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Old 03-31-2019, 08:52 PM
dusty16 dusty16 is offline
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Default Getting back on track

Hey guys,
Just looking for a bit of help on a few different things. I've been busy for a while and my dad has been looking after the tank. The fish are all fine but the corals seem to be suffering. At the same time, it seems like my equipment is all deciding to crap out too. So, I'm looking for some help to get the tank back into shape.

I have a vertex alpha 250. The pump no longer really works. Its 4 years old and is all nice and clean. While playing around with it I decided to give it a nudge (light tap with a mallet) which got it going again for a few days. I contacted vertex and a new pump costs $240 USD. Are there any better pump options or could this possibly be the impeller?

One of my wavemakers, the jebao rw-8 i believe, stopped working. The impeller wont turn but I can see it twitching. It has been all cleaned up. Is it time for a new one or a new impeller?

The most expensive problem, one of my radion gen 3 pro got some water damage from my ceiling exhaust fan. The chipset is damaged but everything else seems to be ok. I tried turning it on and one of the capacitors blew off. The light still turns on but thats it. Anyone know if this can be repaired? Know anyone that does repair? Ecotech does not sell replacement chipsets unfortunately.

Meanwhile the corals seem to be dying from their bases and not from the tips. The 2 RBTAs wont open more than an inch either. I have done multiple 25% water changes over the past couple weeks. Current tank parameters are:

pH: 7.72
Alk: 7.7
Posphate: 0.03
Mag: 1230
Cal: 350
Temp: 77

Nitrate testing kit was expired so I need to go grab a new one. I know parameters are on the lower end of what most reefers keep. Not dosing with anything right now. Tank is 290 gallons. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
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Old 03-31-2019, 10:08 PM
F.H F.H is offline
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I found with my old Jebao wavemakers that it would get too weak to start on its own... so after I plugged it in, I had to manually push the impeller a few times to get it sort of jump started. Once it got going then it would behave like normal. It only happened when I unplugged them, they would need a manual push/turn (using a chopstick or skewer or something) and would be fine as long as I didn't unplug them.

Give that a try, hopefully it'll resolve at least one of your headaches.
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Old 03-31-2019, 11:03 PM
dusty16 dusty16 is offline
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Unfortunately already gave that a try. I used to have an old hang on filter that I kept going for another 5 years with that method. Thanks for the idea though.
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Old 04-05-2019, 11:20 PM
dusty16 dusty16 is offline
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Anyone?
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Old 04-17-2019, 04:56 AM
hillegom hillegom is offline
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Is your other wave maker the same as the non functioning one? If so, switch impellers. Check the bad one to see if the magnet has swelled a bit from rust.
Are the clearances ok? sometimes the bearing wears out. Any deposits of calcium in the motor block?
If the impeller wants to turn, or as you say "twitching", then there must be a clearance problem, or a jam IMHO.
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Old 04-25-2019, 01:50 PM
SmallFry SmallFry is offline
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I have had similar problems twice with my skimmer (ancient EuroReef) and the solution (twice now) has been a new impeller (indecently expensive but cheaper than a new pump).
It seems that the magnet swells over time, even with no signs of rust, and starts binding on the inside of the pump - sometimes you can see light scoring on the magnet.
I've had the same issues with the Jebao wave makers too, but haven't tried new impellers in them since I didn't make the connection until about 5 minutes ago - duh!

One day I'm going to make a tiny lathe to turn down and then epoxy coat the magnets again - has to be worth it given the last impeller for the skimmer came in around $90 by the time I'd had it shipped and everything..
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Old 05-14-2019, 09:53 PM
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Craigdillman Craigdillman is offline
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Nitrate is a huge test that could point the finger on whats going on if all those are good and the nitrate is 30 then you will see everything you seeing
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Current tank---125 gallon mixed reef 60 gallon sump, Reef octopus nw200 skimmer, Rapid LEDs, Maxspec gyre, Mp10s, Fuge, Biweekly 20% WC, QT everything
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