organism
11/15/2009, 09:10 PM
I found out relatively recently that certain submersible Gen-x pumps can NUKE your tank, due to manufacturing defects that the manufacturer refuses to address regarding a metal plate usually sticking out of the back of the tank that's supposed to be epoxied in. But isn't. I just checked one at a wholesaler's a few weeks ago and their pumps STILL have these defects, and have had them for over 4 years!
http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/pump.jpg
http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/pump2.jpg
http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/pump3.jpg
If you have submersible Gen-x pumps IMMEDIATELY inspect the back of the pump for rust. There is a plastic cover on the back that is easily removable.
One day while the floor was wet I put my hand into my tank, and zapped myself pretty good. I bought a voltimeter from Home Depot (best $10 I ever spent by the way), and found a stray 5v shooting through that tank. Interesting. I traced it down to a Gen-x 6800 series submersible pump, and while pulling the pump out of the water for inspection it dumped about 2 gallons of pure brown water into my tank and onto the floor.
I was not enthused.
I pulled off the back pump cover and found what the picture on the top shows. I checked my other farm system for stray current, and it all traced back to submersible Gen-x pumps. 4 out of the 6 Gen-x pumps in that farm system were corroded beyond belief. The stray current was gone, and over the next week the corals improved dramatically while algae growth stopped. Within two weeks most of the algae was dead, and I was seeing polyp extension on some Acroporas that I hadn't seen in nearly a half of a year.
Check your pumps!
http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/pump.jpg
http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/pump2.jpg
http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/images/pump3.jpg
If you have submersible Gen-x pumps IMMEDIATELY inspect the back of the pump for rust. There is a plastic cover on the back that is easily removable.
One day while the floor was wet I put my hand into my tank, and zapped myself pretty good. I bought a voltimeter from Home Depot (best $10 I ever spent by the way), and found a stray 5v shooting through that tank. Interesting. I traced it down to a Gen-x 6800 series submersible pump, and while pulling the pump out of the water for inspection it dumped about 2 gallons of pure brown water into my tank and onto the floor.
I was not enthused.
I pulled off the back pump cover and found what the picture on the top shows. I checked my other farm system for stray current, and it all traced back to submersible Gen-x pumps. 4 out of the 6 Gen-x pumps in that farm system were corroded beyond belief. The stray current was gone, and over the next week the corals improved dramatically while algae growth stopped. Within two weeks most of the algae was dead, and I was seeing polyp extension on some Acroporas that I hadn't seen in nearly a half of a year.
Check your pumps!