Calcium deposits on your external pump

[neuroslicer]

I had a Poseidon pump for about 8 months and it froze up on me. When I opened it up there was quite a bit of calcium deposition (the price you pay for high mineral levels in your water). If that wasn't the cause of the pump failure, it certainly was a contributing factor. I just removed the pump from my other tank and gave it an acid wash... good as new, so now I suspect I'll do that with both tanks, about twice a year before the system crashes.

Do you have similar issues, and if so do you have to break down your external pump annually or semi annually for cleaning?

Jay

 

[zebrafish]

What did you use for the acid wash? And also never breaking down a pump before I assume you have to worry about some type of gaskets. Becasue this seem to be about teh timeframe mine have been running for.

 

[sperry]

I don't really use pumps like you are talking about but MaxiJet power heads in my nanos. They will raise the temp of a nano by several degrees when dirty. So I give them a vinegar/water run for a few hours followed by disassembly, cleaning and a few hours of FW operation every couple of months.

 

[neuroslicer]

I use muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) diluted to 5% to clean off the deposits from pumps, powerheads, pH electrodes, ORP electrodes, anything that accumulates the stuff. It's more dangerous than vinegar but faster. You can buy it by the gallon (full strength which is 31%) at pool stores, but I wouldn't advise using it. It's very caustic. When you break down the pump if the o-ring(s) is in good condition you can just coat it with plumber's grease and reseal.