Euro Reef Skimmer Problem

[erikharrison]

I have a ER-RS135 with the sedra needlewheel pump. I just cleaned it. It's been loud for the past two days. I have noticed that most of the sound is reverberation, indicating that something just isn't right. I took it apart, and gave it a dry test run. It would lock up here and there, but I kept messing with it, and that has stopped. The reason I ran it dry was because I put it in a 5 gallon bucket with some water, turned it on and with the air hose connected, the flow is insanely low. If I plug the venturi, it moves more water than Moses. The needlewheel is missing some of the needles because they are brittle after being in salt so long, so they had been broken long before this cleaning. I had the inlet covered with some swim trunk lining which is porous enough not to affect the skimmers performance, yet still keep hermits and snails out. I check it everyday to make sure a random crab has not gotten stuck. Any ideas as to why this is occuring? It seems to function great apart, but when I put it back together it is lackluster. I have contacted EuroReef's technical support to see if I can get the needlewheel replaced, as they carry a lifetime warranty, but I am not sure if this is the whole problem.
Thanks In Advance.

[erikharrison]

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x315/erikharrison/Fish/ONOESMedium.jpg

WEAK.

[JimD]

How did it work before you screwed it up? lol... j/k.

[erikharrison]

It worked great lol. I can't afford to go skimmerless, I have a hefty bioload. :)

[JimD]

Wait and see what ER has to say and borrow one in the mean time.. Id love to have a look at that pump!

[matt]

Two quick things; one, the sedra pump is fairly noisy to begin with, but I guess you've had this one a while so it must have gotten noisier, right? Two, it's supposed to move alot less water with the venturi drawing air, in fact the DIYer's that are designing their own venturis are proud when they can cavitate (or even stall) a pump. Plus, if you're in a small bucket, you're recirculating the foamy water, adding more air, etc.

I guess you've tried to set up the skimmer again and it's not working right?

[erikharrison]

Ok, here is what the guy from ER said. He said that since I am trying this in a 5g bucket with FRESH water, that I will see very little bubble production in comparison to salt. He also told me that when you plug the venturi, you will get a ton of flow. I told him that this was my exact predicament. He said that since the pump is old, it could be the cause of the noise. While I was on the phone with him, I kept cleaning, paying special attention to the magnet portion. There is some wear on it at the base, I assume from sand, etc. I told him which needles were missing and he told me that this would affect the overall performance, but that I can use it in the interim. So far the prognosis is to change the needlewheel. I am running it right now in some FW and it is not as loud. I am going to pay special attention to where it resides in the sump as not to cause any excess vibration. What fun... :)

[Ed]

When I clean mine, I run it in a 5 gallon bucket with fresh water and vinegar for a few hours. Always seems to work better after that.

[JimD]

"He said that since I am trying this in a 5g bucket with FRESH water, that I will see very little bubble production in comparison"

Well ya didnt say you were testing it in FRESH water! Makes all the difference in the world... :Timeout:

[erikharrison]

haha, I know, I know. Sometimes those "little" differences make all the difference. All is good, and the ER is kickin' some major butt again. The annoying noise seems to have subsided as well. I did find a crack in the housing of the sedra. I superglued it. Not sure if that even makes a difference.

[apedroza]

Hey Erick I had the same problem with my sedra pump. You may want to change the magnetic shaft and needle wheel to avoid damaging the pump motor. Aquatek I believe carries replacement parts so you wouldn't have to wait for shipping

[erikharrison]

Well, it's back to very little bubble production as of this AM. GREAAAAAAAAT. :)

[TexasTodd]

Sounds like a good time to trade it up to the Ehiem. ;)

[erikharrison]

Ehiem makes a QUIET needlewheel pump that would work? Might you know off hand which one?

[TexasTodd]

Ask ER if they have one that fits or can retro. They're putting them on most new ERs.

My big skimmer I had first came with Sedra and Marcus traded them all out to Ehiems through ER.

Todd