anyone repaired a berlin skimmer pump?

[tableforglasses]

Hey I was just curious if anyone had any success or experience with repairing a berlin skimmer pump. My skimmer has not been working properly and I think that I have established that it is because the pump is not pumping water into the skimmer. Just curious if anyone had thoughts on repair?
thanks
sean

 

[hookedonreefs]

Sean - do what I did with my non-functioning turbo skimmer. Throw it out and get a real skimmer.
I played with my darn berlin turbo for MONTHS! I did all different setups. Oversized the pump... All to no avail. I then threw it out, and got a aqua c remora pro. I've been smiling ever since.
GL!

 

[gregvabch]

don't get me wrong, when my berlin turbo classic is working like it should, it can pull some muck out of the water. just seems like it's becoming a decent size pain in my *ss lately. i was BS'ing with the guy who owns a lfs in my area and he showed me the euroreef he's running on one of his tanks, it was pretty wicked.
anyways, what exactly is wrong with your pump? it's not working at all? have you tried cleaning the impeller and the housing out? i try to take my pump apart and clean it once a month or so. i don't really have a problem with the pump stopping, my problem lies in the airline clogging with salt creep. i've tried shortening and lengthening the tubing, it still finds ways to clog, on the average of once a week.

 

[tableforglasses]

well gregvabch
I have never taken the pump apart not sure I know how to...is it easy? Basically the pump does not seem to be pumping at all. I put it in a bucket full of water and the pump did not pump out any water so I figure it isn't pumping to the skimmer. I have had this thing really skim some muck off, but I have also had a lot of probs not sure that I would go with the berlin again, but it was cheaper than the euro and some others, but maybe I should have shelled some more dough out on it. Any other thoughts on fixing this pump?
thanks for the help guys
Sean

 

[hookedonreefs]

I agree - clean the pump. It's not hard at all. Just tug at it here and there, you'll find the weak spots.
GL
hooked

 

[tableforglasses]

thanks for the help guys. I took apart the pump even though I was kind of scared that I might break something, but I pulled everything apart that I could and found a piece of plastic was slightly cracked on the senter part of the pump that was causing it to stick, I removed the chip and put it back together and plugged it in and it started spitting out water again.
thanks again
Sean

 

[gregvabch]

hey good to hear. like i said, i usually try to take mine apart once a month, roughly, and clean everything/rinse under hot water. everything mechanical requires maintenance, just like getting oil changes and such for your car. glad you got it working again, saved you some cash.