Help! Rio pump not pumping

[b0lingball]

My Rio 1800 connect to my in-sump protein skimmer is not pumping. I don't think the pump is defective. Does anyone have any idea why its not pumping? Is there a certain water level that has to be above the pump in order for it to work? Thanks!

[neubauer16]

did the power either go out or surge lately? try taking it apart and cleaning it. how old is it too? no there is no certain water level that needs to be above the pump. i've been using rio pumps for years now and never had one blow up on me. just try cleaning it.

-jon

[drock59]

here is how to fix the problem! 1. take pump and throw in trash. 2. Get online get any pump that is not a RIO.

[neubauer16]

i have to defend rios here. i have one that i've been using for almost 2 years now and with minor maintenece has worked fine since the da i bought it. i am also using them on all of my other tanks and they work fine.

-jon

[mdrsailor]

I run a rio with a Remora Pro surface box and since this remora is very sensitive to water levels, every now an then I find my pump running almost totally dry. And when I adjust the water level, it pumps just like the first day I bought it. Maybe I am just lucky but I don't think that most pumps would tolerate even half of what I am doing to this poor rio :)

[odyssey1]

has the pump been it the sump long? you need to take the pump out periodically to clean arund the magnet and the propeller. My guss is that it is just locked up. Pull it out of the sump and listen for a light buzzing if it is then it is locked up and needs to be torn apart and cleaned.

odyssey1

[odyssey1]

Rios are good pumps for someone on a tight bugget. But they dont make very good return pumps. They cant withstand the Head. I would recommend a 9.5 mag or quiet one for a return. You can pick one up for around 100.00 new.

[odyssey1]

If that one is bad and you want a new on I have one that I will sell you for 20.00.

[neubauer16]

i personaly believe that as long as you do regular maintence on it, like clean the magnet now and then, rio's will work great. the one that's been going for two years now is a rio 2500. i'm using it as a return for my 55. it has about 4ft of head pressure on it as well. just don't let them run dry. just like any other power head if they run dry they will eventualy burn up.

-jon

[NIXONNOXIN]

Just another data point: I have had very poor experiences with Rios. Especially if they're run intermittently, and not all the time. Out of 5 Rios total ever deployed, only two have worked for more than year.