Help with Ecotech marine M1 vectra return pump

jaws789832 · Jun 20, 2016

Hi all,
I have a Vectra M1 pump that is acting up. I have had it since its release and it has worked fine up until now. It is hooked up to an apex. every night a 1700 (5pm) I have it set to turn off through the apex for feeding. It stays off for 30 minutes then turns back on. 2 nights ago when I was at work it decided not to turn back on after feeding. I figured it was just a snail or something that got jammed in it so I figured I would take it out and clean it. I do clean it about every 3 months and it had been about 2 since my last cleaning. When I took it apart, it was pretty clean. no snails and no jams. I put it all back together , tried it and it still wouldn't work. Apex said it was on and working the driver had power to it and turning the knob said it was getting more and less flow, but no water was flowing and the pump wasn't working. I unplugged the power and the pump from the driver, waited a few minutes then plugged everything back in. The pump then came on, but it would come on for about 5 seconds then click off, come back on for 5 seconds then click off. It would repeat this about 10 times before it would finally stay on. I though maybe it was just cycling and reseting and it stayed on after that so I went on with my day. Well yesterday at 5pm the feed cycle started and once again the pump never came on after. This time I just hit the power button on the driver on it off and the pump came back on but once again it did the 5 sec on and off thing until it finally stayed on. Also whenever it came back on after feed or whenever I shut it down it used to beep at me letting me know it was on and now it doesn't. Any suggestions as to what could be going on? I am going to call ecotech today to see if they can offer any insight as well.

dbl · Jun 20, 2016

Can't be much help, but if you would be kind enough to post the results of your conversation and any remedies it would be appreciated.

adhd_nerd · Jun 20, 2016

Have you tried bypassing the Apex power bar and plugging in directly to AC outlet?

josh.j.avila · Jun 21, 2016

Had mine warranty out by ETM.

mfinn · Jun 21, 2016

Were you able to get in touch with EcoTech today?

jaws789832 · Jun 21, 2016

I put in a message. Got home from work at 3pm my time and tried to give them a call but they were closed already. I will try again tomorrow. Its still doing it though. everytime the apex turns off the pump for feeding it won't auto start back up. Its not the plug though. The power comes on to the driver it just doesn't start to pump until I power the driver off and back on. Will try to contact them again bright an early tomorrow morning.

jaws789832 · Jun 21, 2016

adhd_nerd said:
Have you tried bypassing the Apex power bar and plugging in directly to AC outlet?

Then it would never shut off for feeding and that is kind of the point. I could just turn the feed timer off of the apex code and it would stay on with no problems, The problem is happening when it shuts off for feeding (so my food doesnt go over the overflow) it wont start back up even though it has power to it

mfinn · Jun 22, 2016

You could also just use the pumps own feed mode.

I don't use the feed mode on mine.
I leave the pump on. I guess this comes from problems with forgetting to turn the pumps back on before there were pumps and controllers with feed modes.

jaws789832 · Jun 22, 2016

OK got ahold of ecotech marine today. They called me back this morning and asked a few questions. He too was stumped as to what was going on so they are sending me a new Quiet drive. I will say this much I was thoroughly impressed with their customer service.

mfinn said:
You could also just use the pumps own feed mode.

I don't use the feed mode on mine.
I leave the pump on. I guess this comes from problems with forgetting to turn the pumps back on before there were pumps and controllers with feed modes.

The problem is I am not home all the time to do this. My work schedule puts me away for 2 days straight every week so in those 48 hours it has to do it on its own. I probably could buy the ecotech live platform and have it do it but I already had an apex and having another controller just for that seemed a little silly. Until I can try the new driver out I will probably just have to leave the pump on during feeding like you do. The beauty of the apex was that I didn't have to remember to turn anything on and off. It did it all automatically for me, whether I was home or not.

mfinn · Jun 22, 2016

jaws789832 said:
OK got ahold of ecotech marine today. They called me back this morning and asked a few questions. He too was stumped as to what was going on so they are sending me a new Quiet drive. I will say this much I was thoroughly impressed with their customer service.

The problem is I am not home all the time to do this. My work schedule puts me away for 2 days straight every week so in those 48 hours it has to do it on its own. I probably could buy the ecotech live platform and have it do it but I already had an apex and having another controller just for that seemed a little silly. Until I can try the new driver out I will probably just have to leave the pump on during feeding like you do. The beauty of the apex was that I didn't have to remember to turn anything on and off. It did it all automatically for me, whether I was home or not.

Glad they were able to take care of you.

jaws789832 · Jul 2, 2016

Just an update. I received the new driver board and installed it and everything works perfect again. Thanks ecotech for the awesome customer service and fast reply. On a side not I am probably going to stop using the apex to shut the pump of during feed mode and just let some of the food go over the overflow I guess. They told me the constant shutting off and turning back on is probably what caused the issue because the pump and driver were designed to use the internal feed mode where it slowly powers down , doesn't turn off just maintains head pressure, then slowly powers back up when feed mode finishes. Fortunately most of my feeding regime is not floating so I shouldn't lose too much food over the overflow. And for those of you who will ask why Don't I just use the internal feed mode? I am gone a lot so a lot of my feeding is automated so I am not home at feeding time to hit the button.

hipower · Jul 14, 2016

ETM is replacing my controller as it was doing something similar. I wish ETM would get with Neptune and get the pump to work with the WXM...

JamesisthemanJones · Jan 9, 2018

Yes, I believe if it works with WXM, we will be able to ramp the flow down during feeding to avoid the loss of pressure and the frequent Stop/Start cycles.
But this seems like it will never happen ! There is war between Apex and Ecotech, and we, the consumers, are paying the price :(

Daltrey · Jan 9, 2018

I use to shut down my pumps to feed but it just creates alot of unecesary wear and tear on the pump. Now I just leave the pumps on while feeding and pour the food directly in front of a powerhead. Fish don't seem to mind.

Edited: Just realized this was on old thread.

Kyl · Jan 9, 2018

Daltrey said:
I use to shut down my pumps to feed but it just creates alot of unecesary wear and tear on the pump. Now I just leave the pumps on while feeding and pour the food directly in front of a powerhead. Fish don't seem to mind.

Edited: Just realized this was on old thread.

It's an old thread, but highlights how stupid this little spat is between Ecotech and Neptune Systems, whom both point the finger at the other.

Daltrey · Jan 9, 2018

Kyl said:
It's an old thread, but highlights how stupid this little spat is between Ecotech and Neptune Systems, whom both point the finger at the other.

Yeah, I have an apex and also ecotech vectra M1, Radion xr30w's and mp40's. I tried the reeflink and hated it and I wish they would make the m1 compatible with my wxm but unfortunately it's never going to happen.