HELP!!! Skimmer pump seized?

1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
Please help. :help: I cleaned my skimmer pump as per manufacturers instructions and I think it seized up. What can I do to fix it. Here's what is going on:
Added a chocolate chip starfish and coral banded shrimp yesterday. Went out for ice cream, came back and skimmer was overflowing (don't know if anything is related...no ice cream jokes
) I cleaned out collection cup several times and it kept overflowing. The riser pipe was all the way down. BTW, it is a Euro-reef CS6-2.
I read the instruction manual on cleaning pump, removed skimmer from sump, placed Sedra 5000 pump in a 5 gallon bucket 1 part white distilled vinegar/3 parts RO water for about 15 hours. Removed pump this morning, emptied vinegar solution, cleaned out bucket with paper towels and put pump back in with 100% RO water. No air bubbles!
Here's what I think...when I plugged the pump back in with just the RO water it shifted and the inlet moved up against the sidewall of the bucket (for no more than 2 seconds). Could this have seized it and what can I do to fix it?
Euro-reef is closed until Monday, no LFS sells this pump. Will my tank be okay if it runs without a skimmer for a week?
I found instructions on how to disassemble the pump, which I did but it still does not produce air bubbles.
PLEASE HELP, Thanks :help:
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
The skimmer won't produce bubbles in fresh water, it needs to be salt water. The dencities are different.
Does the impellar still turn? I doubt that a short time with no intake would burn it up.
Put it back in the sump and see what happens.....
Tim
 
1911_guy

1911_guy

Member
Tim,
Congratulations, you've succeeding in proving that I'm an idiot.

Thank you!!! Worked as advertised in the sump, using saltwater of course. I had no idea what the problem was. I knew one of you more experienced pros could help me out.
I was ready to ship that pump off and order another one, hoping my livestock could make it a week without skimming. My hat's off to you.

I raised the skimmer using eggcrate and PVC to help with it overflowing, the pump is superclean now too.
ZMAN1 Is your hose or the venturi clogged? This is where the air comes from....
The venturi and air tube are super clean now, I wonder if that is why it was overflowing. I ran some warm water through the tube earlier that day. Maybe it cleaned it out, causing more airflow, more bubbles....
 
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