Cali Kid Corals

Damn my DC return pump failed too!

S

sfsuphysics

Supporting Member
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Vince jinxed me!!!

I forget what brand it was, Waveline or Speedwave or of the not quite Jebao but looks pretty much the same (although to be fair mine was before Jebao started cranking out their stuff, so if mine was an imitation pump it did so before Jebao :D).

I'm left confused as to why it doesn't work, I can trick it into starting for a split second before it stops by changing speed or switching to feed or off. I measured the voltage coming out of the controller and it's still 24+ volts, so the voltage is there, I can spin the impeller no problem so it's not gunked up and I used a diluted muratic acid bath on it (way more effective than vinegar :D), but still no bueno. Not sure if it's the pump itself which I believe is filled with epoxy so not like I can take a look at it.

Either way I had an old Eheim I was using to stir saltwater, and I ordered a Deepwater Aquatics BLDC pump, which seemed cheap enough (Amazon Warehouse had a dented box one for $130!), and from what I've read their controller is a bit more hearty than the other ones (if it was a controller issue in fact). I wish I could order just a cheap Jebao controller or something to see if that's the issue.
 
Me!?!

Check your impeller shaft. Run a nail along it and see if it catches on any ridges. Sometimes deposits form and the acid doesn't dissolve it entirely. I use a knife and lightly scrape off any bumps I feel.



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Not you, Vincerama, he had a thread a little while ago about his return pump failing and many of his fish dying as a result.

I need to figure out how to get the impeller out, it's not like a standard AC pump where the impeller slides out, after removing the screws and the front plate I feel like I still can't get the impeller out, like it's not supposed to be serviced? Unless I'm missing something.
 
Sorry, Mike. Did you ever watch "The Ring?" Whoever watches the videotape is cursed. Much like everyone who read my thread!

I'm not trusting DC pumps again. KISS. My old ViaAqua, just sits in the tank pumping away ... 15 years of duty and still going. No controller, no fancy stuff. Just clean it out every once in a while.

I'm encouraging people to consider testing their tanks by just unplugging the return pump to see what happens. In my case what happened was there was no flow beyond the two Ecotechs MP-40s blowing water around BUT there was now surface agitation, therefore ... not enough gas exchange. I know this is a fact, when I stuck in a spare powerhead with air-venturi into the tank, the fish perked up withing minutes ... as if I had opened a vent to some miners trapped deep underground. Swapping to the old pump to get the system working and the non-dead fish were up and about.

I think a powerhead with a venturi situated JUST at the low watermark (where the low tide where the main tank will drain down to if the return pump fails) would help greatly. That way it's just flowing water, but if the return dies and the water drops, it will reveal the venturi to the air and it will start mixing air into the tank and keep your fish alive.

Also get some B-11 (or B-10?) battery pumps, if the power quits, they will kick on. Attach air lines and sink them to provide bubbles. Some argue that no airstone is better, but I don't know. Using no airstone definitely gets big bubbles to percolate and pop at he surface, which is good, but I can see that fine air bubbles might directly dissolve O2 into the water.

Sorry to hear Mike, I hope your fish/coral are not worse for wear!

V (The original Vince)
 
Vincerama2 said:
Sorry to hear Mike, I hope your fish/coral are not worse for wear!

V (The original Vince)
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Oh yeah, everything is dandy, I don't have much in the way of coral anymore, and for whatever reason in each chamber of the tank I had a heater so they didn't get cold, having 18 square feet of surface area probably helped assist with any sort of gas exchange.
 
About gas exchange, I think when your overflow stop working, a biofilm start to build at the top of your tank reducing gas exchange. Surface agitation only wiggle it around without clearing it. The only way to get rid of it beside overflow is bubbler bursting up the surface. I have an airstone in my freshwater tank (no overflow) that run an hour a day to clear up any bio film.
 
roostertech said:
About gas exchange, I think when your overflow stop working, a biofilm start to build at the top of your tank reducing gas exchange. Surface agitation only wiggle it around without clearing it. The only way to get rid of it beside overflow is bubbler bursting up the surface. I have an airstone in my freshwater tank (no overflow) that run an hour a day to clear up any bio film.
Click to expand...
I don't have an overflow on mine. Just a hob skimmer.
 
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