RIO

[scuba_steve]

reading here and seams that rio's are bad for restarting !!! and why ¿?¿?which my 2100 has done that a few times to me !!! wondering is there a trick to restart with out pulling it apart and what not !!! prob not but ya never know what others do !!! also could ya give me an idea of a good pump that would not do that !! looking for same flow rate thanks !!!

 

[Guest]

I found out why my RIO pump stopped. A little story:

At my apartment complex, we have very unstable power. I ended up putting a UPS on my tank because of the power fluxes. Well, everytime the power does this, the pumps wind down and sometimes make a gurggling noise and start back up. One time, the RIO 800 that was on my Potien skimmer, did not start back up. I took it all apart and whoa to my surprise, a ceramic shaft. I found it in 4 peices. I went to the LFS, and another surprise, the replacement impellers come with metal shafts? I don't know, but it seems these ceramic shafts that RIO uses, must not be very stable and strong. When the pump turns back on, the torque must have snapped the shaft. I replaced the shaft with the metal one, and now,,,,no problems with restarts what so ever. I don't know if this sheds some ligth or not, but, it is my experience.....I will not buy another RIO pump as long as there are others out there. He he Logan,,,get a kick out of this?

 

[scuba_steve]

ummmmm thanks knew that the shaft was plastic but unlike other ph i have it also slide right out of the magnet ?!?!? not sure if thats normal or not !! might try that or find a better pump that i wont have to worry about starting back up when plugged back in !! and us this one for mixing water lol

any feed back on enhiem pumps ?? need at the least 600 gph @ 4'

 

[fishfreek]

Take a look at the magdrive pumps. They work good with headpressure and are submersible OR external.

A Mag Drive Pump 950 is rated at 800GPH at 4' head

 

[scuba_steve]

is there an advantage to an external pump ?¿? and if so i would guess that i would need to make a hole in my sump then ?¿?

 

[fishfreek]

One advantage is that they would be air cooled vs water cooled. Water cooling your pump can rase the temperature of your tank water. The increase may be small but its still something to be aware of.

external pumps should be plumbed via a bulkhead in the sump yes. I have see installs that use tubing to go up and over the sump but I feel this lowers the pumps effectivness.

 

[Anemoneman]

The reason RIO's won't restart (IME) is because they wear an oval shape in the magnet core, which is plastic. It will remain spinning once it gets going. The problem is when the wear becomes too severe, it will allow the magnet to touch the motor housing and it won't restart. These really are junk. Not worth the cheap price. They may be OK for use as an extra source of water movement as long as they never stop.

Mark

 

[loganj]

I agree with fishfreek on the Danner Magdrives. They are very good and will give years of trouble free service. They are also relatively inexpensive. Should you decide to go with an external pump, I have had good luck so far with the Little Giant pumps. If your budget will allow it, I think you'd be better served with an external. Definitely don't plumb it over the side of the sump though...if it ever loses its prime, it will run dry. This will likely damage, if not destroy, the pump.
Logan J

 

[maiceman]

I have thrown both of my RIO power heads in the trash. I was using them for additional water movement but after about 4 months I was doing a water change and they were shot. I pulled them apart and cleaned all of the parts and housing thoroughly... still they would not run but for only a short time. I am looking for a replacement and leaning towards the Maxi Jets. I have one of those on my protein skimmer and have been impressed with it.

 

[reefrunner69]

Maxi jets and hagens are both excellent powerheads. My preference is for the maxijet, but Hagens are good as well.

 

[scuba_steve]

thanks for all your help my new mag pump should be here today !!!