Has anyone had any problems with their Vortechs and snails wanting to go IN the wetside? I have had my 2nd shaft snap in two because of this...I think. The first time, the whole wetside started spinning and thought all it needed was a cleaning only to find out that the shaft had broke. The second time, I came home in the morning and the wetside was at the bottom of my tank. This time the shaft was visibly bent and was out of balance which made a loud thuddering sound.

Both times I have had the wetside replaced quite quickly by the service dept. I do not use the foam that comes with the pump, but I think I will try that after both instances. Does it hamper the output of the pump?

I will expirment with some netting at the output side of the pump and some tie-wraps to keep those boogers out. I'll keep yall posted...