Bevo5 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Doing my weekly water change yesterday and all is going great until I try to fire up my return pump....notta. Nothing. Not even a tiny little hum of the motor trying to get going. So that's not good. Luckily, about two years ago I bought a backup and had it stored in the garage just waiting. Thirty minutes of minor plumbing and back in business. Just lucky though. Having to find a new internal pump at 1.5in output etc....under pressure to get everything going again - would've been stressful. SO - buy that backup pump now everyone. I already ordered a new backup. Related - it's a Jebao 12000. When I bought it, I wasn't really sure what kind of quality to expect. Well - it had been up running for about 40 months with MINIMAL routine cleaning. I mean minimal - like - just cleaning out the pre-filter. Quiet and moves a ton of water. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Always a good reminder. Usually what breaks for me is the one thing I don’t have a backup of. Probably just jinxed myself there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 I probably went a bit overboard, but I bought spares for most of the critical parts for my system, including my return pump, powerheads, and utility pumps. Rather than just keeping the spares on a shelf, I rotate them each time I do maintenance. This allows me to just swap out a pump quickly and then take my time cleaning the removed pump. i still need to get a spare Apex 2016 though. I’ve been hoping to find a used one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 1 hour ago, SuncrestReef said: I probably went a bit overboard, but I bought spares for most of the critical parts for my system, including my return pump, powerheads, and utility pumps. Rather than just keeping the spares on a shelf, I rotate them each time I do maintenance. This allows me to just swap out a pump quickly and then take my time cleaning the removed pump. i still need to get a spare Apex 2016 though. I’ve been hoping to find a used one. Surely OCD. But I love it That’s never a bad thing!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevo5 Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 10 hours ago, SuncrestReef said: I probably went a bit overboard, but I bought spares for most of the critical parts for my system, including my return pump, powerheads, and utility pumps. Rather than just keeping the spares on a shelf, I rotate them each time I do maintenance. This allows me to just swap out a pump quickly and then take my time cleaning the removed pump. i still need to get a spare Apex 2016 though. I’ve been hoping to find a used one. With the amount of money that is put into the livestock, it makes a lot of sense to take your approach. Definitely good to have heaters and pumps - the two things that will cause real issues when they crap out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 So awesome, great reminder to all! Spares make so much sense, highly encourage it. My last return pump went out while boarding an airplane. Tough for my dad to swap out, but he pulled it off. Based on that, I made some changes. Here is my latest setup. Instead of running active/passive (a backup pump), I run active/active. What?? Basically it means instead of one return pump and having a spare (active/passive), I run two (active/active). One to each seaswirl. Both running at 50%. If a pump goes out, the overflow start to make noise as it is draining faster than a single return pump can supply (great clue). Then one can just turn up the other pump to 100% and things are back up and running. If I am home, then the failure can be diagnosed and replaced, resetting back to 50%. If I am travelling, then it can wait, one pump can do the job. Thing is, the jebaos are rock stars, been waiting a long time for one to go out! But I have tested this setup, simulating power failure. Works great! FWIW... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I finally got around to buying a backup Jabao 10000 for mine last year. The original is at ~12 months with biannual cleanings and running strong. These pumps rule and it's nice having the peace of mind should the active one go out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Why is it that pumps so frequently go out during a routine maintenance job..:had this happen so many times. Makes me leery everytime my pumps shutoff...So yeah, having backups is always a good idea...though we are super lucky to live where we do...so many lfs carry good quality pumps of all shapes and sizes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 I've been putting off getting a backup for so long. I'm also using the Jaebo 12000. I've had it running for just over 3 years. I think I've taken it offline twice. Maybe I'm trying to justify my own laziness, but it seems taking things apart so much causes them to go out earlier. Who knows? I really should get that backup, though...Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 10 hours ago, Higher Thinking said: I've been putting off getting a backup for so long. I'm also using the Jaebo 12000. I've had it running for just over 3 years. I think I've taken it offline twice. Maybe I'm trying to justify my own laziness, but it seems taking things apart so much causes them to go out earlier. Who knows? I really should get that backup, though... Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk That's a great run, but yeah man, get a backup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 15 hours ago, Higher Thinking said: I've been putting off getting a backup for so long. I'm also using the Jaebo 12000. I've had it running for just over 3 years. I think I've taken it offline twice. Maybe I'm trying to justify my own laziness, but it seems taking things apart so much causes them to go out earlier. Who knows? I really should get that backup, though... Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk You realize you just jinxed yourself right? That is a pretty good run for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalick Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 On 1/9/2019 at 8:58 AM, Bevo5 said: Doing my weekly water change yesterday and all is going great until I try to fire up my return pump....notta. Nothing. Not even a tiny little hum of the motor trying to get going. So that's not good. Luckily, about two years ago I bought a backup and had it stored in the garage just waiting. Thirty minutes of minor plumbing and back in business. Just lucky though. Having to find a new internal pump at 1.5in output etc....under pressure to get everything going again - would've been stressful. SO - buy that backup pump now everyone. I already ordered a new backup. Related - it's a Jebao 12000. When I bought it, I wasn't really sure what kind of quality to expect. Well - it had been up running for about 40 months with MINIMAL routine cleaning. I mean minimal - like - just cleaning out the pre-filter. Quiet and moves a ton of water. Thanks for the reminder! I just bought backup heaters last week (6) and two days ago 2 of my heaters went out. I don't have a backup return pump.... Going to order now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 I ordered my back up return pump, it's on way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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