They have changed the design on the Quietone a few times and a redesigned pump series is coming out now. I'm hoping that any isues have been resoved with the newly designed series.
They used to only have the one size 1140/gph @0head now there is a whole range of sizes. As to reliability I have used over 40 quiet ones and have had a problem with 4 or 5. It almost seems it may have been a bad run at the factory as they were all bought around the same period. Their were a few different internal changes with the biege/maroon versions.
I have a few quiet ones going on 8 or 9 years, cleaning them once a year or so seems to prolong their life.
I do find that excessive back pressure will cause them to heat up to hot to touch. I also recommend that if they are not in use, remove them from the system, then clean and flush with fresh water. Don't let them sit. As far as noise goes they are the quietest pump around. Most of the bad ones are from the old colour series,maroon motor with biege front. Pinpoint imperfections in the stainless steel inner casing would seep salt into the armature, eventually destroying the motor. This seemed to be corrected on the 2 tone blue models.
As to Little giants, They are work horses, but they too give off alot of heat. This can be a problem if they are inside a poorly ventilated cabinet. Some models require regular oiling, which most people overlook. They also break down,squeal, sieze, and are the noisiest thing going!
Unfortunately most pumps we use are repacked or slightly modified industrial/chemical pumps. So considerations for aquaium applications were not part of their design process.
I have used many brands of pumps over the years and Quiet Ones are still my favorite external pump.
I found this little survey on thekrib.com
Pump model liked disliked typical comments
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Rena C40 1 pond pump
Hydrothruster 3
Eheim 3 1 high quality
Quite One 11 6 quite, hot, defects, good value
Little Giant 4 5 powerful & loud?
Iwaki 1 5 loud?, MD series better than WMD
Magnum 350 1 not a real pump
MiniJets 1 circulation only
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Van for short
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