Why all the hate for Chinese knockoff filters?

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
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Jul 29, 2014
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I see a lot of negativity on the boards from time to time against brands like sunsun, aquatop, oddysea and jebao to a lesser extent.

I bought some sunsun 302b filters. I love them, there are some flaws but I can live with it. My feelings are (like buying tools from harborfreight) if something costs a fraction of what the competition charges, and it requires a few pennies and some elbow grease to make it work flawlessly, then I'm cool with that.

From what I gather Sunsun isn't just some knockoff, they are one of the largest and most popular aquarium supply companies in china, akin to something like Aqueon or Tetra in the US. However im sure the quality control and warranty aren't comparable.

I've owned Eheim, Fluval, Aquaclear, Tetra, and Aqueon. My Ac110 and Ac30 are in a landfill somewhere, my Fluval 406 and 104 are both operating after purchasing plenty of spare parts over the years. My Eheim is in storage, I hated priming it so much I just gave up on it, I had problems since day one. In my dad's basement I have a lifetime supply of crusty old whisper filter parts.

But "you'll cause a flood!" They all cry. Is this from first hand experience? Or the defense of purchasing overpriced name brand stuff? Here's a nice flood from my bedroom brought to you by a quietflow 55/75g. Great filters none the less
still made on the same continent as all the knock offs.

I hear stories all the time about Hagen or Eheim stuff lasting decades. If this was the norm more than the exception I'd be more on board. If I didn't read posts about motors crapping out on fx5's all the time I'd drop $300 on one. I love my fluvals, but its no secret I spend $30 a year on parts, that could almost buy you a new aquatop or oddysea.

When it comes down to it, all this junk breaks no matter who puts their name on it, most of it is made in china anyway - I'm more comfortable taking a risk with a $40 filter than a $240 filter... when truth be told who knows where either will be in 2-3 years anyway. Is it brand loyalty or dare I say it, elitism?

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krichardson

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I have heard or seen the knocks posted but I have no experience with these filters as the places I normally buy my stuff from don't even carry any of them...not that I've noticed anyhow.
Yeah,most of the filters are made in China but I think the more well known and established brands might have more strict quality control at the facilities where their products are manufactured.
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
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Most are sold by importers on amazon or ebay. There are some dedicated sites with good customer service.

There's a guy who lives in town who must buy off Alibaba and get pallets of stuff shipped from china. He runs a resale out of his garage, but does name brands too.

Most fish stores that I know don't deviate much from what their supplier sells. My favorite local shop is an aqueon shop, they'll order me anything I want as long as it's in the aqueon catalog lol

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Benliving9560

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Jun 30, 2014
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I agree with you completely I have 3 of tge sun sun 404b with the 9watt uv light I love them a fraction of the price and they move some water I do have a cascade that has been around better part of 10 years but when comparing $60-70 to $250-300 it's hard to say no to the cheep one if it breaks I'll get another one lol


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krichardson

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I've been noticing that kind of brand exclusivity in some shops.
 

xraycer

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That's just the way people are programmed: cheap cost = cheap product that won't last............with no exceptions.

Its like this with everything in our society. In most cases, this is true.....but I've been around long enough, to know that some products are only high in price because of the brand name label slapped on it. Perfect example is my wife and I. She buys brand name clothing, not so much for the fashion, but because they should work better and last longer. Example: she owns a NorthFace jacket and Timberland boots = $200+ ; I picked up a no name ski jacket and no name work boots from Walmart = less than $85. Her jacket after 3 years of light usage has a broken zipper. The Timberland boots are still fine, but see hardly wears them to begin with. My no name jacket($35) which I actually use everyday during the cold season and also keeps me warm enough to go snowboarding in the mountains of NH, is still intact after 4 years. The no name work boots($45) still functioning after 5+ years of hard usage. Sure, I've also bought no name stuff that didn't last long at all, but it also didn't cost very much either....so not a big deal. It annoys me a lot more to pay top dollar for brand names and have it crap out after short period of time than it is to gamble and fail on a cheapo, no name.

What annoys me the most about people who bash brands like Odyssea and Sunsun is that they are against these products, yet a lot of them have never actually used them, but rather "heard" about problems. They'll rave about how great and dependable brand names like Ehiem and Fluval products are, yet I constantly read about people having issues with these products just as well. My philosophy is, if you're gonna have issues either way and they both get the job done....then why pay a ton more for one of them? I constantly praise and try to get the word out about Odyssea and Sunsun, to help my fellow fish keepers save major bucks, but I yet I never set out to bash brand names with the exception of their retail pricing
 

xraycer

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Still think AC are the best HOBs out there, but to each his own. Get whatever you think works best per dollar spent.
Muddbutt is referring to canisters for the most part
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
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Jul 29, 2014
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To be clear I'm not slandering eheim or fluval. Both make quality products and I can attest to this first hand. But I don't see the quality gap being proportional to the price gap.

My main question is, if you dislike sunsun or oddysea, have you used them? Are your catastrophic failures first hand experiences? Did a canister flood your house? Or are you just repeating speculatory accounts

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