Life span of ecotech mp’s

[mmorrison55]

you guys that run ecotech MP’s, what’s their typical lifespan? I’m looking to pick up one or two on the used market, and wonder at which point is it just too risky and not likely to be worth it?

 

[Rjukan]

you guys that run ecotech MP’s, what’s their typical lifespan? I’m looking to pick up one or two on the used market, and wonder at which point is it just too risky and not likely to be worth it?

My experience with a 1st generation white box MP40 has been great. It's been running for over 6 years since I bought it used with no issue.

 

[mmorrison55]

My experience with a 1st generation white box MP40 has been great. It's been running for over 6 years since I bought it used with no issue.

Thanks for the reply… what’s your maintenance been like during those 6 years? Have you been diligent of descaling, run it at a lower %, etc?

Just curious if you set it and forget it, or stay on top of maintaining it.

 

[Bruttall]

I have 3 MP40's, 1 is 6 years old, other 2 are 2 years old. I rinse the wet-side's in HOT TAP WATER and use a Denture toothbrush to clean them after removing cages from impeller about every 4 months or so. NEVER USE VINEGAR!! It will cause the magnets to swell splitting the plastic housing of the wet side according to a few posts I have read here on these forums.

 

[mmorrison55]

I have 3 MP40's, 1 is 6 years old, other 2 are 2 years old. I rinse the wet-side's in HOT TAP WATER and use a Denture toothbrush to clean them after removing cages from impeller about every 4 months or so. NEVER USE VINEGAR!! It will cause the magnets to swell splitting the plastic housing of the wet side according to a few posts I have read here on these forums.

Thanks for the tip re the vinegar. Any experience with citric acid? I was thinking of picking up an extra wetside to then just swap it out every few months between the 2-4 mp40’s I end up utilizing while I let the replacement soak in a citric acid solution.

 

[Rjukan]

Thanks for the reply… what’s your maintenance been like during those 6 years? Have you been diligent of descaling, run it at a lower %, etc?

Just curious if you set it and forget it, or stay on top of maintaining it.

Maintenance has been pretty low if I'm being honest. I would take the wet side out every couple months for a rinse in tap water and a scrub with a toothbrush. But it also ran for like 2 years with zero maintenance from 2021 until 2023. It's just humming along fine, since the tank got a refresh last Dec I'm back to scrubbing the wet side every month or 2.

 

[VintageReefer]

My first gen mp10 and mp40 are 10+ years old. Probably 12 if I was to guess. So that’s 12 years of my ownership…I bought them both used….they were in good condition but I don’t know how long either prior owner had them

I clean them once every 6 months. I’ve been lazy several times and forgetful…I don’t clean them every 6 months religiously. Sometimes it’s 12 months. Sometimes more.

I had had the following issue between 2 mp’s over a decade

1) one power supply blew out. Was it from my lack of a surge protector? Possibly. Bought a generic off Amazon to replace it

2) one wet side had to be replaced. Became noisy and couldn’t figure it out

Other than that, nothing. They works great and I’m really happy with their performance and quality. I do not use, not do these support, any app. I like that. They connect to each other wirelessly through the controller and sync with each other.

 

[LARedstickreefer]

Thanks for the tip re the vinegar. Any experience with citric acid? I was thinking of picking up an extra wetside to then just swap it out every few months between the 2-4 mp40’s I end up utilizing while I let the replacement soak in a citric acid solution.

Citric Acid works great. I use it for all of my cleaning/soaking instead of vinegar.

 

[Solo McReefer]

you guys that run ecotech MP’s, what’s their typical lifespan? I’m looking to pick up one or two on the used market, and wonder at which point is it just too risky and not likely to be worth it?

Figure the price of a new wetside into what you are spending on the used powerhead

And they are only available from Ecotech now, which charges the buyer with very slow shipping

 

[Bruttall]

Thanks for the tip re the vinegar. Any experience with citric acid? I was thinking of picking up an extra wetside to then just swap it out every few months between the 2-4 mp40’s I end up utilizing while I let the replacement soak in a citric acid solution.

I do not use anything except Tap Water. Even Citric Acid is caustic and can cause plastic damage IMO. Those mp40's cost about $500 these days. That's a lot of money to me to run the risk of damage thru using an Acid to clean what Hot Tap Water will clean just as well. Ya just have to use the Tap water 2x as often, every 3 to 4 months instead of every 6 months.

Here is a picture of my Mobius App Profile from APEX so you can see how much water I am moving with these.

 

[RedReefer]

Thanks for the tip re the vinegar. Any experience with citric acid? I was thinking of picking up an extra wetside to then just swap it out every few months between the 2-4 mp40’s I end up utilizing while I let the replacement soak in a citric acid solution.

Citric acid is fine. Citric acid won't damage the wet side. I use sicce pump clean, it's citric acid.

 

[exnisstech]

Figure the price of a new wetside into what you are spending on the used powerhead

And they are only available from Ecotech now, which charges the buyer with very slow shipping

I just did a search and they are available at other places. BRS, TSA etc. I recently bought one from aqua cave

 

[robanister]

Ecotech replaces their swollen wetside magnets for free. This was an old wetside model problem and they have since changed the type of magnet they use. I have had no further magnet issues.