Octopus skimmer problem and fix(hopefully)

[beckbrass]

I've had a octopus sro2000int for about 10 months. Recently when the power went off it would not turn back on. I took it out and cleaned the bubble blaster pump and still nothing, but could hear it trying to turn over. I blew in the air intake and got it to work. Not ideal but atleast a temp fix. I noticed the impeller had a scratch in the plastic and figured that is part or all of the problem. I contacted the maker and they said to mail the pump in and they would look at it, it has a 3 year warrantee. So that's were I am now just shipped it, $22.75, and now I wait. They said it would take 3-4 days once they got it to see if it's fixable. Just thought I'd post on here to track the progress as it unfolds. I'll keep posted when I hear from them.

 

[pallobi]

please do keep us up! i am going to be replacing the 2 sicce pumps on my octo 300 with 2 bubble blasters once i have the extra loot... so i look forward to the results GL!

 

[Bobbofin]

I got a Octo skimmer last August. A few months back the magnet on the impellor split open, seized up and scored the inside of the pump. There is a known issue with the first batch of Bubble Blaster pumps. Coralvue was very quick about it. I shipped it to them priority mail and it came back priority mail. I was down only about seven days. The new pump I received had a redesigned impellor and a piece of plastic over the slot above the magnet opening. So far so good.

 

[beckbrass]

The pump made it to them July 7th. I have not heard from them as of yet.

 

[Bobbofin]

They didn't contact me that they received it. A new one just showed up the following week.

 

[Andy V]

I had an issue with my bubble blaster pump from the XP-1000SSS. The pump would seize up but then work, right out of the box. Then after two weeks, it stopped working altogether. When I took the pump out, there was rust coming out of the area where the cord went in. It could have turned out a lot worse. I was sent a brand new pump in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[beckbrass]

It just came back today via fed ex. They sent me a new bubble blaster pump. I guess the old one was toast or not worth fixing so I got this one. Its back in e tank and doing it's thing now. The planets have aligned and all is good again.

 

[Andy V]

Time to resurrect this thread I guess. As I mentioned in my previous post, my original pump on the XP-1000-SSS crapped out after only a couple of months. I was sent a new pump on April 28th. I was told at the time that problems were rare, despite the fact that you can find complaints on the internet.

Well guess what? After 5 months, the second pump they sent me has completely failed again! Again I asked Jeremy at Coralvue if they had a lot of problems with these, he said, "very few."

He then went on to say that they were already "on the third generation pumps for these skimmers." Which means they have already had two re-designs in less than a year! I find it hard to believe that a pump with "very few problems" necessitates two re-designs in less than a year, and a single customer with two failed pumps, but no one else is having a problem.

I don't think Coralvue is being truthful about the problems it is having with these pumps. I already paid for return shipping the first time, and waited almost two weeks for a new pump. I requested on Saturday that a new pump be sent expedited, and paid for by them. Despite actually speaking to Jeremy on the phone, and getting his personal assurance that he would reply to my email on Saturday, I have heard nothing as of right now.

I will keep people updated on what happens, but I would avoid Bubble Blaster Pumps.

 

[Andy V]

I just received an email from Jeremy saying he is sending me a new pump today and not to bother returning the old one. This tells me a couple of things. First, they are sending me a new pump solely on my word with zero proof on my end. This is great and convenient for me, but it also tells me these problems are widespread. On a more positive note, it does show that Coralvue (Reef Octopus) stands behind their product. Hopefully this is the last of my hassles.

 

[Bobbofin]

The first batch of 2010 Bubble Blaster pumps had some issues. They have corrected them. You'll see there's a piece of plastics over the slot above the impellor cavity and the new impellor is re-designed and white. CoralVue has been good addressing the issue.

 

[Andy V]

The first batch of 2010 Bubble Blaster pumps had some issues. They have corrected them. You'll see there's a piece of plastics over the slot above the impellor cavity and the new impellor is re-designed and white. CoralVue has been good addressing the issue.

I don't want to come off as a jerk, but they haven't fixed them. Like I said, I was a victim of the first batch, and now I am a victim of the second batch. Now there is a "third generation", which means it's not a batch, it's a re-design. The second pump was slightly different than the first pump, and I expect my third pump to be different as well.

Neither of my first two pumps had any damage to the impeller, nor was the impeller the cause of the problem. The first one just died, and there was rust coming out of the cord area. The second one just died, with no visible damage or rust anywhere. Yes, Coralvue has been good taking care of customers that have problems, but I'd rather buy something that actually works.

I have to remove my entire sump to get my skimmer out, which means I have to undo all the unions, remove all media reactors, and remove all other pumps, heaters, etc. This is not a ten minute project, which is why the whole situation sucks.

 

[Andy V]

My new "third-generation" pump arrived last night, and it confirms that the impeller problem was not the only problem, and that these pumps were NOT fixed after the first redesign.

Like I said before, I had two of these pump fail, and neither time was the issue related to the impeller, as Coralvue has said was the issue with the first generation of pumps. Indeed, the impellers apparently were a problem, but not the ONLY problem. My pumps simply died, and the first one had visible rust coming out of the area where the cord goes in.

And guess what? It looks like there was a design flaw there as well, because the "third-generation" pumps now come with a new rubber gasket that surrounds the case where the cord goes into the pump. It's likely (given the rust I observed and the new gasket) that these pumps were failing because they were not adequately sealed, and tiny amounts of water seeped in and caused the motor to fail.

If you have a problem and are assertive like I was after the second failure, Coralvue will send you a new pump 2nd day for free, and not require you to send the old pump back. I paid nothing out of pocket for the second pump. Good luck to everyone.