Sea Swirl Question

[Murph72]

Our one sea swirl just recently started making some noise and stopped turning. The thing is just barely over a year old....of course the warranty is only for the first year.
Anyone else have any problems with their sea swirls. Anyone know what could be the problem? They say it costs at least $60 to send it back and get it fixed...if it's only going to last a year I don't think it's worth investing that much in every year.
Any ideas? Obviously our experience with these has only been one year, so we're a bit turned off by this experience.

 

[Sk8r]

Try soaking the whole joint in a cup of white vinegar for a day or so. Vinegar will dissolve a lot of encrustations. Do not continue to run it in that condition or it will wear off the teeth of whatever gears are in there.

 

[coralnut99]

When you say "they", are you referring to Aquarium Currents? Too bad they just moved to the Carolinas. They used to be located in Stroudsburg Pa.

 

[Sanjay]

Sometimes the motor goes bad. Give them a call.

you can get the motor and replace it yourself. Its not too hard.

sanjay.

 

[GL]

Ed and Cindy are great people to deal with, if it is that close to the warrenty period they may honor it anyway. Give it a shot.

 

[Murph72]

Thanks for all the advice. I got a surprising email from Todd at Something Fishy today. He actually remembered that I purchased my two sea swirls from him. He offered to take back the product and handle it with Aquarium Currents free of charge.

Wow! What great customer service! I can honestly say that I didn't call him because I felt that he wasn't responsible for the product any longer. I'm really pleased that he would go out of his way like this. I guess it shows, once again, why we at NCPARS love SF!

 

[Fizz71]

I'm guessing Todd knows how good Aquarium Currents support is too and hopefully he won't be out a whole lot on the process. I'm glad he's taking care of it for you...Thanks Todd.

I just wanted to add that my first sea swirl died in a few weeks but it was MY fault..I had a piece of PVC accidentally slip 2 inches left and restrict the last inch of rotation on the unit. Aquarium Currents replaced it and I only paid for shipping..the replacement has been running fine for 2 years now with no problems (never even had to clean it). I mention this so that you understand that my experience with the product is that it is reliable if all is well, but the motor/teeth/whatever can't handle ANY stress beyond normal use. When you slip that discharge nozzle on your new unit you should heed that warning on the brightly colored sticker that says not to twist it on! Of course..that was 2 years ago too..so I don't know if they've improved on the design.

--Fizz

 

[Murph72]

Fizz,
Yeah, ours says that too. We had absolutely no restrictions on it and followed all the rules to a T. It was odd because it was working fine and then one day I came home from work and noticed it was making this odd noise and was no longer turning. We turned the motor off so that it wouldn't burn it up, but we certainly didn't want to tear apart equipment that we might not be able to put back together by ourselves. The other one is still working well. Since we were relatively new to this product we were just hoping we hadn't made a poor choice in buying them. It's good to hear that others have had positive experiences and responses from the manufacturers. Unfortunately, not all of our equipment manufacturers are as good as this one obviously is.

 

[Fizz71]

I seem to notice that the best service comes from the smaller mfgs; they have more to lose on bad publicity than say "Tetra".

Did you happen to notice RC's recently new sponsor Aquarium Specialty? They sell a similar product called WavySea that has a few more options and appears to have a faster motor.
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=598
NCPARS should try to get one donated and give it away to somebody for evaluation.

Sea Swirls are still much cheaper though...

Here's the actual site for the product:
http://www.wavysea.com/


--Fizz

 

[Murph72]

That does look pretty cool.
We're heading to SF on Sunday to take our Sea Swirl to get it repaired. We're also looking for another way to add some more motion to our tanks. Tim added a few powerheads once the Swirl was down but I quickly put an end to that....I came home to find my purple tang stuck to it. The poor thing survived but now has a giant white hickey on his side. We've just had bad luck with powerheads. In the beginning I remember losing my first clownfish when he went head first into one. We put bioballs and strainers on, but they never fail to fall off at some point or another. I'd just like to find some other way to add motion without the powerheads. Plus, I think they're bulky and ugly in the tank.
We have the swirls now and our return pump from our sump is going through a spray bar, but I still think some of it could use a bit more flow.

 

[Fizz71]

If I had the cash..this is what I'd be looking for:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=IC9111

I know a certain somebody that's been beta testing one. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say who but I think you know. The battery backup from IceCap on there will probably be the final selling point for me on the new tank. 24hrs of flow without electricity is a big plus in my book. The cost is a bit high..and I don't know what the extra cost will be on the battery backup and controller.

--Fizz

 

[shimmy_yaz]

Yeah its Sanjay that i stestin that isn't it. I rememeber a thread awhile ago about that particular product. If I am not right sorry Sanjay, not trying to start anything or nothing.

 

[bmkindig]

hey,
yes, the vortex is a nice pump and well worth the money i think they are officially out now.and the best part is that if i need repairs done i live about 10 minutes away from where there made.i got the 5th one made for beta testing and haven't had any major issuses,although i need to take it for some minor upgrades,but i have no complaints about it.i've seen macro algae go though the propellor without slowing it down and i've seen fish swin bye it and get blown off course.i love the flow it gives and it's adjustable.the outer motor is safe to touch i little of the warm side but better to have the heat outside the tank,and it can be positioned anywhere in the tank.

and of course made in the usa!

 

[Sanjay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7494262#post7494262 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bmkindig
[B

and of course made in the usa! [/B]

You mean, assembled in USA.

sanjay.

 

[bmkindig]

lol, good point sanjay