Am I abusing my pump??
- Thread starter crablegs
- Start date
mr . salty
Active Member
RIO pumps are well known for failing.And not restarting after shutting them down.I think you are flirting with disaster just by using one of these pumps as your main return in the first place.Then your just doubling your chances of a failure by shutting it down and restarting it twice a day.I really dont see the need to shut it down when feeding.Plus you should only be feeding once a day....
broomer5
Active Member
Well I guess I'll reply to this - even though I'm going against the norm, and will probably get ganged up on for stating this.
I have a Rio2100 on my 55 reef.
I've heard some of the horror stories from others on this board regarding Rio's, but so far to date I have experienced nothing unusual with mine.
I also turn mine off when feeding. On my 55 gallon tank, much of the food is lost to the overflow and prefilter if I let the return pump run at feedings - so I shut it off.
I do this once a day, and have done so for the last year with no complications.
As you've probably noticed crablegs, when you're cleaning the pump, there's really not much to these pumps. A motor housing and an impeller assembly is the working parts of most pumps. If you notice some build up of gunk, clean the shaft and housing with a small brush.
You will not "hurt" the pump by turning it off and on, but as Mr. Salty mentioned, if you do happen to have one that was not manufactured correctly, or is defective, you may experience a lock up.
In my opinion - it would better to force this lock up to occur by performing a daily on/off routine, than to blindly assume it is running fine, only to have it lock up on a power loss when you were not around.
Only my opinion -
By the way LOL - I recently purchased another brand of pump for my 55 tank/sump.
Usually there is much truth to these horror stories, and I'd rather be safe than sorry
I have a Rio2100 on my 55 reef.
I've heard some of the horror stories from others on this board regarding Rio's, but so far to date I have experienced nothing unusual with mine.
I also turn mine off when feeding. On my 55 gallon tank, much of the food is lost to the overflow and prefilter if I let the return pump run at feedings - so I shut it off.
I do this once a day, and have done so for the last year with no complications.
As you've probably noticed crablegs, when you're cleaning the pump, there's really not much to these pumps. A motor housing and an impeller assembly is the working parts of most pumps. If you notice some build up of gunk, clean the shaft and housing with a small brush.
You will not "hurt" the pump by turning it off and on, but as Mr. Salty mentioned, if you do happen to have one that was not manufactured correctly, or is defective, you may experience a lock up.
In my opinion - it would better to force this lock up to occur by performing a daily on/off routine, than to blindly assume it is running fine, only to have it lock up on a power loss when you were not around.
Only my opinion -
By the way LOL - I recently purchased another brand of pump for my 55 tank/sump.
Usually there is much truth to these horror stories, and I'd rather be safe than sorry
crablegs
Member
Thanks for the input guys...yeah I have the same problem as you broomer5, I have some tiny false percs and when I put food in that's small enough for them a lot of it goes down the overflow. The Rio was the only thing the LFS had in stock and I needed it right away, I'm thinking of buying a Mag700 in the near future and keeping the Rio as backup...do you guys have any experience with that pump?
webnstuff
Member
Ok,
heres my 2 cents worth as well. I have used a mag 500 in the past(currently running protein skimmer). I am now running a mag 1200 as my main return at about 1000 gph after head pressure. These have been fairly quiet, and very dependable. Both are submersed in the sump. The only thing I have noted, is that if they are not "sitting just right" you get a little vibration.
Hope this helps!
heres my 2 cents worth as well. I have used a mag 500 in the past(currently running protein skimmer). I am now running a mag 1200 as my main return at about 1000 gph after head pressure. These have been fairly quiet, and very dependable. Both are submersed in the sump. The only thing I have noted, is that if they are not "sitting just right" you get a little vibration.
Hope this helps!
tanker newbie
Member
hey crabs i usta do the same thing when feeding, because my flakes was getting sucked up by the over flow causeing me to need to put more for the fish to eat, i put an old power head i had lying around on the over flow faceing the other direction so now flakes hardly get sucked up any more