FAQ
Reefing Concepts makes anemone guards that fit all the latest Ecotech product lines, however, depending on how old your wave maker is will determine if our guards will fit.
Below is a picture of the two styles of "wet sides" that Ecotech has made over their history that we know of. We have labeled them "old style" and "new style" to delineate the pictures clearly. If you examine them closely you will notice visual differences - and the way they attach to the impeller is very different as well. Our primary product lines target the "new style" wet sides, and with hundreds sold we have had no complaints about fitment or performance! 99 times out of 100, our customers own a "new style" wet side....
This doesn't mean we do not support the "old style." Via special order we provide standard and enhanced guards for the "old style" MP-40 wet sides. This is because one of our customers was nice enough to lend us their wet side so we could make a compatible guard! If you have an "Old style" MP-10 or MP-60, and are willing to pay for all shipping costs, we will develop a guard for it and send you your wet side back with a couple guards free of charge, a "gift" for letting us use you hardware to make a compatible guard as well as fronting the cost of shipping. It takes reefing concepts several days, up to a 40 hour week to accurately model, manufacture, and test the interface for a perfect fit, so we feel like this is a more than fair deal.
This is a tough question to answer because there are so many factors that play into the fit. in general, if your pump is new, then our guard should fit very similarly to the factory guard - but if its not, there are several reasons why it might not be fitting properly.
There is build up on the factory guard - many times coraline algae and general "gunk" will build up causing a tighter fit for the factory guard, and it can even build up under the o-ring on the impeller side of the pump
The factory o-ring needs to be replaced- There is an o-ring on the impeller side of the pump that can loose elasticity and cause the guards to fit looser than new. Ecotech sells these as replacements.
If could just be a tad bit looser! for this i would worry - the impeller spins in the same direction you twist the guard to lock it in place, because of this there is always positive pressure on the guard in the locking direction caused by the pump forcing water through the spokes.
Reefing concepts has tested guards with out the o-ring installed to make the guard completely free to rotate. In all cases the guard stayed in place and never came off do to the fact that the impeller applies water pressure to the spokes of the guard in the locking direction.
If you still have concerns about the guard being loose send us a video and show us how loose it is - or send it back for a refund.
Great question!
We make these guards here in the USA and we source our plastic and products from US based companies. The guards themselves are 3D printed using a process called FDM which stands for "Fused Deposition Modeling."
FDM is a form of Additive Manufacturing (3d printing) that is used in many industries for products and they are very durable and safe when made properly with good equipment and tight controls.
Reefing Concepts is so proud of its products that we offer a limited life time warranty on them. We do this in an effort to put peoples minds at ease as to whether or not our 3d printed products can stand the test of time in the aquarium hobby. We believe ours can, and that's why we stand behind them.
The owner of Reefing Concepts also uses them exclusively in his aquariums which house a variety of SPS, LPS, and soft corals as well as fish and invertebrates.