melev

I like the Sequence Dart pumps, but like anything they too need to be repaired as parts give out over time. I looked at the twin pumps that run 24 hours a day, and was surprised to see salt creep and crusty stuff amassing in their vicinity. Yuck!



I called up the people at Reeflopumps.com and they shipped me out new seals and four new bearings. When you have the pump pulled part for the seals, it's only a little more trouble to get to the bearings as well.



With the parts on hand, I called up my tank sitter and asked he had was able to help me get the bearings pulled, since he had the right tools for the job. You have to have a bearing puller, usually an automotive tool. He did, and I drove over to rebuild the two pumps. He did most of the work, I was there for moral support and to commend him on his beautiful tank. (I'm going to head over there this week to get pictures for y'all, because it's a sexy set up worthy of sharing.)

With the pumps rebuilt, I cleaned up the area where they set, and resealed one female threaded fitting that was beginning to leach salt. Everything was plumbed back in place, and the flow resumed. Unfortunately, one seems to still be making more noise than I would have expected with new parts, but it runs and there are no leaks. Maybe something else can be replaced to get it back to its normal silent operation again.



From this angle, you can see how the pumps are plumbed into the sump. The one on the right feeds the manifold to multiple reactors and the frag tank. The one on the left feeds the 215g reef tank in the background. The valve between them is an emergency valve. If one pump fails, the other can feed both sides for the time being.



The pumps are elevated so that if the tray were to fill up with 2" of water depth, the motors would still be above the water, keeping the electrical dry.

The big box to the left is the ATO reservoir that replaces evaporation with RO/DI water. The small white ball valve with blue handle is shut off, but when it is time to refill the reservoir, I open it manually. I do this about once a week.