past couple of days I've noticed that my corals aren't swaying in the current. When I put my hand in front of the PH's there is little to no current coming from them even though I can see algae that is growing on them move as they alternate in their cycle. Today I studied this a little more and noticed that it seems that the water is actually being pushed through the backs of the units. Also today, I noticed something just under the frag plug for my digitata. When I fished it out I found it's part of one of the units. It's like the front was blown out. One thing about the Smart Wave unit and the Hydor pumps was I still heard a "thumping" when the pumps would come on. As I thought about it, I realized that the thumping is no longer there.

Long story short is what are my options? Thanks for the help.

[Gerwin]

hmm, it sounds like the wave switching from the wavemaker is destroying the pumps, the part getting destroyed is probably the piece that is designed to keep the units from running in reverse and reset them them to push not pull. I will work on it from my end but also contact Hydor and see what they say...."if this should be a issue" with their product. But I will get with my distributor and work on replacements.

Maybe this is why the Vortechs cost so much

[bluwtr]

Thanks Gerwin. I will call them today and see what they say and let you know.

[bluwtr]

I called, left a message, but havn't heard back. We'll see.

[Sandy]

Yeah, good luck hearing from them Wes. I even tried emailing them, no luck.
My pump will pull instead of push from time to time. I just keep unplugging and plugging it back in until it goes the right direction.

[bluwtr]

Yeah, I emailed them twice before about the thumping and never got a peep out of them. Of all of the crap that pisses me off, lack of response from a company is at the very top. Especially given that the economy sucks, you would think companies would be bending over backwards to help customers. I actually got the number I called from a web search. Don't know if it's different from others, but it still went to a voicemail system. I also have some direct email, and I'm going to send him one about this as well. There is no sense in this b.s.

I've got mine conected to a Hydor Smart Wave and they turn on and off every 10 seconds, so I'm not sure unplugging would help. The piece of the front mesh that I found has a rubber bumper in the middle. I'm thinking that the impeller rides against that and through resistance, makes the pump turn the right way (don't know why in the hell that would/should work). I wonder why they don't turn the correct way regardless--I don't think the magnetic field would be affected by a rubber bushing.

[MPowell]

Yeah, Wes I've had the same issue with this and it seems that the current reverses when that rubber piece comes loose from the front. That's one reason I wanted to try the coralvue dual seas that Gerwin sells. They move way more water than the Koralias. I'm going to run those in my FOWLR and the Vortechs in my reef.

[bluwtr]

Yeah, well those are the pieces that busted out and ended up under my coral. I found the second one tonight. I'm runnign two Aqueon 500gph units along the bak of my tank and the two 1050's out front. What really makes me mad aside from no responses are that Hydor is supposed to be a high end company, yet their crap is just like everone else.

I just got through sending Hydor an email telling them how pissed off I am about their lack of responses from previous emails and a phone call. Let's see what happens now--I'm betting not a damn thing.

[Sandy]

back space, back space, back space, delete, delete, delete....

[bluwtr]

LOL!, Nah, screw 'em. They need to know they have crappy customer service--three emails and a phone call and the only thing I've gotten is a reply saying that the person was out of the office and will return on April 3rd.

We'll see.

[Gerwin]

call me Tuesday for update

[bluwtr]

Will do.

[bluwtr]

Hey G man, I won't be able to make it in today for the other one. I've just gotten back to my desk. I will swing by tomorrow though.

Thanks.

[bluwtr]

Okay, here's the update on the Hydors. I finally got a response from them and they are going to send me new covers. Below are the emails. My emails are blue, their responses are red. Because of the length I've split the posts--oldest to newest.

While I still think it is a design flaw, they say it's not and are made to work this way. Regardless I will be getting new screens and if it happens again, which according to them, will, I'll be prepared.

G-man thanks for the help.



Hi Wesley

We can send you replacement covers.

Please provide your address and phone number.

Hydor USA, Inc.
Customer Service

This is the 7th time I have tried to contact your company. Three emails, a phone call, posts to Face Book and now here. I have two HE1050's and run them on a Smart Wave controller. Both pumps "thump" loudly every time they switch on. Last week I found that the front of both units was busted out. This in turn caused the pumps to run in reverse, which my corals did not appreciate. Obviously your pumps are not rated for starting and stopping as you promote for use with the Smart Wave. How can I get new screens and is there a way to stop this? I am VERY DISAPPOINTED AND TIRED of your lack of response and care for customer needs. Your customer service has been deplorable to this point. I honestly expect nothing to change with this message as well.


Hi Wesley

There are three possible causes of the reversal in the Koralia Evolution.

The first possibility is that the front cover is damaged. This accounts for 95 % of the reversal cases. Wavemaker operation is brutal on impellers and rather than having a $20 impeller be damaged over time, the cover of the Koralia Evolution is designed to fail first. We provide free covers as a replacement part to any Koralia Evolution owner, regardless of the age of the pump. Make sure the black rubber bumper located on the inside of the front cover is undamaged and in place. Also make sure that the plastic around the bumper is not cracked.



The second possibility is that the magnetic shaft is cracked or swollen. This can cause the impeller to stick and not start on occasion. A broken impeller magnet can also result in vibration and noise from the unit.



You may have the old style of bushing that has slipped out of place. This is only applicable to units purchased before April 2010.



This problem is remedied by the installation of the new style of bushing.

We can send you replacement parts at no charge. We just need your address and phone number.

Let me know what you find.


Hydor USA, Inc.
Customer Service
4740 Northgate Blvd #125
Sacramento, CA 95834
916-920-5222
www.hydor.com
wbdevers@att.net
03/30/2012 08:27 PM


I bought your Smart Wave pump controller on November 16th, 2011. I waited in great anticipation for many months and saved my money so that I could buy one when it became available locally because I saw it as a "poor mans controller". When I purchased the unit, I was running two Aqueon pumps for circulation in my 55g reef tank. I was disappointed that the Aqueon's made "thumping" sounds as they cycled on and off. I decided that the best solution would be to buy two Hydor Koralia pumps as I assumed they would work best with YOUR Smart Wave unit. I saved my money and bough two Hydor Evolution 1050gph pumps for my tank on December 28th, 2011.

From the beginning the 1050's also made "thumping" noises as they too turned on and off. One unit was louder than the other. I felt that this was an issue so I went to your website and emailed your company expressing my concerns. After several weeks of no response I sent a second email. Again no response.

The other day I noticed that both of the 1050's were missing pieces from the front screen of both units. It looks as if the plastic grating was busted out. I also noticed that over the past couple of days that my corals aren't swaying in the current. When I put my hand in front of the PH's there is little to no current coming from them even though I can see algae that is growing on them move as they alternate in their cycle. I actually called your number (916-920-5222) and left a message--again no response.

Today I studied this a little more and noticed that it seems that the water is actually being pushed through the backs of the units. Also today, I noticed something just under the frag plug of my M. digitata. When I fished it out I found it's part of one of the units. It seems that the front was blown out. As I've thought about it, I've realized that the thumping is no longer there.

So far from my dealings with your company I have found several facts seem obvious: 1) Hydor does not respond/care about customer needs, 2) Hydor Evolution pumps do not stand up to the starting and stopping that the Smart Wave controller demands, and 3) no matter how one tries to contact your company, they will never get a response.

Is there anyone that is willing to help resolve my problems? I had always thought that Hydor was top tier company, but after my experiences, I have serious doubts. Although my measly amount of money spent on your products will not make a dent in your companies sales, I promise that if this issue is not resolved to my satisfaction, I will switch my pumps to Ecotech Marine brand and will advise any and everyone that I make contact with to avoid purchasing your products because as a company you don't care.

Tired of being ignored!

Wesley Devers

[bluwtr]

We do have a DC pump system. You can find information on our website under the Professional Marine category.

Hydor USA, Inc.
Customer Service

Thank you very much for explaining the constraints of the system. I thought the KE pumps were actually considered a higher end pump, and that the Smart Wave was a way to have them somewhat compete with products such as the Ecotech line. I assume that the mechanical stops are due to phasing in AC electrical systems and because of that there is no way to control which way the pump will begin. I am glad to know however that this is a design and not a flaw with my pumps or Smart Wave.

Since my system is a 55g the Magnums won't work but thank you also for the suggestion. I understand the increased cost given the associated electronics.

Does Hydor make or are you planning on a DC system?

I look forward to receiving the replacements, thank you.

Wesley Devers


The Koralia Evolution and Smart Wave are considered a low budget, entry level wavemaker set up. This is why they use mechanical stops for preventing reversal. Mechanical stops produce noise.

If you have a larger tank, you can use the Magnum Koralias instead of the Koralia Evolutions. The Magnums have electronics in them that control start and stop (no mechanical stop). The Koralia Magnums are more expensive than the Evolutions because of the increased cost associated with the electronics.

If you want almost silent operation you have to switch to a DC system that ramps the pumps up and down (not a start stop system). DC systems typically start out with a retail price of around $500 for a basic system.

We will send you the replacement covers.

Hydor USA, Inc.
Customer Service
I've received two emails from you today regarding my issues. I have responded to both emails with the same message Below are both emails to save on redundancy.

My pumps failed due to the "designed failure" of the front covers. While I appreciate your willingness to replace my covers, it seems almost a design flaw with either the Smart Wave controller or the pumps themselves. To me it seems an expensive way to handle this. Surely there must be some other way to allow the pumps to start and stop without causing the front covers to fail--especially since it happened in only three months of operation. Also, the thumping is quite loud. Regardless, both pumps did fail (as designed) by the rubber bumper. On each pump the plastic section containing the rubber bumper had busted out.

Even though I am still disappointed about the slow response, I do thank you for FINALLY contacting me.

Pump models are Hydor Evolution 1050gph purchased 12-28-2011

My contact information is as follows:

Wesley Devers
*I work a second job T, W, T nights so any calls after 5 p.m. can not be answered