Plague of Impeller/Pump Problems

[bboz13]

I am having a consistent and annoying issue with every pump and wave maker I own and that is that they die within six months of me owning them without exception. Each one fails in the exact same way; the impeller will begin to get stop sporadically and then completely die. I have owned in the past two years 3 Sicce pumps, two local vendor pumps they themselves manufacture, and a Jebao. The Jebao is my current one in the tank and is sporadically giving me Er04 messages every other day which is, of course, the error it gives you when the impeller isn't spinning.

I am completely at my wits' end on this. I keep them clean, the impellers never appear to be damaged, but they never last more than six months. I have to believe that it is something that I am doing wrong because there is no way my luck is just this consistently bad but I cannot fathom what I could possibly be doing to completely destroy every pump that I own. Do any of you have any suggestions on what has caused any of your pumps to break like this?

I apologize if I am not formatting or asking this question correctly. This is my first post on this forum (I believe, I made this account at least a couple years ago now). Any help is appreciated.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would be frustrated too, no reason any pump or powerhead shouldn't last years.

How do you clean them?

 

[Propane]

Do you use the same tubing each time. Perhaps the bends on the tubing are cause the pump to work too hard. Are the lines clean?

 

[Snoopy 67]

Dosing Kalkwasser????

 

[bboz13]

I would be frustrated too, no reason any pump or powerhead shouldn't last years.

How do you clean them?

I disassemble them and remove the impeller just to wipe off any gunk on them. They are usually pretty clean seeing that they only last in the tank a few months. I'll then clean out any sponges (if they have them) and remove gunk off of the outer assembly.

 

[bboz13]

Dosing Kalkwasser????

No Kalkwasser. Just BRS calcium and alkaline solutions.

 

[bboz13]

Do you use the same tubing each time. Perhaps the bends on the tubing are cause the pump to work too hard. Are the lines clean?

This was my initial suspicion and still an area of suspicion for me. I have an Innovative Marine 30L that has two outlets going into the display from the back sump. I only use one pump though and they split off at a T junction at the top of the tubing which is making me believe that maybe that's creating too much pressure at the top of the tubing? And yes the lines are clean without obstruction.

 

[Snoopy 67]

Give the impeller & chamber a good cleaning with Vinegar & a brush for about 5 minutes & rinse.
DO NOT let it stand in there for any length of time.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Where do you live? Is there a chance you have dodgy electricity ?

 

[bboz13]

Where do you live? Is there a chance you have dodgy electricity ?

I don't lose power very often if that is what you are referring to. In terms of whether or not my power source within my house is surging or not, I would assume no because the only thing in my house being damaged is the pumps.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

A guy from India was having issues with his pumps and at first he made it sound like everything was fine and then he got out he was having issue with electricity provider.
So we can count out the dodgy electric, do you have lots of very tiny snail that only come out when the lights are on?

 

[bboz13]

A guy from India was having issues with his pumps and at first he made it sound like everything was fine and then he got out he was having issue with electricity provider.
So we can count out the dodgy electric, do you have lots of very tiny snail that only come out when the lights are on?

I have noticed very small snails in the tank at times in the past, yes. Not many but they are there.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Those little snails has been a nuisance in my tank and with my skimmer pumps, check to see if they are getting in there.

 

[jda]

Nobody wants to hear this, but buy a better pump. Sicce usually last - no idea what is up with those. Jaebo are junk and while some have them last a while, many do not. DC pumps are just not as reliable as they should be.

Tunze, Laguna and many others last for many years and need no maintenance or cleaning.

 

[bboz13]

Nobody wants to hear this, but buy a better pump. Sicce usually last - no idea what is up with those. Jaebo are junk and while some have them last a while, many do not. DC pumps are just not as reliable as they should be.

Tunze, Laguna and many others last for many years and need no maintenance or cleaning.

The Jebao was a temporary buy until I figured out the problem to go ahead and invest in something nice without just blowing another pump. The three Sicce pumps dying within a year was what gave me pause seeing that they are highly recommended. It’s mainly what is making me think there is something else wrong.

 

[jda]

I only use AC Sicce pumps. They last. Was it a DC line that maybe had bad controller or something? Even Sicce DC pumps have ended up not being all that reliable.

 

[jda]

If you use the screens for the pump, there is not much that can get in there to ruin a pump. Tiny things can scar the impellers and make them a bit noisy, but they usually work just fine.

 

[bboz13]

I only use AC Sicce pumps. They last. Was it a DC line that maybe had bad controller or something? Even Sicce DC pumps have ended up not being all that reliable.

I only owned their AC line. Sicce 1.5s.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I disassemble them and remove the impeller just to wipe off any gunk on them. They are usually pretty clean seeing that they only last in the tank a few months. I'll then clean out any sponges (if they have them) and remove gunk off of the outer assembly.

Clean the inside of impeller shaft with tube brush and assure no snails shells ot other debris is in the shaft

 

[bboz13]

Clean the inside of impeller shaft with tube brush and assure no snails shells ot other debris is in the shaft

I have yet to find debris in the impeller when I go to investigate why they fail which is what really confuses me. It makes me believe that they’re overheating maybe? But why I have no idea