Pump stopped again AGGGH!

[pugsandseals]

Is it normal for pumps to be unreliable? Came down to a dead fish this morning and a really noisy pump not doing it's job. This is about the 4th time it's stopped working.

I've taken it out & rinsed it. It's fine again now, as it has been previous times. But I'm now really worried that if we go away for a couple of days we can't trust it!

Also, will the filter media be ok if the pump was off all night? Or will it have lost some of it's good stuff?

That is a bugger :( You would have had pretty much all the bacteria die off if the filter's been off all night. Which filter is it? When's the last time you cleaned the impeller? Does it just go dead?

I'm wondering if I should rinse it weekly or something. We probably only check it over once per month at the moment. The filter is the rio 180 juwel filter which I had hoped would be one of the most reliable ones!

to lose the bacteria!

Oh right. Those filters are OK if you stock the tank lightly but they don't cope as well as some other filters if you have a lot of fish or anything messy like plecs or goldfish. Rinsing the sponge once a week and giving the impeller a wipe down (I use a cotton bud to do mine) is a good idea. Make sure you use water from the tank and not the tap.

You might want to get some ammolock or bactinettes to prevent any more fish deaths.

Will pop into the shop tomorrow - thanks EauRouge !

Have just been rinsing the pump propellor in the tank occasionally. Will have to try to remember to do it more often I think as it felt very slimy today.