Please Help me! - Return Pump

[RNall]

Will someone please help me out.

I just picked up a really nice stocked 215 gallon tank in Houston yesterday. when I picked it up, the return was really weak. It's a Mag18. The impeller is broken and the front housing that has the fitting adapters is broken as well.

I need a return asap! I have die off from the LR and fish that need to go into the tank.

I can't find any parts retail in SA. After spending the $$$ on this setup I do not have the funds to buy a brand new nice return either (especially when all I need is an impeller and front housing for the Mag 18.

If anyone has any Idea how I could get this guy running today or a loaner - something, I would appreciate it it very much.

If I can't find a return, I need to find a temporary home for the fish at least.

Please call me @ 210 677 5813. I will be out getting water and fittings for the next few hours.

Please help :(

Thanks,

Ron

[Ross]

Just use powerheads to keep the fish alive, and order a new impeller and overnight it....

[betiuminside]

I have a mag 24 sitting in my garage... you can use it.... but it is 1" FPT Inlet, 1" MPT Outlet... so I don't know if that helps....

I tried to call you but getting that your voice mail has not been set up yet.

So if you need it call me at 210.336.83.45

[Instar]

Texas Tropical and Marine has a MAG 18 in stock right now. Phone is (210) 341-3474.

Get this, then fix the other for a back up pump. You should always have back ups for important system parts.

Ross is right too, power heads like Maxijets to roll the water surface will save things on a temp setup/save.

[matt]

Not that you asked for this, but if the only water movement you have in a 215 is a mag 18, it's almost certainly not enough anyway. See if you can find a 6 pack of maxijet 1200s to tide you over and get a nice external circulation pump. The panworld pumps are terrific. In terms of ordering parts, try premium aquatics; they're usually really fast in getting stuff out in the mail. Forget about finding parts locally; probably the best thing is to follow Larry's advice and just buy the new one. It might be worth giving Felipe a call at Fin-addict and see if he has anything you can use to hold you over, in which case you'd want to order stuff from them.

[Instar]

Actually there are 2 ways to get pump parts in SA. One is to contact the manufacturer directly. Often they replace parts because they have recalled an item or had a poorly performing lot number and when they do these replacements its for free on occassion. Response time is a little long sometimes though.

The second way is to take the broken item to Alamo Aquatics. They are attempting to be a parts stock pile so people can fix a lot of things quickly. They may not have what you want this time, but, they do have a lot of parts in stock like impellors and odd fittings, etc. Taking a part to them that they don't have may prompt them to have it in stock for next time.

[RNall]

Thanks everyone for your help. I received numerous calls today.

Felipe @ Fin Addict was a godsend today. I was really stressing over the fish being bagged for so long and he offered to put them up at the store. He also gave me a loaner for a return pump. If any of you haven't checked his shop out, he is definitely worth visiting and has a good selection and prices. Not everyone goes out of their way to help like he has.

Moving the 215 from Houston was a real chore. I still have a lot of work to do. I have 4 or 5 powerheads running and all the LR and LS is in the tank now.

I need to find a good deal on an appropriate sized return and finish the plumbing on everyhting.

If any of you know of any great deals on a pump, please let me know.

Thanks again for all the help!

[Sherri]

Glad to see you've got things somewhat under control....good luck with the rest.

[matt]

As soon as the tunze nano streams come out (september, so they say) I'll probably sell my pan world 50 PXX. It's only a couple of months old; just too big for my corner tank. If you can wait until then send me a PM.