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PUMP JUST TOOK A DUMP!!! HELP

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Reeferforlyfe, Mar 11, 2012.

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  1. Mar 11, 2012 #1
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    My panworld pump just took a dump. How long do I have before fish and coral start taking the plunge????
    WHAT A PERFECT TIME FOR THIS TO HAPPEN. 11 PM ON A SUNDAY NIGHT... FML!
    Anyone in the CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA CITY AREA WITH A SPARE????
     
  2. Mar 11, 2012 #2
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

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    Oh damn man!

    You don't have a lot of time really, 6 hours max if there's no other flow in the tank. If you have powerheads, you are fine for a long time. As long as there is water movement at the surface for gas exchange. I have my 120 running on onld 3 powerheads, no filtration at all except LR and Nitrate < 1 Phos < 0.1. Minimum you need to have an airstone in the tank.
     
  3. Mar 11, 2012 #3
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    Ive got a Hydro 1400 and a 750, I can throw another 1400 in there and aim it towards the top of the water... How long then? I can't believe it!!!

    What a crock lol. The last few days i've been thinking about buying a spare, and then WHAMMO!
     
  4. Mar 11, 2012 #4
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    Just bought a pan world pxx100 1270 gph pump, ordered a bulkhead strainer too. I don't think a snail is the culprit, but I want to be safe from now on. Hope they will be ok until Tuesday!
     
  5. Mar 11, 2012 #5
    AJ

    AJ Inactive User

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    Wow...you need to get some circulation going now. Move your heater into the display and use an air-stone to get oxygen in the water. You can also supplement with hydrogen peroxide to help with oxygenation as well (more for when you don't have power than when you do and could use an air-pump). Google it and you'll find the correct dosage. Probably something that I should write down since I won't have Internet during a power outage!

    You'll be fine running without your skimmer for a few days. Until your replacement pump arrives, I would head over to the local hardware store and get a pond pump and rig up a temporary setup.

    You gotta have a backup pump on hand for just this kind of a situation. Your setup should be configured so that you can easily get a new return pump in place. Think about this...you have someone watching your tank and your in vacation. Your return pump fails. Is your setup configured in a way that's easy enough to explain to a non-reef person how to get your backup return pump online? That should be your goal. To achieve this, I use full union ball valves on each side of the pump so I can just turn off the valves, unscrew the unions, and disconnect the pump. Put the new pump on the pump mount, tighten the unions, and open the valves again.

    Good luck.

    --AJ
     
  6. Mar 11, 2012 #6
    Sponge Marshalltown, IA

    Sponge Expert Reefkeeper Vendor

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    I use almost the same setup for my return pump AJ! As he said, it's the only way to go! Just make sure that you got good oxygen/gas exchange for in the tank. If al else fails, use a container...trap air in the container, push it below the water surface, turn the container over and plop- out comes the oxygen into the water! I had to do that once for about an hour on my 135! Never again...my pump didn't fail, just no power. Then, went and bought a generator :=0)
     
  7. Mar 12, 2012 #7
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

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    Another good backup is a battery powered air pump. If course, it won't help when your pump dies instead of power going out. Ugh. I feel for you man.
     
  8. Mar 12, 2012 #8
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    I don't have an air stone, I have my pumps shooting water above the surface for gas exchange. 3 pumps 3500gph. Is tht ok? New pump in tomorrow morning. I have 2 mark eland stealth heaters in my tank. Temp is 74 holding steady.
     
  9. Mar 12, 2012 #9
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    I don't have an air stone, I have my pumps shooting water above the surface for gas exchange. 3 pumps 3500gph. Is tht ok? New pump in tomorrow morning. I have 2 mark eland stealth heaters in my tank. Temp is 74 holding steady.
     
  10. Mar 12, 2012 #10
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    Marine land. Sorry, stupid iphone
     
  11. Mar 12, 2012 #11
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

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    You're good for quite a while with that setup. My koralias just move the surface water, no where near shooting out of the tank, and it's been that way for months.
     
  12. Mar 12, 2012 #12
    Big John

    Big John Inactive User

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    Get rid of the stealth heaters as soon as you can!If you think the pump was a problem, wait til your heaters blow up!Sorry,I've seen it happen.
     
  13. Mar 12, 2012 #13
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

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    Yeah if they're the bad ones. Check on that, there's a sticky in the general forum on that one.
     
  14. Mar 12, 2012 #14
    AJ

    AJ Inactive User

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    Another way to get gas exchange is to put the powerheads close enough to the surface so that they siphon air down from the surface into the powerhead.  The more powerful the pump, the lower down they can be and still siphon air from the surface.  MP40s will siphon air from the surface as low as 8" down.
    --AJ
     
  15. Mar 12, 2012 #15
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    Thanks
     
  16. Mar 13, 2012 #16
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    Update!

    Pump arrive this morning, so I took it upon myself to remove the old one and install the new one. Upon removing the old one, as I emptied the water out, TWO snails fell out... LOL. My mistake!

    I since cleaned the old pump, but a bulkhead strainer on my return to prevent future occurrences, and took apart the old pump. STILL WORKS!!!

    So I have a backup panworld pump now, soo excited that this was the culprit. I shall rest in peace knowing I have a spare that works!
     
  17. Mar 13, 2012 #17
    Tholton33

    Tholton33 Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Glad you got it fixed and it wasn't a total loss
     
  18. Mar 13, 2012 #18
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

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    Oh man that's funny. lesson learned, sometimes if you take something apart and put it back together, it fixes it. Kinda like rebooting your PC.
     
  19. Mar 13, 2012 #19
    blackx-runner Cedar Rapids, IA

    blackx-runner Administrator Website Team Leadership Team

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    Wait, you never tried to get it running again?? I was going to suggest taking it off and cleaning it, but I figured you had already been down that road. Oh well, at least now you have a spare pump in case it really does go bad.
     
  20. Mar 13, 2012 #20
    Reeferforlyfe

    Reeferforlyfe Inactive User

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    Dumb move huh? It was a bit** to take out and put the new one in, plus I had to move 40 gallons of water to get the pump out. Easier to order a new one, swap it, and then try to fix. Simple fix, now I have a spare, which was my goal in the first place /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif
     
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