Prevent pumps from siezing up , from too much Calcium

acropora213 · #1 07/13/2006, 07:17 PM

How can I prevent allll My pumps eventually siezing up on me from too much calcium additions ???

I lose soo many pumps this way. Killed the impeller to a rio again this week, it was only used for extra flow though.

what gives ??? my Calcium is'nt even at 400ppm, I'd hate to see its wraith on the pumps if it was....

Thanx for the input

kozmo02 · #2 07/13/2006, 07:29 PM

well you need to clean them, a warm water and distilled vinegar bath works wonders on powerheads, just run them for about thirty minutes or so and then take them apart and rinse everything off and the calcium deposits usually come right off.

acropora213 · #3 07/14/2006, 08:44 AM

how often do all of you normally wash your pumps ??
For example, the little maxi jet went out on my reactor after two months.

reverendmaynard · #4 07/14/2006, 09:17 AM

2-3 months seems to be around the right time frame for maxi-jets.

RichConley · #5 07/14/2006, 09:42 AM

IMO, and IME, pumps dont seize up from too much calcium. THey seize up from having a bad balance of Ca and Alk. When they aren't in the right proportion, you get lots of precipitation anytime you add a balanced addative like Kalk.

Reefin' Dude · #6 07/14/2006, 09:50 AM

the warmer the pump runs the more often it needs to be cleaned.

G~

reverendmaynard · #7 07/14/2006, 10:02 AM

IMO, and IME, maxijets are just poorly designed and will sieze up eventually regardless of water chemistry.

jasper24 · #8 07/14/2006, 10:03 AM

I posted recently about 2 pumps of mine that I thought were shot. Turns out they just needed a good vinegar cleaning. Both had quit working all together. When I took the impellors out and cleaned the ceramic shaft in vinegar and water they started working again. I was told by a pump rep that the 2 part additives that go in the sump with pumps cause this to happen often.

reverendmaynard · #9 07/14/2006, 10:07 AM

Oh, for sure. I've never had one sieze up permanently. Vinegar and some manual manipulation frees it up eventually.

kevin gu3 · #10 07/14/2006, 11:36 AM

If you have a Tunze stream see the manual. I think they recommend running in vinegar water for a few hours every 6 months.

I think you can expect buildup on anything warm if your water is super saturated with calcium. Your pump's innards are pretty warm. I would do the above as regular maintenance if its a real problem for you.

SDguy · #11 07/14/2006, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RichConley
IMO, and IME, pumps dont seize up from too much calcium. THey seize up from having a bad balance of Ca and Alk. When they aren't in the right proportion, you get lots of precipitation anytime you add a balanced addative like Kalk.

My experiences found the same to be true. Also, make sure any additions you are making don't go directly into a pump - good way to precipitate.

Amphiprion · #12 07/14/2006, 01:19 PM

Even if calcium and alkalinity are in the proper proportions, you will still get precipitation because of the heat given off by the pump. There is no way around it short of having less of both in solution. Also, overdosing of any balanced additive will also increase the precipitation rate.

acropora213 · #13 07/14/2006, 05:32 PM

I snapped one of my ceramic shafts the other day because of this very buildup we're speaking of.
Im assuming in all makes, whether it be sedra, rio , hagen, maxi
the magnets are suppose to spin freely aroung the shaft correct ???

I was trying to tap the end of the shaft on the counter to free it from the magnet, but it would not give. Guess I should have soaked it first huh !

do they sell impeller shafts for Rio's all by themselves ??

acropora213 · #14 07/14/2006, 06:55 PM

Ceramic shafts ??

reverendmaynard · #15 07/15/2006, 07:32 AM

I don't know about other powerheads, but the pumps that are on Aqua Clear power filters don't use a center shaft that the magnet and impeller have to spin around. The impeller is fixed to the magnet, and the magnet just fits inside the hole in the pump. IMO, this is much less likely to sieze up.