AI Nero 5 killing fish

RhinoChaser · Jul 20, 2019

I have the AI Nero 5 and really like it, but.... it’s killed 3 of my fish. 2 tangs and now my mandarin gobie. The tangs have both been sucked on to the back of the pump and stuck there and tonight, I was enjoying watching my little mandarin swim around the tank. He got to close to the pump and it sucked him in. I’ve immediately disconnected the pump and in the morning will be switching back to my gyre. I think I’m feeling a little traumatized and ticked off right now having witnessed this. Anyone else experience this??

Flippers4pups · Jul 20, 2019

Healthy fish should not be sucked into a power head. The Mandy, I could see this happening, though I've never had one do that. Tangs are very fast to react. Let's see what others say.

Crabs McJones · Jul 20, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Healthy fish should be sucked into a power head. The Mandy, I could see this happening, though I've never had one do that. Tangs are very fast to react. Let's see what others say.

I agree. A healthy fish should be able to pull themselves out of a powerheads suction. Unless the powerhead has the power of a vacuum in space, I suspect your fish were not 100% up to par.

Sparky88 · Jul 20, 2019

Foam guards work for my snails and other more little critters.

Max! · Jul 20, 2019

The phrase "curiosity kills" could apply here in more ways than one. However, for a tang to get sucked into a power head theres got to be a third party at play. They're the Usain Bolt of the fish world imo.You said you witnessed your mandarin get sucked in? Was it instantaneous or did he fight it at all?

happysalt · Jul 20, 2019

Are these the only losses in your tank recently? How are the other fish in your tank doing?

Water Dog · Jul 20, 2019

I dunno, here’s a long thread on issues with the AI Nero. You’re not alone with your experience of healthy fish being sucked into the rear mesh cage of the pump. Those accounts are toward the end of the long discussion...

Problems with new Nero 5 pumps

Have 2 Nero 5's in my 66g reef tank for a couple of weeks. Magnets on pump are advertised for up to 1/2". My glass is 12mm ( 0.47" to be exact) and the pump barely stays on concave inside magnet. Every time I try to move it to slightly change angle it falls off very easily. Tank is just...

www.reef2reef.com

RhinoChaser · Jul 21, 2019

The tangs were perfectly healthy. I agree, I would never think a tang could get sucked in. Thier lightning quick. But it happened. The mandarin was swimming around the top of the tank , it got within about an inch of the pump and it sucked him right through. He swam down to the sand and minutes later was another casualty.

Westside Guy · Jul 21, 2019

Flippers4pups said:
Healthy fish should not be sucked into a power head. The Mandy, I could see this happening, though I've never had one do that. Tangs are very fast to react. Let's see what others say.

I lost a Canary Blenny that was perfectly healthy and was sucked into the back of my Nero 5. The Blenny loved to swim along the glass sides of my tank, I went out for about 2 hours and when I returned he was gone! :mad:

Crabs McJones · Jul 21, 2019

Westside Guy said:
I lost a Canary Blenny that was perfectly healthy and was sucked into the back of my Nero 5. The Blenny loved to swim along the glass sides of my tank, I went out for about 2 hours and when I returned he was gone!

Sorry for your loss

I didnt realize this was a known issue with these pumps. Very unfortunate.

Westside Guy · Jul 21, 2019

Crabs McJones said:
Sorry for your loss
I didnt realize this was a known issue with these pumps. Very unfortunate.

I would like to share with you my latest post in the 9 page thread titled, "Problems with new Nero 5 pumps" which includes Ai's response and my take on this issue.

Problems with new Nero 5 pumps

I've not experienced this issue and I have some of the first versions that came out. My 120 Display is 1/2" thick glass and mine runs with no issues of falling off: High variance with Random from 50% - 75%. I have noticed that you have to make sure that the AI logo on the exterior magnet has to...

www.reef2reef.com

Westside Guy · Jul 21, 2019

By the way, I even asked Evan West on the 3D forum if he would be interested in making a rear guard for the Nero 5 as he is currently selling replacements for the Vortech wavemakers and unfortunately he couldn't as he didn't own one to use as a model in order to make the replacement.

USA - MP10/MP40/MP60 Anemone Safe REPLACEMENT guards

When I click on the top corner, it redirects me to paypal. Then it redirects me back here and there is an error "please enter a positive whole number". I apologize in advance if this is a silly question! Peeking behind the curtain, it looks like Evan's quantity available has dropped to zero...

www.reef2reef.com

RhinoChaser · Jul 21, 2019

It’s a shame because it’s a nice pump especially for the price.

Westside Guy · Jul 21, 2019

RhinoChaser said:
It’s a shame because it’s a nice pump especially for the price.

I totally agree that it is a great bang for the buck. In fact I will wager that when Ai releases its next generation most likely called the Nero 6 the rear will be redesigned.

Borg · Jul 21, 2019

I picked up a porcupine puffer last month. The little guy kept getting sucked into the Pump.

TheKingInYellow · Aug 3, 2019

Working on a design for a 3D printed guard now, link in my sig.

Saintnovakai · Sep 8, 2019

Max! said:
The phrase "curiosity kills" could apply here in more ways than one. However, for a tang to get sucked into a power head theres got to be a third party at play. They're the Usain Bolt of the fish world imo.You said you witnessed your mandarin get sucked in? Was it instantaneous or did he fight it at all?

You've maybe never seen a firefish move. Now you see em, now you don't. Lol

Westside Guy · Sep 9, 2019

It still amazes me that Ai won't acknowledge this design flaw in the Nero 5 and offer their customers a fix! :mad:

Pntbll687 · Sep 9, 2019

Westside Guy said:
It still amazes me that Ai won't acknowledge this design flaw in the Nero 5 and offer their customers a fix! :mad:

Maybe they don't have a fix.

And maybe they don't see it as a design flaw, and attribute most of this to "user error" in some way.

And I'm not a AI fanboy or anything. I own zero AI products and don't plan on getting any, mainly because they have map pricing