salon_1928 Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me out on this one because I'm stumped. I have 2 brand new (about a month old) Aquaclear 70s on the back of my 52 gallon. Last week I found that the impeller had stopped spinning in one filter and it was no longer pushing water. When I inspected it all seemed fine. There didn't seem to be any buildup of note and when I plugged it back in it whirred to life. This morning when I got up and went downstairs check on the tank again I found it had happened again but this time with both motors. Again, nothing much of note when I inspected the motors and both are running just fine now. I did a big water change tonight so I used the opportunity to check the media. There was a little bit of waste in there but nothing that should adversely impact the filters. For the record I run a sponge, 2 pads of fine floss and a bag of Biomax on top in each filter. I have run this setup for years and have never had a problem - the flow out of each filter is excellent. One thing I suspected is sand getting in the filter. When I opened them up tonight though there was barely any in the filter - maybe a pinch in each. I've run Aquaclears for years and have never had this happen. I know they can have a bit of startup inertia if they're not completely clean but I've never seen one going from running to a dead stop while powered-up. That's why I suspect the problem might be power related - possibly the power bar I'm using or the outlet itself. I was thinking that if there was an interruption in power, it may be enough to stop the motors. So, what I've done so far is change the power bar and outlet. Has anyone else ever encountered this with an Aquaclear? Cheers, Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 One thing I suspected is sand getting in the filter. When I opened them up tonight though there was barely any in the filter - maybe a pinch in each. IME a properly placed single grain of sand can stop an AC impeller shaft dead in its tracks, even with the larger 110's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 happens all too often with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salon_1928 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Any thoughts on what I can do to mitigate? Sponge over the intake maybe? I was also thinking of shortening the intake tube... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 both sound like good options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CORVETTE Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 I also agree with power problems being part of cause i would plug a cheap clock into the power bar and watch to see it it starts flashing at some point. Could be a power interuption? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salon_1928 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 I don't think it was an interuption for the whole house (no clocks flashing anywhere...) - just that bar or outlet. My wife and I were discussing it and she seems to remember a computer workstation set up there when we moved first moved in and the fact that we moved everything to an adjacent wall. She suspects that we may have moved it because of a wonky plug. I don't remember but she could be right. At any rate, I'm going to try the clock radio trick... Cheers, Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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