Powerhead Electrical Problem

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sdellin

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
1,368
Location
Vacaville, California
Hello All,

I have not been on this site for a long time. I moved to the country, got a couple of horses, had grandkids (well, I didn't have them) but I still have my saltwater tank (125G) and a couple of old fish that are hanging in there. I have also been absorbed in moderating on a reptile forum, as I have an awesome 50" long male iguana, and I can tell you I've learned a lot with this guy.

Anyway, I have a need to reconnect with this forum because I used to get a lot of good advice here.

I have two Seio Pro 1000 powerheads in my tank. One morning a few days ago I woke up, well the dog woke me up, and I smelled what I thought was an electrical fire. After a lot of searching and stress I figured out it was coming from my aquarium. The fish were lying on the bottom, gasping and it was obvious the water was electrified. I got them out quickly and into a hospital tank. Two days later they seem to be doing just fine, so I didn't lose my fish that I've had for years.

I found that one of my heaters had what looked like a burn inside the glass, and thought that was the problem, but it turns out that heater is functioning properly. The culprit was one of my Seio powerheads. I need to replace this one, and I'm thinking I will just replace both as they are at least 10 years old. I have two Rio 2500 powerheads in my sump that run the filtration system. I did some reading online and people are saying the Rio powerheads can fail, they are not thermally protected? Not sure what that means.

So I need to replace two powerheads, maybe four depending on what you all think of the Rios. Can I get suggestions on what brand of powerheads are good to replace the Seio powerheads? It's too bad, because I really love the way these hang on with magnets.

Thanks for any assistance.
 
One more thing, I'm going to run the tank with a bunch of carbon to see if that will remove the smell from the tank. It was almost completely gone once I turned off everything, but I started some of the pumps and a heater after I found my problem because I don't want to lose my live rock and water. Advice on that would be good too. The electrical smell is still there, coming from the water, but it's minimal now.
 
The Seio are still available from places like Aquacave..
My reading says they are thermally protected...
Thermally protected motors are supposed to stop before failing from overheating?
I believe a safety 'resistor' or the like blows that shuts off the pump?

I might try Seachems Purigen to remove anything the carbon does not get..
Use a large amount of carbon IMO and be willing to swap it out a coupe times to make sure it removes all it can..
 
Thanks for the advice. I bought carbon today and planned to run a bunch, I will change it out a couple of times. I will looking into the Seachem product.
 
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