Aquabee Skimmer Pump Maintenance

[herman]

For all of you that are using DAS, Deltec, H&S or any other needlewheel using the aquabee pumps you need to know that there is a flap inside the output that will get stuck over time. If this flap gets stuck it will seriously impeded its performance. When the pump is turned off and on again the direction of the needlewheel can get reversed. If the flap does not change direction the performace goes down by as much as 50%.

I was watching a discussion with Pierce and Dave in which Dave swears his aquabee pumps draw in 10lpm and more whereas Pierce says its more like 5lpm. When I had my BX3 it performed like a champ whereas other BX3 skimmers just lagged. Check the flap as it might be the cause.

To clean soak the pump in a 20 to 1 ratio of Muriatic acid, EZclean or vinegar. Vinegar does not always work as nice though.

 

[Wes]

i'll be sure to check it next time i clean, thanks.

 

[jhale]

you mean you have to clean your pumps?

 

[techreef]

well, as long as that's the only thing i've got to clean in this hobby.

 

[meschaefer]

This is a low maintence hobby, you can take some time to clean your pumps once every few years. I set aside that time to feed my fish and do a small water change as well.

 

[fritz]

Change which water? I thought that was the point of the filter, so that you don't have to change the water. I use a whisper power filter you guys should look into them. My LFS guy said as long as I use that I never have to change the water in my reef tank.

 

[MO~IDOL]

Thanks for the info herman

 

[HAVIC]

When the pump is turned off and on again the direction of the needlewheel can get reversed. If the flap does not change direction the performace goes down by as much as 50%.

I had this problem shortly after I got my H&S skimmer. The flap got stuck and my performance was horrible. I really did not like the skimmer. I bought a Dwyer Air Meter and was getting about 2-3lpm. I was told to look at the flap and it was stuck. Unstuck it and I now average about 6lpm. I have had no problems since.

 

[cali_reef]

I had this problem shortly after I got my H&S skimmer. The flap got stuck and my performance was horrible. I really did not like the skimmer. I bought a Dwyer Air Meter and was getting about 2-3lpm. I was told to look at the flap and it was stuck. Unstuck it and I now average about 6lpm. I have had no problems since.

Sounds like that didn't fix the low suction problem, these guys claimed the pump can suck 10LMP:tired: ..

 

[scarf_ace1981]

there i see that word again, where can one get muriatic acid in the city?

 

[herman]

You might have better luck asking for hydrochloric acid. Its the same thing. Muriatic acid is comonly used for masonry cleaning. Any hardware store should have a 20 : 1 diluted version.

HTH
Herman

 

[jackson6745]

Sounds like that didn't fix the low suction problem, these guys claimed the pump can suck 10LMP:tired: ..

Pierce it actually sucks more than 10lpm in a small bucket of water, barely submerged. My old ex-2 also sucked 10lpm. Problem is when I run these pumps submerged in my sump, they draw between 5-8lpm. I tried running them in more shallow water but them the water level doesn't even make it up to the neck. Basically the BX-3 is a POS! I'm in the market for a new skimmer. Probably going to go with the H+S or maybe I'll try the ATI when they're available.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

there i see that word again, where can one get muriatic acid in the city?

scarf why not jus use white vinegar in hot water..... works wonders....

 

[cali_reef]

Pierce it actually sucks more than 10lpm in a small bucket of water, barely submerged. My old ex-2 also sucked 10lpm. Problem is when I run these pumps submerged in my sump, they draw between 5-8lpm. I tried running them in more shallow water but them the water level doesn't even make it up to the neck. Basically the BX-3 is a POS! I'm in the market for a new skimmer. Probably going to go with the H+S or maybe I'll try the ATI when they're available.

Rich, pumps will run differently when head pressure changes. I am not sure how the BX's pumps are fed and connected, but the EX model puts the pump in equivalent of 18" or so of water and I never seen any of my pumps getting more than 6LMP. Testing the pump outside its normal running conditions and instead in an adjusted optimum condition is like saying you can catch fish in a pool filled with 1,000 fishes:lol2:.

H&S set their Ehiem up so it has a lot of pressure coming up the neck, something Deltec and BK don't have. It behaves closer to a beckett

 

[bad coffee]

Doug from Deltec told me NOT to use vinegar. It just isn't strong enough to clean some of the parts. He said to use muratic/hydrochloric or ez-clean.

B

 

[cali_reef]

Try plumbing places for Muratic Acid, I think they use it to clean sludge from cast iron pipes.

 

[HAVIC]

Sounds like that didn't fix the low suction problem, these guys claimed the pump can suck 10LMP:tired: ..

Anything I have ever seen for the AquaBee 2001/38w was 6-8 lpm. I have an insump model, not recirc

 

[spykes]

Rich, pumps will run differently when head pressure changes. I am not sure how the BX's pumps are fed and connected, but the EX model puts the pump in equivalent of 18" or so of water and I never seen any of my pumps getting more than 6LMP. Testing the pump outside its normal running conditions and instead in an adjusted optimum condition is like saying you can catch fish in a pool filled with 1,000 fishes:lol2:.

H&S set their Ehiem up so it has a lot of pressure coming up the neck, something Deltec and BK don't have. It behaves closer to a beckett

what changed between the deltec ehiem and the H&S ehiem?

 

[cali_reef]

what changed between the deltec ehiem and the H&S ehiem?

Everything but the motor core.

 

[gnatp2]

My DAS EX-2 skimmer was not performing well, so I took apart the aquabee pumps, cleaned them up (both flaps were stuck shut). I put the skimmer back together with no improvement. The pumps seem to pump water through them well when the air valve is shut all the way off, but if I open the valve all the way, the pumps hardly push any water or air through them. It's like the addition of air to the pump causes it to almost stall. Any idea what the problem is and how to fix it?

Nate