I cannot catch a break!!!!!!!!

[mrhasan]

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!

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

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

[monkE]

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??

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

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

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

Originally Posted by monkE

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??

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.

[i have crabs]

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

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by i have crabs

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.

[Borderjumper]

How old were the pumps? Warranty maybe?

[kien]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

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!

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?

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by mike31154

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!

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

Originally Posted by kien

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?

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

[Coralgurl]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

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 ). 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.