REVIEW OF AQUARIUM (& POND) POWER HEAD PUMPS BASED ON REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE :

No to pick on about.com (mentioned them in an earlier post in Fish as Pets), however after an email form a hobbyist about aquarium power heads/pumps I thought I would investigate what is being said in reviews and stumbled across an article with the reviews of five different power heads.
Either they are from another planet or I must live in a parallel universe!

First they left off the list two of the best aquarium and pond power head/ water pumps then their reviews were quite contrary to my extensive experience with these pumps in literally 100s if not thousands of aquariums over the years in my aquarium maintenance business.


Here are six pumps I will review (including refutations of their comments):

*ReSun; this pump (power head) was totally left off their list, although not as well known in the USA/Canada they are very popular in Asia and Australia. ReSun has some sizes such as the #6 that are quite capable for very “mucky” pond environments and yet operate very well. The stainless steel coated impellers along with the ceramic shafts found on the larger models) are extremely durable and almost never fail.
These pumps are very reliable and start up without a problem; they also have very excellent head pressure (in fact among the best)! ReSun pumps can be submersed or place in line.
The models 3A, 5, and 6 are awesome in heavy duty applications such as ponds or very large aquariums where high flow and head pressure are necessary (as well as ability to deal with large amounts of particulates in the water).
About the only con is that with their heavy duty construction, these pumps can be somewhat noisier than some others (although still not bad here either). ReSun power heads are also not as adjustable in flow as some other power heads, but this a minor inconvenience IMO.

*Via Aqua; this is a real workhorse line of pumps that is VERY widely used in the professional aquarium maintenance community yet did not even get mentioned by about.com (go figure!). These pumps in the power head line (not the basic line) also have ceramic shafts and very durable construction. Via Aqua pumps (along with ReSun) can be used in sumps or as a power head and have excellent head pressure. The Via Aqua power head line (such as the VA 1300) can be submersed or used in line which adds to versatility that not all pumps can match. For Aquarium sumps (usually in marine applications) the Via Aqua 2600 and 3300 are unsurpassed in usefulness.
Again the only con is these pumps are a little noisy, but only when used in line (they are a little quieter than the ReSun line when submersed). Via Aqua power heads (as with ReSun and Rio) are also not as adjustable in flows as some other power heads, but this a minor inconvenience IMO. This inconvenience is more than made up for in versatility! I will also admit to a couple of models by Via Aqua that I not recommend due to less than desirable durability and these are the 2300 and 4900.

*Rio (by Taam); although no longer a preferred pump by me as the person who founded Rio started Via Aqua and improved on some of its problems. These are still excellent pumps IMO and although I partly agree with about.com with their assessment, I think they go overboard with their comments as to high maintenance. Rio power heads are very powerful with excellent head pressure (depending on the model).
The cons are the impeller (although very durable), seem to have problems in environments (especially ponds or dirty aquariums) that have a lot of debris and organics in the water column. However they still are very good at starting up when used as wave makers and are properly maintained. These pumps are also not adjustable in their flow

*Maxi Jet Power heads; I will have to agree the most with about.com on their assessment of these pumps. They are reliable and economical and start back up easily even when used as wave makers. However they do have their cons and that is they have poor head pressure and are not very versatile (unlike the Via Aqua, ReSun, and Rio pimps) as they are only power heads and nothing more.

*Penguin Power Heads; I do not generally agree with assessment by about.com on these power heads. Although they do have a neat feature with the reverse flow power head for UG filters (which are not very common anymore though), the other nice feature is the adjustable flow feature.
However nice these features are these power heads have a poor track record for reliability, they have very poor head pressure, and do not re-start well after the pumps have been in service for a while (in applications such as wave makers).

*Hagen Aqua Clear Power Heads; this pump is also over rated by about.com in my extensive experience with them. I have used more Aqua Clear power heads than ANY other (including the Via Aqua pumps I now generally recommend). When these power heads first came out they were industry leaders in design, however they are of 1980s technology IMO and although they are better than Penguins in reliability and head pressure, they still would stop and not re-start in many of my applications when power was even briefly interrupted, making them a poor choice for wave maker applications. Aqua Clear power heads also do not handle high organic/debris loads well and need more maintenance than the Rios that about.com claimed needed!
Bottom line with Aqua Clear power heads is that they are reasonable “retro” pumps, but certainly NOT the latest in technology!

*ZooMed Power Sweep; even though I sold these in my business, I rarely recommended them. They are basically a gimmicky power head with poor head pressure and low output. They are not real durable and the “sweeping” directional output feature is run by cheap plastic gears that often fail. These pumps do not handle high bio loads well and are best used in small aquariums or better vivariums where not much is asked of them.

SUMMARY:
I have had persons also ask me why many brands such as Via Aqua are not as commonly available as Hagen and does that make them of lower quality as no one really wants them?
The answer is quite simple; Hagen is sold through a larger network of mainline Pet Store distributors (although they are now transitioning to their own in house distribution system). This system promotes an all or nothing approach to marketing their products basically meaning you carry the whole line (good and bad) or not get discounts or even sell anything at all. This marketing system has been very successful (not to mention slick packaging), however this does not mean a better product.
Via Aqua (among many other high end brands) does not sell through traditional marketing distribution methods and systems, rather it sells many high end Marine fish importers and similar without all the expensive marketing gimmicks. This in particular places their products in the hands of Aquarium Maintenance Professionals who do not care about slick marketing or whether it is the fad, rather whether it works or not which is why Via Aqua and many other similar high end companies choose to sell this way.
Here are a few more manufactures that sell only (or partly) through high end distributors as well: Sanders, Tropic Marine, Liquid Life, ReSun, SeaChem, SPS, Marc Weiss, and many more.

If no stores in your area sell Via Aqua, ReSun, Tropic Marine or similar it is that they choose to buy from the one size fits all mainline distributors that also are the primary stockers of stores such as PetCo as well.