Fire!!! or why I no longer like Rio pumps...

fender

fender

Active Member
This morning as I was getting ready to go to work, I heard a loud bubbling/gurgling sound coming from my tank. When I walked over one corner of the tank was boiling up with white smoke and my Rio 600 was on fire... underwater... I unplugged the pump and pulled it out of the water - the circuit breaker and/or GFCI didn't trip :(. There was black tar stuff on the surface and then all over my hands as I pulled the pump out. Inspection revealed a crack in the casing in the top of the powerhead - it appears to have overheated and split spilling it's contents into the tank. I removed a bunch of the goop and put in some carbon polyfilters (hard finding pet supplies at 7am...). I also removed the other Rio from the tank. :mad:
The inhabitants seem fine but I am going to do a water change. I am a little concerned about the tar - it appears to have all risen to the surface.
I have heard of this happening before with Rios but this is the first time I have had any real problems with one.:mad: In the pumps defense, there was alot of calcium buildup on it - it had been about 2 months since I last thoroughly cleaned it but still I never expected this.
 
saltymom

saltymom

Member
ohhmy gosh. I feel so bad for ya! Did u stay home from work because of it??
Good luck~ Please let us know what happens and if all your inhabitants are alright and everything!
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Ouch, thats got to suck big time.
Good move on the polyfilter, I have one left for emergancies myself.
I suggest the water change by removing as much surface water as possible to get the oil out.
Any chance of using a canister filter with polyfilter and carbon for aggresive filtering?
Thomas
 
fender

fender

Active Member
I went ahead and took a personal day at work - I want to make sure everything is safe and the wife wants me to double and triple check everything.
Thomas - I don't have a cannister. I have carbon in there now and have pulled off a bunch of surface water.
Xenia are pulsing, all the corals are open and the fishies are mad at me for not feeding them so it appears that everything is ok so far.
There was snail on top of the Rio when it went - I figured this guy was a goner for sure - but he is doing fine also.
I have been pretty fortunate in this so far, if I had left 5 mins earlier (I was on my way out the door) I am pretty sure I would have a huge mess, a dead tank and possibly worse. I am glad it happened while I was at home.
 
latino277

latino277

Member
Wow. I'm using 2 rios for my Aquafloat 1000 skimmer. I think its time for a change?????????
hope everything goes well with the clean up.
 
spinner

spinner

Member
I had this same problem about 3 years ago on my 180. One bad Rio 2500 in my sump and disaster ensued.
The fire can cause leeching of metals that do harm to corals, corraline, etc. My fish were unaffected, but corals were a totally different story.
However, I do not know how long my Rio had been leeching into system.
IMO, I would not only do heavy water changes frequently, but keep a close eye on your tank. If you see any stress, I'd try and get as many corals, etc. out of your tank until your system is once again stabilized.
I don't want you to think I am crying wolf, but this exact thing happened to me. It was less than fun.
Spinner
 
spinner

spinner

Member
BTW, I changed all of my pumps out immediately thereafter. And I now regularly change my pumps every 18 months or so.
Probably a little overkill, but better than another disaster.
Spinner
 
D

daniel411

Guest

Originally posted by fender
I don't have a cannister. I have carbon in there now and have pulled off a bunch of surface water.

If you want to try useing a canister filter, you're more than welcome to borrow one. I'll be heading down near that area this evening. I have a Magnum 350 and HOT Magnum in the garage.
Wow, its really a good thing you were able to catch that in time!
 
007

007

Active Member
. . . I have a new RIO 600 coming in today for my bak pak! Now I am hesitant . . . . .
:nervous:
 
robchuck

robchuck

Active Member
I'm glad you were able to catch the disaster as it unfolded. I was in the same boat about a year and a half ago when I caught my Rio 2500 return pump doing the same thing.
Taking similar precautionary measures as you are, I was able to avoid any deaths. The skimmer, polyfilters, and carbon did wonders, but I was also able to remove all of the oil by placing a cup parallel to the surface of the water, and submerging it so that only surface water entered. That took care of everything as the potential disaster unfolded, and performing 10% daily water changes for the next week, along with running carbon in a canister filter for a few days made it seem as if the event never happened.
Best of luck in recovering your tank's water quality, and sorry to hear that you had to join the "Rio Gone Bad" club.
 
007

007

Active Member
How old was the pump?
I am damn scared now to put the new RIO onto my Bak Pak. The original is going on two years without a hitch and I clean it regularly. I got a new one simply because the older one just wasnt performing as well any more.
The only reason I didnt go with a Maxi Jet is because I have the preskimmer which I really like and a MJ wont fit in there.
 
fender

fender

Active Member
Thanks for the offer Daniel411 but I think I have it under control. I have a couple HOT filters going now with polyfilters/carbon and another bag of carbon in my Bak Pak.
Tank is looking alot better and the corals appear to be ok.
RobChuck - I did the same surface/cup skimming thing too and got the vast majority of it. Still some small oilly looking spots but the carbon/poly appears to be soaking it up.
I think I caught it in the nick of time. House still has a burnt plastic smell.

007 - I believe this pump is about 2 years old. The other Rio was about 4 years (I got it used about 3 years ago).
This picture is bad but you can see the split and how the case bulged out.
 
fender

fender

Active Member
Here's a pre-skimmer I built for my Maxi - I was supposed to post them awhile ago but got distracted
 
007

007

Active Member
now do you have the 2 or the 2R?
CPR claims that the MJ 1200 cannot be used on the 2R and that the 900 is ineffective at best.
 
fender

fender

Active Member
Mine is the Bak Pak 2. IIRC I have a 900 on there, (it is covered in Coralline so I can't read the side). The 900 out performs the Rio in everyway.
 
007

007

Active Member
So does yours have the bio-bale chamber or the additional baffle?
How hard was it to work with acrylic and where did you get it at?
Your in Yspi right? I work at U of M so if its local I can stop after work.
 
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