Iron and return pumps ?

[BNUTTHEHUT]

Randy,
I am using a newer brand submersible return pump that has had the shaft rust out on two impellers over the last four months. The company has replaced the pumps but the rep is telling me that the rust is due to the fact that I dose Iron and that I should stop. The only Iron that i would dose is in the Triton elementz. Does this sound like a bunch of hogwash?

 

[RomeReef]

I had a similar experience. I was running the All in One biopellets and I got that brown dust everywhere and had a return pump go bad. The manufacturer rejected the warranty claim because the brown crap wore out the impeller. Maybe that's what the company means about "iron" because thats what the brown stuff is in the AIO pellets.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy,
I am using a newer brand submersible return pump that has had the shaft rust out on two impellers over the last four months. The company has replaced the pumps but the rep is telling me that the rust is due to the fact that I dose Iron and that I should stop. The only Iron that i would dose is in the Triton elementz. Does this sound like a bunch of hogwash?

I don't believe that added iron is having any impact on the metal corrosion. Many things impact iron rusting, and seawater is very corrosive. But there's no mechanism I could find that suggests that adding iron supplements could increase corrosion in an aerobic environment like tank water.