Last year at the MASVC FRAG swap, I won a REEFLO Trident III variable output external pump. I was happy to win the pump as my 10 year old REEFLO Dart was making noise and I was ready to replace it.
Well after some time, I finally got off my lazy butt and replumed my return so that I could use the new Trident III pump. At first site, the pump seems to be very well made. It has a large cast alunimum body with a plastic/composite impeller section. There is a small plastic/composite "box" mounted on the side of the motor which houses the 3 position switch.
When I first installed the pump, I was running it on the highest setting in my 400g display tank/ 500g system. It flowed well and was dead quiet. After a few days, I notinced that it ws flowing a bit too much for my liking so I dialed it back by switching it to the medimum flow with the switch. This was the perfect setting for the way I have my system set up.
During the course of the next 6 months, I would turn the pump off each day when I fed my fish, then I would turn it back on after about 15 min. At first there was no issues and the pump came back on. But as time went on, I had to turn the switch to the high setting to get the pump to come back on. Because of this, I started running the pump on high during the day and then would turn it down to medimum during the night time. This seemed to work fine on my system.
Well after 6 months of use, I got a call from the wife that the tank was making noise. I ran down my usualy suspects and had her check them. It wound up being that my 20 amp breaker that runs my skimmer, heaters, and return pump had tripped. I had her reset it but to no avail. When I got home to further invistigate, I found that the Trident III was what was causing the breaker to trip. So I rigged up some extra pumps I had to get the return going again as I removed the trident to see what was going on.
I disassembled the pump to see if something was blocking it from spinning as well as to clean it. I found that there was nothing stopping the rotor/volute from spinning, so I decided to disassemble it further to do a thurough ceaning. The stator is housed in the alunimum casing. The rotor is housed in what appears to be a stainless steel "shell" that fits inside the stator. There is a seal that keeps water out of the stator. Water is however allowed to enter the rotor to keep it cooled and lubricated. I could not disassemble the rotor from the housing to clean it so I did my best at flushing water thru there to clean it out. The rotor turned freeley so I reassembeld the pump to place it back in service.
When I put it back in the system and plugged it back into the same circuit, it once again blew the 20 amp breaker. So I plugged the pump into a different 20 amp circuit that had nothing else connected to it. The pump ran, but after about an hour of running, the pump casing was so hot, it would burn your skin if you touched it.
I contacted REEFLO about the issue and they sent me out a replacement pump. I installed the replacement pump and plugged it into it's normal circuit. I thought I was back in bussiess as the pump was running fine and the 20 amp breaker was not tripping. After a few hours of use, I decided to see how hot the pump was. Well the new pump was hot to the touch to the point that it would burn you.
I contacted REEFLO once again and they have offered to rebuild my Dart pump for me. I am returning the 2 Trident III pumps. While the pumps are a great idea, I think the design is flawed. There is excsive friction which cause excessive heat. That friction will cause premature wear on the internals of the pump. The excess heat will cause excessive resistance which will cause a higher amp draw from the motor. The cooling water is not sufficent enough thru the rotor to keep it cool. Also that excessive heat is being put into the aquarium water.
REEFLO stated that they have some of these pumps that have lasted fine for a few years. They also stated that they are not a good choice for a calicum rich enviroment like our reef tanks. The pumps are built for REEFLO by a indipendant manufacutre.
While I have used REEFLO Dart, Baraccuda, and Hammerhead pumps for the last 10 years with no issues, I'm afraid the Trident III pump is a bad design and I will steer clear of them for now. I'm sending my Dart back to REEFLO for a rebuild/replacement and will be replumbing my system so that I can return to my reliable Dart pump.
Well after some time, I finally got off my lazy butt and replumed my return so that I could use the new Trident III pump. At first site, the pump seems to be very well made. It has a large cast alunimum body with a plastic/composite impeller section. There is a small plastic/composite "box" mounted on the side of the motor which houses the 3 position switch.
When I first installed the pump, I was running it on the highest setting in my 400g display tank/ 500g system. It flowed well and was dead quiet. After a few days, I notinced that it ws flowing a bit too much for my liking so I dialed it back by switching it to the medimum flow with the switch. This was the perfect setting for the way I have my system set up.
During the course of the next 6 months, I would turn the pump off each day when I fed my fish, then I would turn it back on after about 15 min. At first there was no issues and the pump came back on. But as time went on, I had to turn the switch to the high setting to get the pump to come back on. Because of this, I started running the pump on high during the day and then would turn it down to medimum during the night time. This seemed to work fine on my system.
Well after 6 months of use, I got a call from the wife that the tank was making noise. I ran down my usualy suspects and had her check them. It wound up being that my 20 amp breaker that runs my skimmer, heaters, and return pump had tripped. I had her reset it but to no avail. When I got home to further invistigate, I found that the Trident III was what was causing the breaker to trip. So I rigged up some extra pumps I had to get the return going again as I removed the trident to see what was going on.
I disassembled the pump to see if something was blocking it from spinning as well as to clean it. I found that there was nothing stopping the rotor/volute from spinning, so I decided to disassemble it further to do a thurough ceaning. The stator is housed in the alunimum casing. The rotor is housed in what appears to be a stainless steel "shell" that fits inside the stator. There is a seal that keeps water out of the stator. Water is however allowed to enter the rotor to keep it cooled and lubricated. I could not disassemble the rotor from the housing to clean it so I did my best at flushing water thru there to clean it out. The rotor turned freeley so I reassembeld the pump to place it back in service.
When I put it back in the system and plugged it back into the same circuit, it once again blew the 20 amp breaker. So I plugged the pump into a different 20 amp circuit that had nothing else connected to it. The pump ran, but after about an hour of running, the pump casing was so hot, it would burn your skin if you touched it.
I contacted REEFLO about the issue and they sent me out a replacement pump. I installed the replacement pump and plugged it into it's normal circuit. I thought I was back in bussiess as the pump was running fine and the 20 amp breaker was not tripping. After a few hours of use, I decided to see how hot the pump was. Well the new pump was hot to the touch to the point that it would burn you.
I contacted REEFLO once again and they have offered to rebuild my Dart pump for me. I am returning the 2 Trident III pumps. While the pumps are a great idea, I think the design is flawed. There is excsive friction which cause excessive heat. That friction will cause premature wear on the internals of the pump. The excess heat will cause excessive resistance which will cause a higher amp draw from the motor. The cooling water is not sufficent enough thru the rotor to keep it cool. Also that excessive heat is being put into the aquarium water.
REEFLO stated that they have some of these pumps that have lasted fine for a few years. They also stated that they are not a good choice for a calicum rich enviroment like our reef tanks. The pumps are built for REEFLO by a indipendant manufacutre.
While I have used REEFLO Dart, Baraccuda, and Hammerhead pumps for the last 10 years with no issues, I'm afraid the Trident III pump is a bad design and I will steer clear of them for now. I'm sending my Dart back to REEFLO for a rebuild/replacement and will be replumbing my system so that I can return to my reliable Dart pump.
