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    Results 1 to 13 of 13

    Thread: Jebao / Jebo WP40 Review

    1. #1
      bladedrummer is offline Registered User
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      Jebao / Jebo WP40 Review

      Jebao / Jebo WP40 Review

      I've owned one these for about two weeks now and I'm ready to write about my experience and impressions.
      I'd like to start with a list of Pros and Cons so that the "tl;dr" people can still benefit from this review. =)

      PROS:

      - Price: I paid $85 dollars + shipping for my fist one and 10% less for my second one. I don't know of many pumps with similar performance and flow output in the same price range,

      - Power: I have these in a 48x18x21, 75 gallon tank, and just one of these full blast is almost too much. These will provide enough flow for corals that like "strong" flow. They move a lot of water. They're rated 13000 liters per hours which is 3434.2367 gal/h.

      - Modes: It is great to have such an affordable pump act as a "wavemaker" of sorts, with a few control options. Each pump has an independent controller that can cycle through: High Flow, Low Flow, Pulse, 2 Ramp Up modes and an "Else mode".

      - Construction: this pump looks just as solidly built as my Koralias or any other medium level pump I've seen.

      - Low Noise: (!!!) Earlier I had written that they were pretty loud, that they sounded like a loud(ish) buzzing phone. Well, imagine my surprise when I came back from work the other day and I couldn't hear them. They break in! It's been about two weeks and even on pulse, I can't hear them. They push the same amount of water, work just as well, but they're virtually silent. This is great!

      - Controllability: I've been reading up on them and a lot of people are controlling them with Reef Angel and Apex Controllers! I can't speak for that personally, but I can tell you they do work with a cheap Variable Powe Supply I bought. Their normal operating voltage is 24V. They will work with full functionality on voltages as low as 15V. Any lower, and the modes don't seem to work as intended. I've been setting them on "High" but toning them the down to 19V and this seems to really give me the perfect "cleaning" flow for my tank. To be fair, I also like them at 24V.

      CONS:

      - Loud when first bought: the pulse and ramp up modes are pretty loud before they break in. That took mine about 10 days.

      - Size: They are not like MP40s, where the motor sits outside the tank. From what I can tell they're the same size as the larger Tunzes or Koralias. I'm not sure they would look good in smaller tanks. They look pretty big in a 75gal.

      - No "in between": There is a high setting and there is a low setting. There is no middle ground. The manufacturer pulse mode operates "full blast". There is no low flow pulse. This can be created with a variable power supply, as I mentioned, but it's not a built-in function. This also goes for the ramp up modes.

      - No sync: the manufacturer standard controllers would not allow you to sync two of these pumps together. They operate independently. I've read a lot of people having success syncing them using Apex or Reef Angel controllers. This is done by modding the controller box on the powerhead and hooking it up to the Apex or Reef Angel. I'm not familiar with this as I haven't done it myself.

      Additional Considerations

      I cannot guarantee that everyone's pumps will work exactly like mine. Mine stopped making noise after about a week, I don't know if everyone else's will.

      Since my first impressions, I've seen a tank with two MP40s and the owner was kind enough to demo them for me. The MP40s also make quite a bit of noise. I guess I was comparing them to my Koralia Evo 1050s. Yeah, a much smaller capacity pump.

      The two ramp up modes make them pump ramp up and down in a fixed pattern. The pump will actually shut off (aka the impeller is not spinning) for a second in these modes. The else mode is more of a random mode and doesn't follow the same pattern over and over. Also, the else mode doesn't seem to shut down. This would be best for a truly random current, well, as far as an artificial environment can allow us to recreate it.
      The pulse mode allows you to create a wave. There is a knob on the controller that lets you to set how rapidly the pump pulses, allowing you to regulate the type of waves, based on the size of your tank. Physics!!! From playing around with it, I would say that you can find an optimal setting that will give you a big wave. On one side of this setting, you'll have gentler waves, on the other, faster waves.
      I'm experimenting with one pump set to create the big wave and the other on else mode to create a bit of a random current in there too. I've gotten my second pump a couple days ago so I'm still toying with it.

      CONCLUSIONS

      First and foremost: I am speaking for my experience. Other people may think differently and what works for me, might not work for others.

      From what I've seen, these are a great buy. If your tank doesn't have a lot of flow and you can't afford MP40s or a set of expensive high-end pumps with a controller/wavemaker, these are an ideal solution.
      They will allow you to have killer flow and some control options which other pumps in that price range just do not have. In my tank, they've made an amzing difference, they blew my Koralia Evo 1050 (with or without Smart Wave controller) right out of the water! (Sorry for the cheesy pun).

      So far, I'm 100% satisfied with these pumps and would recommend them to people with similar views as mine.

      Now I will tell you who should probably NOT get these. People who want the same functionality and aesthetics as the MP40s. For 1/5 of the price, those are not reasonable expectations. If you want a Ferrari, don't buy a Toyota.
      People with small tanks. Jebao should be releasing a smaller version which would be a lot better for smaller tanks. This thing will blow your sandbed all over the place in a small tank.
      People who already own MP40s or similar. I don't think they would be satisfied with this product as they might view it as "a step down".
      Last edited by bladedrummer; 03-31-2013 at 04:45 PM.

    2. #2
      slicktoppomp is offline Registered User
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      Jebao / Jebo WP40 Review

      Very nice write up. Where were you able to buy them from? Every time I search for them on google or something I just get reviews about the pumps on different forums.

    3. #3
      unbereefable is offline Registered User
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    4. #4
      bladedrummer is offline Registered User
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      Quote Originally Posted by slicktoppomp View Post
      Very nice write up. Where were you able to buy them from? Every time I search for them on google or something I just get reviews about the pumps on different forums.
      Thank you.

      I sent you a pm with the info.

    5. #5
      bladedrummer is offline Registered User
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      Oh, I forgot to give Pescado a shoutout for the tip on people controlling them with Reef Controllers. I looked into that thanks to his tip!
      So thanks man!

    6. #6
      bladedrummer is offline Registered User
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      Quote Originally Posted by unbereefable View Post
      I wasn't sure if we're allowed to post commercial links in reviews. Hopefully it won't get the thread shut down.

    7. #7
      pescado is offline Registered User
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      Good review. Mirrors what I've been reading elsewhere, with some occasional negative experiences from people who apparently got a defective one out of the box.
      Being an inexpensive pump from China, with unknown long term durability, there is some risk involved. But at the low cost, most people feel the possible reward is worth the risk.
      My original plan before these pumps came on the market was to acquire two MP40s and eventually a controller. More of a dream than a plan really.
      I've got two coming from a group buy, and will add a RA to control them as soon as they arrive. The two pumps AND controller will cost less than a single MP40 with expected performance comparable to Plan A.

    8. #8
      bladedrummer is offline Registered User
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      Now the company is selling the variable power supplies with the pump.
      Another thing of note is that Reef Angel (the open source reef controller) is now making a plug to control these pumps directly without DIY mods!
      You can find them by going to the Reef Angel website, going to "order" and looking at the Accessories. The item is called "Jebao Cable".

    9. #9
      d-man is offline Registered User
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      They now have a variable power supply for $10 or so on the website.
      I have 3 now and these things are great. I have 1 running on wave mode, one on ramp up mode, and one on "else"(random). Plus i have my tunze 6200 at variable levels. My current is very random.

      These things are slightly smaller than the old tunze models.

    10. #10
      miguel is offline Registered User
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      How would the magnet work on a 1in thick acrylic?

    11. #11
      bladedrummer is offline Registered User
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      Quote Originally Posted by miguel View Post
      How would the magnet work on a 1in thick acrylic?
      I'm not sure, I would have to test it out.

    12. #12
      miguel is offline Registered User
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      Can you please check and let me know I need 3 thanks.

    13. #13
      clira13 is offline Registered User
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      Just bought one and installed it. Works great, I needed more flow for the Achilles and this definitely does the trick so far. Tank got cloudy due to dead spots behind live rock where there was no flow before. I only have one in a 180 gal tank and may add another later.
      I have to add that I bought an upgraded model, that comes with an upgraded controller that gives you an option to add a light sensor that will reduce power to 50% when lights go out. There is a note that says sensor is not intended for use with VHO, HQI and LED lighting cause it will damage the sensor. I have my controller in an area that is not in direct lighting area of my T-5's. ill see how this works out.
      This WP40 max flow is 20,000lph = 5284.02 gph.
      Has a feed button and it shuts down for 10 minutes, you can press the feed button anytime to restart anytime before the 10 mins is up.
      I have mine set at Else mode(Reef Stream Mode) that randomly increases and decreases pump speed and duration. This creates a random flow cycle similar to what you would find in a natural reef.
      It also has a speed lock button that allows you to reduce speed of impeller.
      S1: Maximum Speed.
      S2: 75% of speed. (This is what I have mine set to for now).
      S3: 50% of speed.
      The only draw back for me is the black pineapple shaped object in my display tank. It's about 6" long and 4" thick.
      Other than that I love this thing.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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