Melted pump wire in tank

[proskier101]

Hi all,

Looking for real world experience here. I set up used biocube 16, had it running for about a week and the return pump failed, melted about 1.5" of wired. I stripped the insulation back and there is no copper wire left in that section... in the tank it went. I drained the return area and see no copper balls or hairs. It must be in the tank somewhere.

Should I just scrap the tank or has anyone else had pumps short like this and keep their reef set up? Its quite a bit of wire that is missing, more than just a "trace amount".

 

[jabberwock]

Hi all,

Looking for real world experience here. I set up used biocube 16, had it running for about a week and the return pump failed, melted about 1.5" of wired. I stripped the insulation back and there is no copper wire left in that section... in the tank it went. I drained the return area and see no copper balls or hairs. It must be in the tank somewhere.

Should I just scrap it or has anyone else had pumps short like this and keep their reef set up? Its quite a bit of wire that is missing, more than just a "trace amount".

Buy a new pump.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I don't have first hand experience, but I will tell you that you will not find any solid copper in your tank. What occurred with the shorting is the copper ionized and dissolved into the water. I'd be interested in the copper level in your tank. If you can, test for copper. Otherwise consider Cuprisorb or water changes to reduce copper levels.

 

[proskier101]

Buy a new pump.

Yes this one is trash. Most concerned about the copper levels in the tank.

I don't have first hand experience, but I will tell you that you will not find any solid copper in your tank. What occurred with the shorting is the copper ionized and dissolved into the water. I'd be interested in the copper level in your tank. If you can, test for copper. Otherwise consider Cuprisorb or water changes to reduce copper levels.

I don't have much invested at this point. Copper contamination was my main concern and whether or not I should start over. Headed to the lfs now to test the water.

 

[proskier101]

Copper is at .75. Lol

Lfs offered to let me flush my sand and rock with his ro system. Right now im flushing with tap water(we have decent tap water where I live)

I'll flush, fill sit and test again later to see if copper improves.

 

[proskier101]

Just following up.

Multiple flushes of the tank, ran ro water in for a few days, tested at .15(down from .75). Then drained, added salt water and cuprisorb. Sitting at 0 now.

A small take is nice as I just set it on my deck and put my garden hose in it. Flushed hundreds of gallons through the tank 2 times. It cleaned out the rock and sand. Our city water is clean thankfully.