Prologue
About a month ago the tank GFCI tripped. I re-set it and everything was fine. So I figured that sometimes they just trip.
The Story
Yesterday I came home to a dark tank and the battery-powered air pump was running. I reset the GFCI and everything was fine.
For about two hours. Then it tripped again.
I reset it, and went to bed thinking that I was going to have to replace the GFCI.
Overnight my wife woke me up and told me it had tripped again. This time it wouldn't re-set, so I decided to let the battery-powered air pump keep everything alive until morning.
This morning, after a series of un-plugging and re-plugging, I determined it was the return pump.
Sen900. I had never had that kind of a problem with a Sen pump in the 12 years I have been using them.
(Sen pumps have their own problems, as the impeller magnet generally rusts and locks up every 18-24 months. I am aware of this and keep a spare around.)
Since I keep spare pumps for both the return and the skimmer, I spent the morning replacing the return pump.
And since this required removing the skimmer in order to get access (sump with imersed return pump is in the stand, so things are a bit cramped), I decided to clean the skimmer.
Hadn't done that since last July, so I figured it was time.
Put everything back together, reset the GFCI, and all are happy. At least as happy as they can be in a tank that cooled down to 72F due to the cool house overnight.
Oh, and did I mention that I added a bunch of snails yesterday. I now have a bunch of snails (100, if they all survived) wondering what kind of outfit they got involved with.
I do see some of them moving, and a bunch are adhered to the front glass, so I guess the double acclimation wasn't too hard on them.
Epilogue
In the process of re-installing the skimmer I twisted an un-glued connection between a run of spa-flex and a ridged, slip-on connector.
Which has now decided to leak. Never did that before, in the 8 or so years it has been there. But it was dripping now. Luckily, I found an old 316 hose clamp.
Put that on, and tightened it. Still dripping. Re-tightened and am currently in hopeful mode.
Always a new challenge ...
About a month ago the tank GFCI tripped. I re-set it and everything was fine. So I figured that sometimes they just trip.
The Story
Yesterday I came home to a dark tank and the battery-powered air pump was running. I reset the GFCI and everything was fine.
For about two hours. Then it tripped again.
I reset it, and went to bed thinking that I was going to have to replace the GFCI.
Overnight my wife woke me up and told me it had tripped again. This time it wouldn't re-set, so I decided to let the battery-powered air pump keep everything alive until morning.
This morning, after a series of un-plugging and re-plugging, I determined it was the return pump.
Sen900. I had never had that kind of a problem with a Sen pump in the 12 years I have been using them.
(Sen pumps have their own problems, as the impeller magnet generally rusts and locks up every 18-24 months. I am aware of this and keep a spare around.)
Since I keep spare pumps for both the return and the skimmer, I spent the morning replacing the return pump.
And since this required removing the skimmer in order to get access (sump with imersed return pump is in the stand, so things are a bit cramped), I decided to clean the skimmer.
Hadn't done that since last July, so I figured it was time.
Put everything back together, reset the GFCI, and all are happy. At least as happy as they can be in a tank that cooled down to 72F due to the cool house overnight.
Oh, and did I mention that I added a bunch of snails yesterday. I now have a bunch of snails (100, if they all survived) wondering what kind of outfit they got involved with.
I do see some of them moving, and a bunch are adhered to the front glass, so I guess the double acclimation wasn't too hard on them.
Epilogue
In the process of re-installing the skimmer I twisted an un-glued connection between a run of spa-flex and a ridged, slip-on connector.
Which has now decided to leak. Never did that before, in the 8 or so years it has been there. But it was dripping now. Luckily, I found an old 316 hose clamp.
Put that on, and tightened it. Still dripping. Re-tightened and am currently in hopeful mode.
Always a new challenge ...
. You touch one thing and everything else falls apart. I bet that thing wouldn't have sprung a leak for another 8 years had you not touched it. Same crap happens to me all the time. I went outside this week and saw water splashing through the lid of my holding tank. Lifted the lid and the arm of the float valve was broken and I had to get to work! So I turned off the main valve and replaced the float when I got home. So a few days later my wife asks me to change the water filter outside. I said I don't like messing with stuff like that when it's either late at night and no-where is open if something breaks or when I have something to do like be to work. Well it just had to be changed so to please my wife I did and the thing broke and sprung a leak. No water again until I could get home to repair it. 
