Osmolator 3155 not pumping

[Giants206]

I just bought a new 3155, im using the optic sensor and float sensor on the same magnet in the 3rd chamber of a biocube29. Im using a 2g nutri-seawater jug as my reservoir with RODI water and the jug is sitting on the bottom of the inside of the biocube stand, it measures just over 3ft of head to pump. I plug it in, it beeps and lights up next to "pump on" and then i can hear the pump kick on. I let it run for about 60seconds and nothing came out. I then checked the line for any kinks, made sure the return line wasnt pushed too far into the pump, turned it back on with the same results, makes noise but no water coming out. Any ideas? Is it possible that 3ft is too much to pump? I doubt it though because they supplied a lot more tubing than that..

 

[rvitko]

The pump can easily handle that pressure. The most likely culprit is air in the pump, tip it upside down while it is submerged to release the air.

 

[Son512]

I just bump the pump against the side of my rodi container and you should see some bubbles release. Then your good to go.

 

[Giants206]

I turned the pump upside down under water which wasnt easy because of the size of the opening of the container, moved it up to the top shelf and now it works. Thanks guys

 

[rvitko]

The pump can handle 7ft, so you should be able to place it on the floor of the stand.

 

[Giants206]

Moved it back to the floor of the stand and its not working again..i took off the tubing and measured it, just over 3 1/2 ft..im at a loss.

 

[rvitko]

Have you tried shaking out the air again? It may be a bad pump if that does not solve it and we can send a replacement.

 

[Giants206]

I put the pump in a 5.5G tank, this way its easier to turn it upside down to release the air bubbles and shake out any air, which was hard to do when it was in the 2G nutri-seawater jug...and still nothing, im sure the pump is fine because it was pumping when i had it on the top shelf of the biocube stand. Any ideas?

 

[Giants206]

Ohh, i also removed the clamp that holds the tubing onto the lid of the tank, i thought maybe that was restricting the flow but that didnt help. And just to double check that i have it set up right, where the return line connects to the pump, theres a little plastic piece that is removable, i have that piece connected onto the pump, and then i have the return line pushed into that piece about 1/8th inch. It looks like theres no way it would fit over the mouth of that piece.

 

[Giants206]

One last thing that i forgot, i also took the tubing off and turned the pump on inside the tank, she definitely works, it turned that little 5.5G imto a whirlpool lol

 

[rvitko]

Is it possible the hose is kinked at some point? It sounds like you have everything right, the clamp should not be able to crimp the hose and should be used. The hose does insert into the pump fitting.

 

[Giants206]

Theres definitely no kinks, i even took the tubing out of the pump and blew on the other end and bubbles came out, and theres no sharp bends in the line or anything like that

 

[rvitko]

Will it still pump up the 3ft? It is a remote chance that the pump speed was turned down, they should leave the factory with the speed set in the middle, if turned down all the way it should still pump at least 4ft. If you open the controller (2 screws on the back) you will see a red pump speed knob. This is usually set right in the middle and can be turned up or down as needed for smaller or bigger set ups.

 

[Giants206]

I remember opening the controller when i got it and set it to the nano setting, do you think this could be why?

 

[Giants206]

It was the setting inside the controller, i set it from nano to medium and its working now. Thanks for all the help.

 

[rvitko]

Good news, it is possible to turn it down a little to far sometimes so you are actually below the minimum speed it should have, when this happens just turning it back a hair should get it where it should be. The range is supposed to be 7-11V, if it goes below 7 you can get this result.