Today i was telling a coworker of mine, who doesn't understand anything but video games, about the patience it takes when dealing with a reef tank. i spoke of things such as just making sure you take your time and pay attention to the details of the task. Things that came to mind were making sure the powerheads stay underwater so not to get a shower….
Tonight as I was doing a water change I was musing to myself at my fortune of not having any real mishaps in a quite some time. And this is with a serious dose of travel.
Now, this is not withstanding I don’t keep a crazy reef. I have some very hardy self sufficient creatures that enjoy their space. At least I hope they do…
tonight as I was doing the change, I was watching a movie, talking on the phone, and just wanting to be done.
Patience.
Forgot about that.
Forgot about the powerheads.
Forgot about watching the ratio of water out vs. water in.
And of course, forgot to unplug the return pump.
Thus emptying the sump and running the skimmer pump dry. Here in lies my newest challenge.
The pump in question is dolphin pump.
model - DP-560
115V/60Hz
35W
max flow rate 560GPH
max head 9ft
www.dolphinpumps.com
all would have been fine. I pulled the plug quickly. I knew it would be an issue to start it up again. I let it fill completely with water, stuck my finger inside gave the little wheel a spin…. Crossed my fingers, plugged it in…..
nada.
Took it apart, yadda, yadda, yadda…. Then I got the magnet stuck inside the wrong way…… and I’ll be damned if I can get the little bugger out….. (insert explicative here)
The pending issue:
As of this moment I am not in a position to get myself to a “stocked” reef outlet if you will. Or at least one that is decent or isn’t hella break the bank expensive. Unless you count the numerous petco’s.
This means no skimmer till something can be “had”. I’d say hopefully no more than 24 hours. I have added an additional powerhead 802 to the tank. in the photo below it is next to the overflow just over that annoying bushel of Kenya tree… and I plugged in the other powerhead 402 that is on the other side of the overflow.
That makes one 802 over the top of the leather in the corner, one 402 on that side of the overflow, one 802 on the other side of the overflow, and one not really well seen 402 right smack next to that. All but the last 402 (hard-line powered) are controlled by a wavemaster pro on the 2nd setting.
Thoughts? Enough flow for a 24 hour period? I know the ocean can go dark for several days, but the currents never stop flowing……..
Replace the pump, or fix the pump. She’s a minimum of 3½-4 years old.
Suggestions on a new pump?
Tonight as I was doing a water change I was musing to myself at my fortune of not having any real mishaps in a quite some time. And this is with a serious dose of travel.
Now, this is not withstanding I don’t keep a crazy reef. I have some very hardy self sufficient creatures that enjoy their space. At least I hope they do…
tonight as I was doing the change, I was watching a movie, talking on the phone, and just wanting to be done.
Patience.
Forgot about that.
Forgot about the powerheads.
Forgot about watching the ratio of water out vs. water in.
And of course, forgot to unplug the return pump.
Thus emptying the sump and running the skimmer pump dry. Here in lies my newest challenge.
The pump in question is dolphin pump.
model - DP-560
115V/60Hz
35W
max flow rate 560GPH
max head 9ft
www.dolphinpumps.com
all would have been fine. I pulled the plug quickly. I knew it would be an issue to start it up again. I let it fill completely with water, stuck my finger inside gave the little wheel a spin…. Crossed my fingers, plugged it in…..
nada.
Took it apart, yadda, yadda, yadda…. Then I got the magnet stuck inside the wrong way…… and I’ll be damned if I can get the little bugger out….. (insert explicative here)
The pending issue:
As of this moment I am not in a position to get myself to a “stocked” reef outlet if you will. Or at least one that is decent or isn’t hella break the bank expensive. Unless you count the numerous petco’s.
This means no skimmer till something can be “had”. I’d say hopefully no more than 24 hours. I have added an additional powerhead 802 to the tank. in the photo below it is next to the overflow just over that annoying bushel of Kenya tree… and I plugged in the other powerhead 402 that is on the other side of the overflow.
That makes one 802 over the top of the leather in the corner, one 402 on that side of the overflow, one 802 on the other side of the overflow, and one not really well seen 402 right smack next to that. All but the last 402 (hard-line powered) are controlled by a wavemaster pro on the 2nd setting.
Thoughts? Enough flow for a 24 hour period? I know the ocean can go dark for several days, but the currents never stop flowing……..
Replace the pump, or fix the pump. She’s a minimum of 3½-4 years old.
Suggestions on a new pump?
I have to admit, I didn't read your post the first time around because I was busy and it was pretty long 
