Brand New 9004 Problems

[austin93]

My new skimmer is not pulling air unless I remove it from the skimmer housing and put it less than an inch under the water. Even then it is far from sufficient to make any foam in my opinion. It also seems to run very rough in my hand under water. I don't know what else to do as I will not skim when assembled, it actually doesn't even pump water out the top except in a very slight way. I assume this is an error in assembly or a bad pump. Please advise me on what I can do as I have a new take going together in two days. All livestock will be moved from a much larger tank so I am on a time crunch here. Thanks.

 

[rvitko]

Austin,

The most common issue is that in shipping the pump has worked loose and the air hose is not in place, have you tried just opening it and checking that everything is properly assembled?

 

[austin93]

Sadly I have disassembled the entire skimmer and pump. The airhead was reattached and it still doesn't perform correctly.

 

[rvitko]

It has to be the impeller then, the impeller has not enough free play on the magnet to start. Just like most impeller pumps the magnet has to get a running start before encountering the resistance of the water, the needles need to have 270 degrees of free play on the magnet, it is probably stiff. As a temporary fix you could work the needle wheel back and forth a dozen times or so to loosen it and I can send a replacement out tomorrow, you would have it by Thursday. Just PM me your address.

 

[rvitko]

To clarify, you will remove the drive unit (magnet and needle wheel) hold the magnet in one hand and work the needle wheel back and forth to the hard stop, it needs to move about 270 degrees back and forth between the stop with little resistance.

 

[austin93]

Just an update. I was sent the parts needed and now it's running great. Thanks for the great service.

 

[NZXTGUY]

What parts did u replace exactly.

 

[austin93]

The pump didn't work right and had to be replaced. Quickly shipped and easy to switch.