Reef Run Controller Malfunction (?)

[garyl]

Do the Red Sea Reef Run DC Controllers go bad?

I got a message that my return pump had shut itself down. When I looked, I had no pump return working.

I swapped out the original DC pump with a spare and got the same - the pump seemed to try and work but at very low power. Too low to actually lift the water back to the tank.

The skimmer works fine.

Luckily, I had another AC pump and swapped that out and now I have water returning out of my sump.

Bottom line - has anyone seen that happen before?

Thanks!

 

[dz6t]

Check the power adapter, it is more likely the power adapter is bad.

 

[garyl]

Do you mean the brick?

I'll look at that when I get home.

 

[NeverlosT]

yeah, many companies use very low quality AC-DC converters in their power bricks that can result in issues. Swap to a new power brick that has the same voltage/wattage capabilities and I bet it gets better

 

[garyl]

Good to know - luckily, I have an extra brick to try.

 

[dz6t]

Do you mean the brick?

I'll look at that when I get home.

Yes the brick

 

[garyl]

Well, that seems to be the problem. Next time this happens, I will be sure to check for a bright blue light on the brick.

This one had a very dim flickering blue light.

Thanks, for your help - this knowledge would have saved me several hours of swapping pumps last night.

I love this hobby. Sigh...

 

[Cooper2]

This is why I run 2 pumps for return. As reliable as most equipment is these days it will fail at some point. The lesson you should learn from this is that stuff breaks. If you're content with "It won't happen again" and just repair your tank, what if it does happen again? Maybe you're at home when it happens, maybe you're not. The odds of 2 pumps failing at the same time is basically non-existent, and even if one fails (as they do...) you'd still have 50% flow. It's nice to be able to pull one for cleaning and still have flow in the tank.
Glad you got things functioning, but think about making it bullet-proof.

 

[garyl]

I like the way you think - I might just buy another pump.

I already have 2 - I just need to find another power brick...

 

[garyl]

Cooper2, do you just run them both at 50%?

 

[Cooper2]

You could, but I run 2 smaller pumps. Typically one is dedicated to flow through a UV sterilizer and the flow rate needs to be correct for your particular UV unit. The balance of desired flow can be adjusted through the return only pump going straight to the tank. A word of caution if your combined pump output can exceed the overflow. You might be flirting with danger of water breaching the rim of your tank. This happened on a 90 FW tank that my wife had fed then tossed the flake container in the stand. Somehow it hit the rotary knob on the DC pump and increased its output….I got an unpleasant call at work.
The pump I was using was a Current USA and I’ve had

 

[Cooper2]

Post got clipped….
I was using a Current USA pump (good pumps!) but wasn’t using the loop app to control speed so the knob was active and it bit me.

Moral of story?…if it can happen it will.
Avoid disaster by planning for a failure and maybe simulate a failure to learn what will happen when fate raises its middle finger.