Proper skimmer pump cleaning and inspection

twilliard · Dec 28, 2016

Hi guys and gals!

It's time to add another section to my skimmer mechanics. We all have faced problems at some point with our skimmers. Sometimes we tend to overlook the reasons as to why. Skimmers are basic functions of mechanics and fluid dynamics.

I covered the first area of inspection here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/skimmer-problems-here-is-the-first-area-to-inspect.280457/

Now I will get more into detail of the second part of inspection. The heart of the skimmer.

For this I am explaining one of the most commonly used styles of pumps. The needle wheel. This is a standard 110v mag pump as even the DC pumps still utilize the same concepts of mechanics.

First the pump:

Just the basic venturi needle wheel pump. This particular skimmer uses this pump externally which is important because heat will play a role in cleaning frequency.

Here is the magnet assembly removed. Make sure no pieces get misplaced.

Now we will be looking at magnet cooling. Yup pumps use hydraulic pressures from the rotor to move water. The screwdriver is pointing to the grove that follows the length of the rotor. Make sure this gets cleaned out. If this groove get full of skimmer garbage the magnet assembly will overheat and split. This groove is KEY to keep cleaned out. Even after soaking a pump, garbage will still be left in this.

Inspect the rotor assembly for cracks and abnormal wear. As solid deposits build up in the housing it will wear against the magnet and can cause an unbalanced rotor if too much wear has been done. This makes for a noisy pump! You can see here on this magnet that there is slight wear at the bottom.

Next we have the ceramic shaft. When the rotor gets hot calcium buildup occurs on the shaft which drastically slows the assembly down. Here you can see me cleaning (scraping) the shaft off.

Now take the shaft and slide it in and out of the magnet several times as buildup can even occur within the wall of the magnet. Make sure it slides and spins freely.

Now where one of the problems that happens with these pumps is installing the pump intake. The rubber shaft mount has a tendency roll out of place causing the shaft to not be centered. I have found it to be simple by putting the rubber mount on the shaft first and not the intake cover.

Now you're ready to rock and roll again!

If the shaft is in the correct position with the rubber mount it will run like a champ once again

Thank you R2R!

-Todd

Cory · Dec 28, 2016

Thanks for the write up. No vinegar soak? I wouldnt be scraping that ceramic shaft they break so easy.

revhtree · Dec 29, 2016

Great info once again! Thanks for sharing!

Forsaken77 · Dec 29, 2016

My Aquamaxx skimmer doesn't even have a ceramic shaft that comes out. Where does that even go? I have the Cone-S Q2 skimmer

twilliard · Dec 29, 2016

It's a mag pump and should have a removable face by looking at the pump pictures.

GoVols · Dec 29, 2016

Forsaken77 said:
My Aquamaxx skimmer doesn't even have a ceramic shaft that comes out. Where does that even go? I have the Cone-S Q2 skimmer

Do you see the shaft on his picture #6 and impeller below in the same shot.
Look at picture #7, he's holding up the impeller with all the parts back in there place.
The shaft goes through the center hole of the plastic / magnet impeller.

twilliard · Dec 29, 2016

GoVols said:
Do you see the shaft on his picture #6 and impeller below in the same shot.
Look at picture #7 he's holding it up all put back together in one moving piece.
The shaft goes through the center hole of the plastic / magnet impeller.

Thank you it has been a busy day!
Yes most all pumps have a shaft. It is key to make sure the magnet spins freely. I have had the magnet seize on the shaft before destroying the end mounts.
*Most all failures are due to excessive heat*

GoVols · Dec 29, 2016

With that said I've

twilliard said:
Thank you it has been a busy day!
Yes most all pumps have a shaft. It is key to make sure the magnet spins freely. I have had the magnet seize on the shaft before destroying the end mounts.
*Most all failures are due to excessive heat*

I've had precipitation build up before from my own fault in dosing incorrectly and if you didn't know better you'd think it was all one piece.
Had to soak the entire impeller assembly in vinegar to free the shaft from the impeller.

twilliard · Dec 29, 2016

GoVols said:
With that said I've

I've had precipitation build up before from my own fault in dosing incorrectly and if you didn't know better you'd think it was all one piece.
Had to soak the entire impeller assembly in vinegar to free the shaft from the impeller.

Yup I had a skimmer pump do that exact same thing. What a hassle! I ended up breaking the shaft trying to free it.
This is also true with powerheads. Clean up the rotating assembly and you will see increased water flow.

GoVols · Dec 29, 2016

twilliard said:
Thank you it has been a busy day!
Yes most all pumps have a shaft. It is key to make sure the magnet spins freely. I have had the magnet seize on the shaft before destroying the end mounts.
*Most all failures are due to excessive heat*

+1
If the shaft is spinning as one part to the impeller it's bad news (Damage) and the skimmer wont be running at peak performance.

Thanks for taking the time to write this article, it was a good refresher for myself

Forsaken77 · Dec 29, 2016

GoVols said:
With that said I've

I've had precipitation build up before from my own fault in dosing incorrectly and if you didn't know better you'd think it was all one piece.
Had to soak the entire impeller assembly in vinegar to free the shaft from the impeller.

That's what I thought mine was, one piece. Because I've completely broken it down many times and the impeller doesn't seem like it comes apart. It has bushings that go on both ends of that shaft, but I don't think my shaft comes out (only if she wants it to ). Unless someone with an Aquamaxx Q-series skimmer can confirm that. It's their newest line of skimmer and I've never seen a replacement part for that on this model skimmer. I could very well be wrong, but do they make 1-piece impellers? It's a Sicce Shark 2.0 "modified" pump.

I just actually did my monthly breakdown cleaning so I'm not pulling it out again (just can't help myself).

GoVols · Dec 29, 2016

Forsaken77 said:
That's what I thought mine was, one piece. Because I've completely broken it down many times and the impeller doesn't seem like it comes apart. It has bushings that go on both ends of that shaft, but I don't think my shaft comes out (only if she wants it to ). Unless someone with an Aquamaxx Q-series skimmer can confirm that. It's their newest line of skimmer and I've never seen a replacement part for that on this model skimmer. I could very well be wrong, but do they make 1-piece impellers? It's a Sicce Shark 2.0 "modified" pump.

I just actually did my monthly breakdown cleaning so I'm not pulling it out again (just can't help myself).

Just from my past experience: The the bushings hold the shaft in place so the shaft does not spin. The impeller spins around the fixed shaft. If your shaft is spinning with the impeller it's not good. The ends of the shaft should not be spinning inside the bushings.
JMO... There could be new impeller design I have have not seen yet. I ran a Aquamaxx HOB-1 for two years. Great skimmer. At the time it came with a Shark pump which was really a Sicce for Aquamaxx.

Bruce Burnett · Dec 29, 2016

GoVols said:
Just from my past experience: The the bushings hold the shaft in place so the shaft does not spin. The impeller spins around the fixed shaft. If your shaft is spinning with the impeller it's not good. The ends of the shaft should not be spinning inside the bushings.
JMO... There could be new impeller design I have have not seen yet. I ran a Aquamaxx HOB-1 for two years. Great skimmer. At the time it came with a Shark pump which was really a Sicce for Aquamaxx.

There are a number of pumps sold that the ceramic shaft does not come out of the magnet assembly. The shaft spins in special bushings at each end.

JP79 · Dec 30, 2016

I give the pin and wheel a cleaning every couple months. But I clean the sump in a vinegar bath twice a year. Nice write up. Good maintenance and clean equipment is key here kids.