Pump issue...

[jadams7]

Alright, I am mid-setup of my new tank. It has a closed loop setup, which is my first experience with these. I have everything plumbed properly, and everything is ready to go, but the pump for the closed loop isnt working. http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/images/smilies/scratch.gif

The pump is a reeflo snapper.

The pump just made a humming noise like it is not turning over. So I took all of the plumbing apart, got the pump back out of there, cleaned everything thoroughly, and after putting the pump back together, i plugged it in for a second and it seemed to be working fine.
I then spend another hour retrofitting it back into the stand, reconnect all of the plumbing, and so on, then turn on the pump and it is making the same humming noise, even though it worked fine just a few minutes before.



Anyone have any insight on what I could do (outside of throw the damn thing out of the window, which is looking more and more like a possibility, haha). Is there any trick to 'jump-starting' these pumps, or most external pumps for that matter? I have not used an external since I first started in the hobby, so excuse my ignorance if there is something obvious I am missing here...

[coralreefer]

Sounds like you got a valve shut somewhere. Are all your valves open?
(scratch)

[jadams7]

yep they are all open, do i need to start it dry then let the water in?

[coralreefer]

you shouldn't have to dry fire it unless you have too much back pressure, which again, (I hear you) would mean something is closed somewhere and should be open.

[fishmanmike01]

Did you prime all the plumming? "fill with water"

[Smann]

Sounds like it has air in the line or pump and it just cant get going

[chewie]

Is it brand new?

That's kind of what they do if they're worn out.

[coralreefer]

Good thought...must have "water" circuit loop. Air "pockets" can create blockages.

[Algae]

I agree.
Sounds like a priming/airlock problem to me.

[jadams7]

Yea I think the air in the tubes was the issue. I previously had cleaned everything pretty thoroughly, and after taking the pump out again, then putting it back in, I realized that it was the air pressure that was the issue. Long story short, everything is up and running great now, and I will be making a new tank thread here soon!
Thanks for all the help everyone!

[Lowman]

Yea I think the air in the tubes was the issue. I previously had cleaned everything pretty thoroughly, and after taking the pump out again, then putting it back in, I realized that it was the air pressure that was the issue. Long story short, everything is up and running great now, and I will be making a new tank thread here soon!
Thanks for all the help everyone!


That pump was brand new when it went on that tankk back in November. I'm glad you got it working.