[Regulatorocks]

well, i have been running Aquaclear 20-30 gallon HOB pumps on my 10 gallon planted fry tank. i currently have 6 baby yellow labs and a few tetras in there.

well, my first aquaclear busted on me a long time ago, it simply stopped working and overheated.

i bought another one because i already had all the filters, and this one died on me yesterday.

it just stops working, and when i feel the motor its extremely hot to the touch.

i cannot go to the LFS until tommorow, i did a 50% water change. do you think my fish are safe overnight or will the lack of surface agitation and filtration kill everyone in there????

 

[alicem]

Do you have a spare air pump or bubbler or 2? That would agitate the surface.
If you don't have an air stone, stick the air line in along side or behind the heater.
Or, use a zip tie or something to attach it to something and hold the end under water.
hth

 

[BillD]

Have you tried to start the impeller turning manually? It can be done using a pen or pencil. Others have reported problems with the motor not starting. I haven't experienced that problem personally. In addition, the impeeler needs to be cleaned periodically and the housing cleaned. The motor feels hot to the touch because there is no water going through it to cool it.

 

[beaker99]

Have you tried unpluging the pump, pulling it out of the filter. Then pulling out the magnetic impellor and cleaning out the impellor shaft with q-tips. Sometimes the gunk in there can be unbeliveable. Also, if you get sand in there it can cause a real problem. Another problem is calcium biuld up in the impellor shaft. Apossible way to ride yourself of this is to run the pump in an vinigar bath, or acetic acid, for a few minutes. Sometimes this will loosen up whayever the problem is and you can go on your merry way.