chimera Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 my eheim (1048 i think?) circulating pump on the calcium reactor makes a hell of a noise. a rattling sound, as though its being retricted when drawing or pushing water. i took it off the reactor and submerged it in the tank as a test and the flow was poor (although it only does 10lph, it was still only just dribbling out) i compared the impeller/magnet/shaft on the 1048 to the same on an eheim 1060 i have. the difference is the 1060 impellor and magnet spin together (they're joined) and both slide up and down the shaft together. the 1048 has the impeller and magnet disjoined and both slide up and down the shaft and spin separately, although there is a 'key' lock inside the impeller and outside the magnet so when they touch they lock. the impeller seems very slack on the shaft, wobbling around a bit. pies or joeblog: any chance you guys (or anyone else with an eheim 1048) can tell me if the impeller is supposed to be quite slack on the shaft? i think the problem with mine is the impeller is slipping over the 'key' lock which is causing the noise and resulting in the poor flow. if this is the case, suppose i'll have to get a new complete impeller? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 I'm not Pies or Steve but do have an eheim 1048, the impellor is not slack on the shaft. The recirculating pump in a calcium reactor can be in an abrasive environment. Exactly what you describe happened in my calcium reactor, although different pump, excessive wear in the impellor shaft and a lot of noise. Things will only get worse you should get a new impellor & shaft. Not expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 I use a 1048 on my water cooled PC (the one I am using now!). Its as snug as a bug in a rug, and yes it is keyed. Water moves at a good rate, certainly not slowly. I have no reason to dissagree with what Wasp has said, could be the environment, but i've had my CA ractor running for over 3 years without issue. New impellor/shaft or new pump, whatever is cheaper/easier. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 i took the pump off and tested taking the reactor out of the equation. s'pose i'll just have to try a new impeller :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 When mine got worn, I had the Co2 turned up too much, the PH in the reactor was too low and the water was cloudy with excess calcium carbonate being dissolved. I think it was this that caused the wear. Now I'm setting PH at a higher number and maintaining almost clear water inside the reactor, the second impellor is lasting OK. What gave it away to me was a loud buzzing noise coming from the pump, which eventually got so loud it was obvious something was badly amiss. Replaced shaft & impellor, and end of problem. With the Co2 set better now, the new impellor has already gone longer than the other one, and I can see getting the same kind of life as Pies one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 When mine got worn, I had the Co2 turned up too much, the PH in the reactor was too low and the water was cloudy with excess calcium carbonate being dissolved. I think it was this that caused the wear i think that is exactly the problem and was my theory behind the wear also. the calcium carbonate is dissolved so much it clogs the filter pad at the bottom of the reactor. the circulation pump pushes water down to the bottom of the reactor and draws water from the top, but it struggles because of the clogged filter pad. i took all media out of mine and cleaned the pad, it was FILTHY, almost like clay. put it all back in but by then i think it was too late, the damage to the impeller was already done. i have since reduced the bubble rate considerably (the instructions for the korralin say 1 bubble every 7 seconds, from others i took the suggestion of 1 bubble per second ) think i'll go back to the higher rate with the new impeller and see how it performs. cheers wasp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 I bubble mine about 1 ever 2 seconds. Mine gets a silt sort of stuff in it, but doesn't seem to effect performance. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 you got short fat korralin dont you? maybe the width and lesser height is an advantage! more room for water to travel upwards and less distance for blockages. interesting if this is the case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Mine is the 4001, its about 2 feet tall, holds maybee 15L? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 C 1501: height: approx. 400 mm; diameter reactor tube: 110 mm; bottom-plate 160 mm; Filling up to 3 kg; Eheim pump power: 600 l/h; C 3001: height: approx. 710 mm; diameter reactor tube: 110 mm; bottom plate 160 mm; Filling up to 6 kg; Eheim pump power: 600 l/h C 4001: height: approx. 600 mm; diameter reactor tube: 160 mm; bottom plate 190 mm; Filling up to 10 kg; Eheim pump power 1200 l/h C 10001: height: approx. 1100 mm; diameter reactor tube: 160 mm; bottom plate 190 mm; Filling up to 20 kg; Eheim pump power 2400 l/h looks to be the case: mine is c3001 (710mm high, 110mm wide) yours c4001 (600mm high, 160mm wide) plus pump output is double the rate of mine very interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 i finally picked up the new impellor from michael @ petplanet on the weekend. finally a smooth sounding eheim again and hopefully this time sustained water parameters. have had reactor running properly again since saturday arvo so will do some water tests tonight. will be interesting to see the results coz i know the main figures (kH, Ca and Mg) were all at a minimum... and its quite amazing how much Mg chloride you need to dose to sustain Mg. almost likewise with baking soda and kH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 tested water last night, still crap. getting really frustrated - surely it shouldnt take more than 4 days to get levels back up? kH was ok-ish at 7.5. Ca low at 310, Mg low at 1140. checked this morning and reactor needed tuning again - bubble rate was ok and consistant but outlet feed was blocked. it continues to do this, whenever excess CO2 goes through the reactor it seems to block the outlet (strange but true) if i shake the reactor all the CO2 bubbles rise to the top. have to then fully open outlet which lets the CO2 escape then once water comes out again, tune it back to a drip a second. i think the filter media at the bottom of the reactor is clogging up again. stupid design really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 tested water last night, still crap. getting really frustrated - surely it shouldnt take more than 4 days to get levels back up?.Absolutely! All you are really asking your reactor to do is maintain correct levels. How about dosing manually to bring levels up to where you want them, then see if the reactor will maintain them? If it doesn't, THEN you will have to figure out how to tweak it some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 funny you say that wasp, was just about to post a question who wants to go halves in a 25kg sack of calcium chloride? i think its around $130 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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