Aqua Lifter Pump- Toms brand

[Fijikid]

Hello Reefers!



I am on my second Aqua lifter Pump for my CPR overflow box this year. I have even tried the filter this goes with the pump and I could not get that to work (not enough siphon power to pull through the pump)



I am looking for suggestions on more efficient equipment or methods so that the siphon does not break on my overflow. Any suggestions???





Thank you!!!!

 

[wrightme43]

What kind of line are you using? I use silocone blue tubing and have had the same pump for 18 months. I have extra one just in case. I dont know any better way to do it. Sorry.

 

[Fijikid]

I am using the standard tubing. What is the difference between the standard vinyl tubing vs. the silicon tubing?

 

[wrightme43]

The standard tubing seems to get hard and leak around the edges and it is clear and gets clogged up easy because of stuff growing in it. I switched to the blue silocone and it seems to work alot better with alot less growth inside of it. Mine is working fine for me. So far anyway. LOL.

 

[aquariumdebacle]

try just running a regular powerhead and using the venturi to draw the water out. Just place the powerhead in the tank for added circulation. The pump will only blow bubbles for a few seconds until the air is removed. I did come across one CPR unit that had a leak right where the nipple met the acrylic surface. On this unit it would not even create a syphon because it kept drawing air through the leak.

 

[Krish]

I am running an aqualifter and it works great and hasn't failed me yet. I have the filter on it too. What are the lengths of your tubing you are usiing? I have about 5 inches max either way. I did the powerhead thing and it worked great also. The only issue I had with it was that I had to use it in my sump because everytime it picked up any bubbles in the line, it would shoot them out into the tank and this would happen every few seconds. Also, the powerhead I used heated up the water 3 degrees warmer than normal, so I opted for the aqualifter.

 

[esmith]

Sam, I used to run the aqualifter on my CPR overflow and one day it just stopped working, I ended up changing over to the powerhead using the venturi method and it's worked flawlessly for over 2 years. On a side note, the nipple on mine actually seperated from the body of the overflow about a year ago, thanks to me having weld-on on hand, that problem was easily fixed.

 

[Krish]

Another thing I forgot to mention was that I read somewhere that CPR had a problem with (I think it was the diaphram they said) with their first set of aqualifters and had to re-design it in their new ones so they wouldn't fail because they had a lot of complaints about the old ones giving out after a few months of use.

 

[Fijikid]

First of all I truly appreciate everyone’s support and input.



Aquariumdebacle- How did you find the leak on the overflow box? What size and type of powerhead are you using?



Krish75- Can you post a picture of how you have you filter setup on with you pump and overflow box, please? The tube coming from the over flow is about 3" and the output is about 5".



Esmith- What type of powerhead and size of powerhead are you using?

 

[Krish]

Krish75- Can you post a picture of how you have you filter setup on with you pump and overflow box, please? The tube coming from the over flow is about 3" and the output is about 5".

Not a problem, but a problem(LOL) I can take the picture, but I can't post it until the idiots here are finished working on my computer. I only sign on here to work when I get a free minute, but nevertheless, as soon as i get it back( which is hopefully before the weekend) i'll post them for you.

 

[Krish]

Oh, about the powerhead, I used a JBJ powerhead one time that worked great at (I think 260 gph) but it burned up on me.(LOL) I tried a maxijet with something like 100 or so gph and didn't do a thing even if I put it in my tank close to the overflow. I only ever wanted to use the powerhead in my sump because when I used mine in my tank, and the air was pushed out of the powerhead, you'd get bubbles that went right back into the overflow and back into the powerhead again. So in essence, the powerhead pushed out micro bubbles almost continually. Just thought I'd add that in...

 

[DonW]

If you have any maxijets in your tank you can get a venturi adapter for one of them. They are like $8 at Premium aquatics. These work great and do not plug up.

Don

 

[esmith]

I'm using a MJ1200, and I don't have airbubble problems unless I shut off the return pump and have any of the water drain out of the overflow or if air get's caught in there (which is rare).

HTH

 

[aquariumdebacle]

The overflow would not maintian a consistent flow. It was very weak. Just used deductive reasoning and eliminated all other causes. When I put the powerhead on it blew bubbles and that was the signature of a leaking nipple. I tried two brand new aqualifters and both failed to produce significant flow through the overflow.