Why all the hate for Chinese knockoff filters?

hooliganATV · Jan 25, 2015

i use a uk online company called allpond solutions, and they basically rebrand Chinese stuff. over the years i've had pond stuff for koi projects and tanks with over head filters etc. i have never had to send anything back, i did have switch in the hood lights brake and they send me one out the next day. they also have spares to repair stuff etc. the price is good and the quailty is fine and its works. it cost me £60 for heaters and filters for my 180g and if i need to replace it all 5 more times its still cheaper than a brand new FX.

xraycer · Jan 25, 2015

Drstrangelove said:
I'll simply limit myself to the last point:

"4) the gap in quality vs name brand filters is miniscule compared to the gap in price"

I don't know that this is as big a deal as it sounds. If I have a tank with great and expensive fish that I have kept for years, I won't mind spending 40% more for a heater or a filter or a pump, so that I give myself 10% more "chance" of not losing my fish.

That's called insurance to me. If I am so cost conscious that a few dollars here and there drive me nuts, then I'm buying a 30 gallon and tossing in some guppies with a sponge filter and a 50 watt bulb.

In economics, if one can discern a real difference in quality between 2 makers of the same product, it always makes sense that one will cost more and probably cost more in a disproportionate manner. The product isn't better by chance. The maker intentionally spent more money to make it better to satisfy a part of the market that is willing to pay for it. That's why we have such a variety of items in the market place. Capitalism is designed to meet the needs of consumers and in many markets some consumers are willing to pay more while some are not.

That's microeconomics 101.

Drstrangelove said:
If you read what you quoted, I used the word "I" seven times which is my way for me to explain that this is how "I" make decisions. Otherwise I don't get your question. I mate my spending decisions on the value of the items I'm spending for.

If I had a $1,000 aro or ray, or a 20 year old Pacu or Gar, I would never buy a cheap heater that I know has more risk to fail just so I can save $5. On the other hand, I won't spend $2,000 to buy an acrylic tank to house guppies. I spend my money in accordance with maximizing my perceived utility. I don't regard saving $5 as worth risking a tank full of expensive fish. I do consider it reasonable to be frugal with regards to a tank full of replaceable, inexpensive fish for which I have no attachment.

And I didn't call guppies inferior or low quality life forms: those are your words. They are however inexpensive, easily replaced, and less intelligent life forms in my experience than many other types of fish.

But regardless: that was not the point of my post. I was explaining why there are products types in the market place that will have expensive and cheap options. "I" don't make the market place. Everyone does. And everyone apparently consists of people who want inexpensive products and also people who are willing to pay more.

I did read your post and this is the way I'm interpreting your post: that essentially you're saying 'you get what you pay for'. If I misinterpret this point, then I apologize......but I don't believe I am.
The original topic was about canister filters, not heaters or pumps or any other piece of aquarium equipment. To say that buying a $90 canister filter over a $200-$400 is saving a few dollars is ludicrous. Especially if you were buying multiple units. That's hundreds of dollars differences.
Lets get real here. Are you really trying so hard to be convincing that you give a pacu as an example, by saying that someone capable of keeping a 20yo pacu would be utilizing conventional aquarium equipment? Uhhh.....yea, OK
In regards to the guppies as unimportant, lower life form or not in your post........I'll leave that up to the other readers to decide based upon your writing.

Here's a pretty darn good testament right here for the nay sayers:

mustang93svt said:
Just to add to this, I have 5 sun sun/greech 304 B's in current use and 1 FX5. My oldest 304 B is almost 6 yrs old running 24/7. Run 2 per tank plus a sump and alternate cleaning one and change UV every six months. The only other maintenance is I replaced the impeller on the oldest one the other day for $18. Bottom line for me is they work, and "if" there was a American made filter I would buy it and use it.

isde02 · Jan 25, 2015

I have a cfs 500 that's going on 5yrs running without any issues, a few odyssea led lights that are going on 3yrs without issues, and I just picked up a few jebao dc pumps that I'm extremely impressed with....not saying that I don't use name brand equipment but ime the knock offs are doing the job just as well and for less money.

xraycer · Jan 25, 2015

isde02 said:
I have a cfs 500 that's going on 5yrs running without any issues, a few odyssea led lights that are going on 3yrs without issues, and I just picked up a few jebao dc pumps that I'm extremely impressed with....not saying that I don't use name brand equipment but ime the knock offs are doing the job just as well and for less money.

5 years running for a $50 filter that's rated at 500gph. Sounds like money well spent.....uh, actually well saved to me.

mudbuttjones · Jan 25, 2015

People who are more affluent will disagree. That's understandable. However I'm not extremely affluent, im middle class, probably lower middle class. If money was no object i would most certainly buy name brand in all instances of life. I don't even shop name brand at the grocery store lol. There's a strong differentiation to me between $300 and $5 lol. And I don't mean for that to come off as an attack to anybody at all.

I can afford a 2262, or an fx6. I own fluval and eheim stuff, I just cant afford to buy half a dozen of them at once, or at the drop of a hat. I've got a family to support.
I agree its not wise to skimp on heaters. I buy aqueon heaters, they seem ok. But then again the general concensus in the community is that even the ultra expensive heaters fail just as much. So I dunno.

But we're talking Chinese canister filters, not brake pads, or baby formula, or airplane landing gear. Its a bucket with a powehead inside that collects fish poop haha.

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Monster_Minis · Jan 25, 2015

Dr. Hit the nail on the head with his Paragraph about 1k arrows, and 20yr old gar.. In a nutshell it really sums it up.

Rachel.Cody · Jan 25, 2015

Drstrangelove said:
If I had a $1,000 aro or ray, or a 20 year old Pacu or Gar, I would never buy a cheap heater that I know has more risk to fail just so I can save $5. On the other hand, I won't spend $2,000 to buy an acrylic tank to house guppies. I spend my money in accordance with maximizing my perceived utility. I don't regard saving $5 as worth risking a tank full of expensive fish. I do consider it reasonable to be frugal with regards to a tank full of replaceable, inexpensive fish for which I have no attachment.

Don't take this the wrong way or anything it's just kind of a general statement. But why spend more on something that does the same thing such as a heater. Say an $80 vs $40. If they both have 4 star ratings which would you buy? Just because something is more expensive doesn't mean that it's better in any way. Don't take that the wrong way that's just how I look at it.

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mudbuttjones · Jan 25, 2015

Coincidentally people who own exorbitantly expensive fish and can afford to feed them every day have the similar means to pay full price for filters. This is monsterfishkeepers.com after all

There are also people who are tired of paying premium price for less than premium products.

There's different styles of fish keeping and theres nothing wrong with fluval or Eheim. My main point and question as the Op were basically "if you dont like these chinese filters, have you actually tried them?"

If I had $300 to spend on filtration for a large tank, I'd pick up 2 knockoffs for the price of a single name brand unit. I'd trust the redundancy of the two filters all day long. Fluvals are great filters, but they can quit working just the same as anything else. I think it's foolish to only have one filter on a tank anyway aside from safety it makes maintenance easy. But then again if I hit the lottery I'd buy a pair of 2262's

So I guess no matter how one cuts it this is just an argument of economics.

If the German filters were still exclusively built in Germany I think this would all be a moot point

:edit: if you have prized fish, and can't afford for a filter to fail, then your doing it wrong, quit rolling the dice and put some redundancy in your system

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Rachel.Cody · Jan 25, 2015

mudbuttjones said:
Coincidentally people who own exorbitantly expensive fish and can afford to feed them every day have the similar means to pay full price for filters. This is monsterfishkeepers.com after all

There are also people who are tired of paying premium price for less than premium products.

There's different styles of fish keeping and theres nothing wrong with fluval or Eheim. My main point and question as the Op were basically "if you dont like these chinese filters, have you actually tried them?"

If I had $300 to spend on filtration for a large tank, I'd pick up 2 knockoffs for the price of a single name brand unit. I'd trust the redundancy of the two filters all day long. Fluvals are great filters, but they can quit working just the same as anything else. I think it's foolish to only have one filter on a tank anyway aside from safety it makes maintenance easy. But then again if I hit the lottery I'd buy a pair of 2262's

So I guess no matter how one cuts it this is just an argument of economics.

If the German filters were still exclusively built in Germany I think this would all be a moot point

:edit: if you have prized fish, and can't afford for a filter to fail, then your doing it wrong, quit rolling the dice and put some redundancy in your system

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That sums up what I was trying to say.

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xraycer · Jan 25, 2015

If you can afford $1000 for a fish and/or have the resources to house a full grown pacu, then shouldn't it be obvious that this thread really doesn't apply to you?.........I guess not


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Why all the hate for Chinese knockoff filters?

hooliganATV

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xraycer

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mudbuttjones

Fire Eel

Monster_Minis

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Rachel.Cody

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mudbuttjones

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Rachel.Cody

Jack Dempsey

xraycer

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