Bubble Blaster Pump Problems

[dun2run]

I've got an XP-2000 SRO cone skimmer and am having a few problems with the bubble blaster pump. First off, Ive only had the skimmer a few months and the plastic on the impeller magnet cracked and kept swelling up causing the motor to stall if you shut it down. I emailed the company and they sent me a new impeller no questions asked. Since I put the new one in, the pump will not quit vibrating and shaking. It runs perfect when the air inlet is closed off but if its pulling air it just shakes to the point I want to throw the thing out. Has anyone else had these problems with these pumps?

 

[pmoneyt]

I would call coralvue if I were you those pumps have a 3 year warrenty

 

[dun2run]

Dont worry I am in touch with them. I was just curious if anyone here has had any similiar problems.

 

[dead beat reef]

Could be the inside bearing is not fully seated. It is held in place
with an O ring. If the the O ring is damaged or the bearing is not
pushed all the down into the recess it fits into. You will get alot
of noise and vibration. I used a small 1/8 drive socket to seat the
bearing flange side toward the impeller. Also check the water inlet.
Small square opening that lets water into the impeller chamber.
They should be lined up cover to pump. It can be 180 out.
Reef Specialty has a huge post (a first look at S.R. O ) tons of
info. Reef on.

 

[Porcupinepuffer]

Damn. I'm expecting the HY-2000s pump to come in the mail any day for a DIY skimmer I'll be rigging up. Hopefully you get this figured out.

 

[ackerman]

Just had my sro 5000 magnet do the same thing. Sure glad its got a 3 year warranty. Great service from coralvue they have a new one on the way without a problem.

 

[Porcupinepuffer]

That's pretty ugly. With the water/air coming in. It doesn't take long for it to oxidize and rust the hell out of it, making it swell like that. It can probably cause some bad wear around the plastic on the inner casing of the motor block. Not too good.

 

[dun2run]

Mine wasnt quite that bad ackerman. But it was heading in that direction. As for the coralvue customer service, I have no complaints whatsoever. I have contacted them only by email so far and usually I can expect a response in literally a few minutes. I'm still waiting on a reply to my latest problem, guess they are off for the holiday. Wish I was.

 

[dun2run]

Getting the new pump today. Thanks to that 3yr warranty.:spin3:

 

[sirreal63]

If a 3 month old pump failed like that...I would seriously question if I wanted that in my tank. Sure the warranty is good, but if you have to replace the impeller every quarter and take the chance on it rusting up like that in your tank...would you really want that? I know there are a lot of people with this pump and I can only hope that there are just a few isolated instances of this.

 

[tegee]

If a 3 month old pump failed like that...I would seriously question if I wanted that in my tank. Sure the warranty is good, but if you have to replace the impeller every quarter and take the chance on it rusting up like that in your tank...would you really want that? I know there are a lot of people with this pump and I can only hope that there are just a few isolated instances of this.

My thoughts exactly. First they have issues with their Askoll pumps and now with the newer BB? Definitely cause for concern imho.

 

[tmc1313]

I have an SRO 3000 and everytime I shut mine down I have some trouble getting the pump going again. It's been that way since day one. With that being said, I love the skimmer.

 

[ahmedess]

I've got an XP-2000 SRO cone skimmer and am having a few problems with the bubble blaster pump. First off, Ive only had the skimmer a few months and the plastic on the impeller magnet cracked and kept swelling up causing the motor to stall if you shut it down. I emailed the company and they sent me a new impeller no questions asked. Since I put the new one in, the pump will not quit vibrating and shaking. It runs perfect when the air inlet is closed off but if its pulling air it just shakes to the point I want to throw the thing out. Has anyone else had these problems with these pumps?

I have the same vibration problem with my BB 2000 pump. It makes a humming noise that drives me crazy. I have it running now for 2 weeks and it did quiet down a bit but still noisy. I did check if the impeller wasnt seated in place properly but it was placed properly. also The pump runs silently if i block the air inlet. Did any one with same problem reach a solution?

 

[L8ndeb]

ahmedess,
Could the noise be coming from the inlet of the air hose?

 

[dun2run]

Just got the pump and "inspected" it a little. First off, the impeller is a little different than the other one. It may be the same, but the plastic covering over the magnet is white. The plastic seat that sits between the impeller head and pump body has a few differences also, but nothing major. The other thing I noticed is the notch or "keyway" that is in the pump body above the shaft has a thin acrylic sleeve that goes all the way down separating it from the shaft. My original pump did not have this. All this being said, it is running right now and is virtually silent. Maybe these "differences" are new design and improvements, not sure, but it is running better than the other pump ever did.

 

[dun2run]

If a 3 month old pump failed like that...I would seriously question if I wanted that in my tank. Sure the warranty is good, but if you have to replace the impeller every quarter and take the chance on it rusting up like that in your tank...would you really want that?

Bump me $400 and I'll consider getting a new skimmer.:beer: Just joking, but it really is an awesome pump (when it isnt crammed full of calcium buildup) and I hope they are improving on it overall by us "the consumer" giving them feedback. When they get tired of sending new replacements out they can either make improvements or just go broke.I'm going to keep an eye on this one and see if it has the buildup like the old one did.

 

[ahmedess]

ahmedess,
Could the noise be coming from the inlet of the air hose?

I think the noise is from the pump

 

[dun2run]

I have an SRO 3000 and everytime I shut mine down I have some trouble getting the pump going again. It's been that way since day one. With that being said, I love the skimmer.

Have you taken it apart? When my old one did that it had really bad buildup around the magnet making it too tight to start up again. Hope that helps. If all else fails make that warranty useful.

 

[Alien2100]

Recently I was looking into a new skimmer and did a lot of research on a few models and the XP-2000 SRO was at the top of my list. However, I found mixed reviews on the bubble blaster pumps, from great to poor. Most people seemed to love them, but I also read quite a few reviews about noise or impellers breaking. I also found a local listing on Craigslist of someone selling a XP-2000 SRO less than a year old. However in the listing he mentioned it had a brand new pump, so I called to inquire has to why it had a new pump, I found out it was replaced because it had broke. I will say the 3 year warranty sounded great but if you have to use it all the time I'm not sure it's that fantastic. And while I never saw anything but helpful people when I talked to Coralvue, I also heard people complain about customer service. I definitely can't say I personally saw that. However, I did see enough documentation of pump problems to steer me away from the bubble blaster though, kinda sad because I read so many good reviews too. I'm not sure if it's poor quality from the Chinese company that makes these pumps or what, but I hope they fix the issue. Because from what I've seen when they work there not a bad pump.

 

[PR_Reefers]

hey dun... I have a xps1000sss and this just happened to my bubble blaster impeller also!!... just wondering... have you had any more problems with the impeller or pump? mines about 10 mo. old but I cannot rely on something to be braking every couple months...
thanks