Problems with Koralia Phs?

[azfishgal]

Has anyone else had problems with their Koralia powerheads? I LOVE the flow of these powerheads and just about everything about them, BUT I have had 2 in the past year that have just stopped working and today it happened again to a #4 powerhead. I have sent one back for a new replacement, and I will be sending the last two back, but I'm getting tired of them breaking. Is it just me, or does anyone else have this problem?

 

[kevin34]

I had a #2 that just wouldnt turn on when I plugged it in. So I kept plugging it in and then unplugging and eventually it started working. I had a #3 completely stop working so I took it would, took apart the propeller and there was 1 grain of sand in there. Thats it. Took that one grain out and it worked fine. So if thats all it takes to make them stop working try taking them apart and looking to see if there is something in there.

 

[azfishgal]

Ya, I've taken two of those Karalias apart because they were not working, so I will certainly do that again with this #4. Will have to wait until my husband get's home so he can lift the canopy up so I can pull the wire out from under it.
Oh, and guess what?! I put a Koralia #2 ph in my DT, to give some kind of water movement until I can get the #4 working and you guessed it, IT'S NOT WORKING!!!!! What is going on with these things.
I'm about ready to give up on the Karalia phs, so what other phs are good to have? I have a 6' long tank, 125 gallons, and I do have some SPS. Any ideas?

 

[teresaq]

I have two maxijet 1200s with the gulfstream retro kits, and love them.
Though---- I did have a problem with them also stopping. I had to replace the impellers. They were over a yr old

 

[angler man]

Originally Posted by azfishgal
http:///forum/post/2592437
Ya, I've taken two of those Karalias apart because they were not working, so I will certainly do that again with this #4. Will have to wait until my husband get's home so he can lift the canopy up so I can pull the wire out from under it.
Oh, and guess what?! I put a Koralia #2 ph in my DT, to give some kind of water movement until I can get the #4 working and you guessed it, IT'S NOT WORKING!!!!! What is going on with these things.
I'm about ready to give up on the Karalia phs, so what other phs are good to have? I have a 6' long tank, 125 gallons, and I do have some SPS. Any ideas?

Tunze and Vortechs, but you're going to cry when you find out how much they are!

 

[azfishgal]

Well, I was able take it apart and clean the Impeller, and put it back together. It still would not start. I tried jump starting it by giving the Impeller a push (not with my finger) and it would go, but only for about 5 second, then it would stop again. I would try it again and after a few pumps it would start, but again, only for about 5 seconds. This is so frustrating, because I don't know if I can find the receipt to send it back.

If that is not bad enough, I also tried cleaning out the #2 ph (my back-up, which if you remember is not working either) and while taking it apart I snapped the Impeller holder in two (the small plastic rod).

With having issues for the past two months with my calcium/Mag and Alk and now this..........I'm about ready to just sell my entire set up and be done with it.

Maybe I can ask the family for a Tunze ph for Mother's Day, and forget about my Dooney and Bourke hand bag.

 

[azfishgal]

I managed to get my #2 working. As I looked around for my extra parts and broken phs I found two metal shafts that I was able to replace the cheap ceramic one with. It's now in the DT. Not near the flow as my #4 but at least it's something.
Tomorrow I will soak the #4 in vinegar and give it a good cleaning. Hopefully it's just some crud messing with the Impellar getting good contact or something, because the motor itself is running, and like I said, the impellar does spin if I push down on it, but it stops soon after.
Thanks again for everyone's feedback. I really do appreciate it.

 

[azfishgal]

The culprit, a tiny bit of coraline on the metal shaft. After soaking the power head in white vinegar, it still would not work. I then noticed the impeller was sticking to the steel shaft. So after a tough pull I was able to pull the shaft out and noticed what you see below. I remembered I had an extra one taped to a box from the last one I had replaced. After putting the ph back together with the new shaft it started right up!

So my tank is in harmony once again.......well, sort of. Still need to get the Calcium and Alk balanced, but that's another thread.