Pump Dying?

ragin_cajun · Dec 20, 2014

I have 2 Laguna 2400's, and dual Herbie drains. I set the gate valve so it runs quiet, wait a few minutes, and I get noise from water falling in tbe emergency. Few minutes later, it's quiet again, trickle in tbe emergency. And tbe level in tbe sump is a little higher.

Only thing that can cause that is change in pump output. So if tbe pump varies output like that, is it going out? I can't have this, it's keeping my wife awake. And if she's awake, she keeps me awake griping!

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DDK · Dec 20, 2014

When was the last time you cleaned it and how does the impeller look?

bbortko · Dec 20, 2014

I experience this on occasions and 8th usually one of 2 things. First is the sump level is higher than normal or the socks are dirty, my drains are submersed so deeper the submersion the slow the drain. Second is I'm just a hair off of being dialed in, you mat be extremely close to being dialed in and it takes time for the overflow to become too high and dump into the emergency and every so often the emergency will take a big pull of water causing the level to drop to a quiter level then slowly rebuild again.

duanes · Dec 20, 2014

Does it appear from the water output to the tank, that the power/flow, is slowing and speeding up?
This could be the pump, and if so, a thorough cleaning inside the volute (impeller cover), and on the impeller may be needed.
Has a strand of plant fiber worked its way around the impeller shaft?
Or has a grain of sand or tiny snail become lodged between the impeller, and/or where the shaft meets the volute? Either of these can cause damage or make the impeller work intermittently. A slight wobble can in time destroy both.
Have you tried brushing out the 1st drain? sometimes debris can build up over time slowing flow until it fills enough to intermittently release water. I find I need to brush out my drain lines every couple weeks with along handled brush clear clumps of plant matter built up when a snail ends up in the pipe.
I also exercise any partially opened influent valves at least weekly to prevent build up where ball holds back flow.
Or as bborko said about being perfectly dialed in.

Sarmo · Dec 20, 2014

I agree with what duanes said, don't forget to check the drains too.. snails, debris, anything could make a difference in the flow. you may also have something in the pipe from the pump to the tank....
plumbing is so much fun!!

mudbuttjones · Dec 20, 2014

Having a consistent level in the sump helps a little. Depending how high the water level is in the sump it can change the pressure that the pump is being subjected to and cause slight variations in output, not enough to notice, unless your balancing your drain to your pump with a gate valve. So if you have an extra inch of water in the sump after a water change, that can totally throw everything off and require readjustment. Also as mentioned before the height of the drains submerged changes the flow rate significantly.

I went beananimal style and drilled a third hole in my 90g tank. I haven't touched the gate valve since ive set the tank up. I highly recommend this method.

hackjob of the year

If your running dual overflows you could always just run the return over the back and utilize one or more holes as redundant drains. I spent a whole month tinkering with my tank and flow testing it before I bit the bullet and drilled a third hole. The herbie drove me nuts. Any little thing would throw it outta whack.

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ragin_cajun · Dec 20, 2014

Thanks ya'll. I'm gonna watch it real close tonite, and find something to run down tbe drain lines tonite, too.

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ragin_cajun · Dec 21, 2014

I think something got stuck in tbe gate valve. I moved it totally in and out a few times, and it started acting right again? Sounds like an air bubble still caught up though. Like a marble in there now. WTF?

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mudbuttjones · Dec 21, 2014

How far is your herbie drain submerged in the overflow?

This is my favorite resource on the subject

http://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-reef-tank-plumbing-method-basics/

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ragin_cajun · Dec 21, 2014

Yeah! Mine is not 6 inches or lower than tbe emergency drain. More like 3-4 inches below right now. It was higher, like 2 inches lower than tbe emergency, but I had some issues, cut it lower and it helped. I saw this article, but I couldn't bring myself to cut the Herbie 6 inches lower cause of all the water that would fall in the sump during a power outage.

I'm waiting on carbon block filter for my ATO. When that comes in, and I run my drip line, I'm gonna reconsider cutting the Herbie shorter.

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Pump Dying?

ragin_cajun

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