I cannot catch a break!!!!!!!!
 

I don't know what is wrong with my tank but last weekend, a maxijet 1200 burnt and today, out of no where, when I was taking some photograph, the skimmer pump suddenly started to whiz and BURNT!!!!!!! I don't know why this is happening!!! It was connected to a reefkeeper pc4 module. My tank is seriously ****ing me off! What would have happened if both the time I wasn't home!

The fact you were home is pretty much as good a break as you'll get in this hobby :)

do you have filter socks on your sump?? maybe some sand or other small particles are getting in your sump and causing issues with your pumps??

Its like I am playing with fire. I was taking some photographs of my new coral and BAM the pump starts throwing smoke. Good that nothing got into the display. I am not afraid of every pump I put in my tank :S

I am not sure but if that can be an issue, there would be lots of burnt pumps since many people out there run pumps without any sort of filter sock/sponge. But I do have filter floss at the corner of the drain to grab floating particles.

Was the mj1200 in the water or ran as an external? I've had dozens of mj's and never had one fry like that

Internal like they should be.

How old were the pumps? Warranty maybe?

It was a 2nd hand skimmer. Dont know the age. MJ was 2nd hand too.

Anyone has any insight on why this might be happening?

Ya, they're used pumps that you have no idea how old they are. They do eventually break.

I think this is a very good assumption.

Any possibility that it might be linked to electrical outlet? I run everything through a power outlet.

I'm not electrician but are you running everything through a dollar store powerbar or smething or without a surge protector? Maybe you're getting some weird power surges through your power bar.

But I may have to side with Brad as with buying stuff used especially in this hobby you never know what you are getting so expect the worst.

Side note maybe go build up some karma points or something ...

The fact that they're second hand my play a part in this but myself i am thinking that there maybe an issue with the power

Nop I am using a powerbar bought from "source" which has surge protection. Despite being an electrical engineer, I am still confused whether or not it has anything to do with the power bar since (I maybe wrong) the "second hand" stuffs with low watt (20w) pumps got burnt.

If I may be so bold as to borrow from another thread:



You were obviously looking at your tank, that's a no-no.

Sorry, I had to :D

Confused, why? Something like a pump that runs 24/7/365 is going to fail at some point, usually randomly if there are no issues with your source power & everything is hooked up safely. In your case you had them fail within a rather short time frame, while you were home (which is a good thing, rejoice).

We tend to plug stuff in & trust that it will be fine for years without taking a bit of time to check the components out periodically by shutting them down & having a look at their condition. Since you have the electrical expertise, why not get a meter or power monitor (kill-a-watt) & compare the wattage measured to the wattage rating of your pumps. If there's a significant variance between measured & rated values, might be time to investigate further. Even without extensive electrical training, monitors such as the kill-a-watt are available from most reno/hardware stores for $25 or so. These allow you to monitor the voltage, current or wattage of an electrical device plugged into it. Most of them will also allow you to input your kw/hr cost & tell you approximately what the device hooked up to it is costing you. It's not going to solve all your problems & troubleshoot for you, but it's a worthwhile gadget to have around your home, not just for your fish tank. With the installation of smart meters in most areas of the country, power usage & quality monitoring becomes simpler & more devices are now available to take advantage of the new technology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_A_Watt

& you can take things a step further with something like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_energy_monitor

or go all out with one of these..
http://electroind.calls.net/?url=htt...ID=DrivenLocal

Alas, despite routine monitoring & scheduled maintenance, there will always be those rogue components that decide to fail at the most inopportune time. That's how it goes with sealed dynamic components that you can't see inside. Again, be happy you were home when the items decided to cook, so you did catch a break!

When you say wiz and burnt you mean the actual pump itself made this noise while in the water? That's loud if you could hear it. Did it send up smoke? Could you smell it? Or did it just simply stop working?

At any rate, as others have said, it was second hand so for all you know it could have been running for 10 years previously and possibly even abused (ie, run dry, etc). The bottom line is, you just don't know its history. I also like the theory of bad power go through your power bar. Perhaps swap it out for another one?

Yah I definitely consider myself lucky. Don't wanna imagine what you have happened if I wasn't at home.

This tank is proving to be more challenging to me than my 20 gallon (ironic? don't think so!) Maybe I am not ready for the expenses and maintenance of big tank. I am moving back to my old 20 gallon :)

I felt the same as you, going from my 55 gl to my 180 gl tank. The 180 threw everything at me except equipment crapping out on me. You had huge success with your small tank which I think surprised many of us as we watched your progress (well me anyway, shouldn't speak for anyone else :biggrin:). I shut my 55 down, then started it back up and it thrived once again, while I continued to struggle with the 180. Now my 180 is doing really well, not amazing, but is ticking along. It just takes time. The only used equipment I have on it is the return pump and a couple of koralias. Everything else was new.

I meant to pick up one of those meters a while ago, this thread is a good reminder to grab one. I also know what would happen to the tank if the return pump failed after I'd left for work, worst case, the DT would get a bit cool (winter) and my skimmer would go nuts (from high water level).

Anyway, give it some time.

Thanks for the warm words :D Well the thing is, being a student in a rented place and not yet settled in a independent house, the tank is proving to be too demanding; I know its just part of becoming matured (just like a kid growing up :P) but I feel like I am just not ready for it. Alongside, my mom is also saying to go back to my 20 gallon (in our culture, mom plays a big part in decision till one get married) and I really don't want to go against her (went against her with this bigger tank already since she was tell me not to go "that" big but yet I did). At this point, I am not really concerned about the cost but the livestock at stake. The 20 gallon was much more personable and looked more "full" than I can make this big one any time soon. So I have made my decision to go "high tech" (spend the money that I will get selling the big tank and stuffs) in my 20 gallon with "everything" new.

And I will be back to compete with the big tank hobbyist sometime ;) But for now, nano is my game :D