Tips and Tricks 101

[reefburnaby]

Hello Everybody,

Tip #1. Sealing your top rim of your tank. Usually a black plastic trim is placed on the edge of your tank to brace the tank and to prevent you from cutting yourself when you reach in to your tank. Take some silicone and seal the gap between the inside glass and the rim. This prevents bacteria and fungus from growing in the gap.

Tip #2. Extend life of Rios. I have Rio 800 pump and it seems to eat impelers for breakfast. The common failure point on my Rio is not the impeller blades, but the plastic shaft that keeps the impeller level. Once the shaft is worn out (takes 2 months), the impeller blades start to wobble, makes the pump very noisy, blades touch the Rio housing...bam...impeller blades are gone. So...I superglue the impeller blades to the plastic leveling shaft. This keeps the blades from smashing in to the housing.

Tip #3. Save your pumps. When running with high Ca and Alk levels, your pumps take a beating. Have two impeller assembles. One is always dipped in vinegar and the other is in use. Every month or so, exchange the impeller assembles. This will ensure that calcium deposits do not accumulate on your impeller and ensures your pump does not overheating due to impeller getting stuck.

- Victor.

[ 15 October 2001: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]