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Useless and marginal products I have purchased over the years

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DaveK

Over the years I have spent in this hobby, I have spent quite a lot on products that were wither totally useless, or products that were marginal. I'm hoping that this thread will detail a lot of them, so that others will not make the same mistakes. Please post about any products, old or new, that you find especially bad, and why you didn't like them. These should be products you actually tried.

Here are a few to start with -

SeaClone skimmers - IMHO, one of the worst out there, difficult to adjust and preforms poorly.

VisiJet skimmers - Even worse than the Seaclone, if such a thing is possible. Simply falls apart when you try to use it.

Air Drier for use with ozone - Only lasts a couple of days, and then you need to bake the media to recharge it. Very marginal.

CPR Overflows - U tube can't be cleaned. Needs another pump to keep it clear of air. If the little air escape gets blocked, and you get air in the U tube, you also get a flood. Bulkhead fittings easily snap off.

Hydrometers - Very Marginal. Glass easily breaks. Swing arm ones get jammed up. Except for lab ones, they are not too accurate. Get the refractometer you really need.

That gets us off to a start. What products do you find especially bad or marginal?
 
JohnS_323

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Won Bro's titanium heaters - Owned two of them that failed very quickly and nearly trashed our tank.

Wet/Dry filter with built in "skimmer" - Total waste of money. I should have just built my own sump from the start, plus the skimmer had more in common with a vacuum cleaner than a protein skimmer.

I'm sure I'll come up with more but those are two that jump right out at me.
 
P

pnoyreefer

For me a cheap skimmer.. its saving you money but not going to do the job that it needs to do . I have 2 cheapo skimmer that just sitting on my garage for yrs ;D
 
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DaveK

reeferwanabe said:
zoo-med power sweep powerheads. looks good, tried 2 and both fell apart within days. most trace element bottles
Click to expand...

Amen to that! I tried several of the Zoo Med powerheads, and in SW they jammed up in only a few days. Great idea, poorly executed.

I also agree with "most trace element bottles".
 
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billyr98

pinpoint calcium monitor! What a great idea!!
But you need to calibrate the probe for every use and you can't leave it in the tank.
So by the time you calibrate the probe you could have been done the calcium test kit!
 
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Brian

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
The Skilter Filter...Combo Hang on the back filter/skimmer. Wow is that thing terrible.
 
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DaveK

Rbu1 said:
Reef safe ich treatments.....
Click to expand...

Wow! Another item I forgot about. They even go beyond "useless" or "marginal". Not only do they not work in treating the disease, they can often kill other inverts.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

The Hang on the Back Refugiums.

First off - maintenance is a huge pita.

Second of all - the amount of "refuge" is limited and by it's design - not optimal (small surface area). Save your money and use it to set up a under the tank sump with a fug.

Finally - in my opinion the fug should be fed water either from the return or AFTER the skimmer. Water coming direct from the display is nasty and makes a mess of things. See point #1 and you're in a never ending cycle.
 
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vangvace

phil519 said:
The Hang on the Back Refugiums.

First off - maintenance is a huge pita.

Second of all - the amount of "refuge" is limited and by it's design - not optimal (small surface area). Save your money and use it to set up a under the tank sump with a fug.

Finally - in my opinion the fug should be fed water either from the return or AFTER the skimmer. Water coming direct from the display is nasty and makes a mess of things. See point #1 and you're in a never ending cycle.
Click to expand...

Have to asterisk this one. HOB fuges and nanos are quite nice.
 
C

chaoscat

Cheap API pH test kits. Who knows what these thing are actually reading?

Stick on the Glass pH monitoring meters. Once again, who knows what those things are saying?
 
jimroth

jimroth

JohnS_323 said:
Won Bro's titanium heaters - Owned two of them that failed very quickly and nearly trashed our tank.

Wet/Dry filter with built in "skimmer" - Total waste of money.
Click to expand...

Hey, I still have both of those things in my garage!

I bought a "mantis shrimp trap" that only a mentally challenged mantis shrimp would fall for. I got good use out of my Rio pumps, but never again, they almost electrocuted me. Some stuff I bought seems silly now because it would have been so easy to DIY -- like the "Eel Feeder" I bought, a piece of plastic pipe with a tee on the end and a skewer to put food on.
 
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pgordemer

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Never again pile..
Rio Pumps (any size)
Hang on back skimmers
Liquid test kits for PH
Crushed coral (I cringe when I overhear LFS employees recommending it)
Tape on backgrounds


Should have done from Day 1 pile....
Aqua Controller (how did I live without this)
Best Skimmer you can afford. (Love my Bermuda Aquatics 3C)
Sump in basement
External return pumps
 
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