Pump stopped working completely after unplugging it. Ideas? (Not an emergency, I have a spare.)

[Tired]

I unplugged my pump so I could feed the corals, then plugged it back in about 15 minutes later. Now it won't run. It's not that it isn't pushing water, it's that it's not doing anything. No vibrations, no indication it's plugged in. I've tried it in multiple different power sockets, so unless those are all out (which seems unlikely), the problem is the pump. And no, I'm not in the middle of a power outage.

 

Anything I can try to get it to run again? I took it out, poured all the water out, and put it back in. I've also left it unplugged for an hour before plugging it back in, and as of now, it's been plugged in (still doing nothing) for about half an hour. I didn't do anything weird to it, just unplugged it. No idea what happened.

 

I have a backup pump, and I'm about to plug that in instead, but I'd rather have this pump going. Is there anything fixable that can make an aquarium pump just stop suddenly for no evident reason? 

[mcarroll]

That's the usual way to lose a pump IME – natural causes, as it were.

 

I'm sorry for your loss.

(You can try a heart transplant...replacing the impeller is a cheap way to try resuscitating it, even if it fails to work.)

[paulsz]

try taking the impeller out and putting it back in. Spin it around with your finger a bit. I know, sounds weird.... But my saltwater mixing pumps are used on/off all the time and they never turn back on. I just spin the impeller with my finger a few times (while unplugged of course) and then plug it back in and it works.

[M. Tournesol]

5 minutes ago, paulsz said:

try taking the impeller out and putting it back in. Spin it around with your finger a bit. I know, sounds weird.... But my saltwater mixing pumps are used on/off all the time and they never turn back on. I just spin the impeller with my finger a few times (while unplugged of course) and then plug it back in and it works.

I do the same thing.

[mcarroll]

(I assumed taking it apart and cleaning it....I agree do that if you haven't.)

[Tired]

Okay, so I opened it up, spun the impeller a few times, and it works now. That's bizarre. 

 

I didn't bother trying to clean it because I cleaned it a few days ago, so I didn't think it could possibly be dirty enough to make it completely not work. Because it wasn't just that it wasn't blowing any water- it did nothing when plugged in. Like it wasn't plugged in at all. 

 

Thank you so much, the replacement pump is rattly and bothers me. I also worry that it bothers the fish. So... why the hell did that work? 

[mcarroll]

Could be on its last leg....impellers can definitely have limited lifespans.  Lower magnetism means lower startup torque....which could definitely translate into stalled startups.

[Jakesaw]

Take it apart and clean it.  I had a Koralia from my mixing bucket do same thing.  It was old but not very used, and I took out impeller, cleaned, and working like new.  

 

Not much experience in Saltwater, but FW, you can get decades out of an impeller.  Just have to clean em out periodically to clean the algae.

[jefferythewind]

my filter does that sometimes after unplugging it. You just have to jiggle it a little.

[patback]

6 hours ago, Tired said:

Okay, so I opened it up, spun the impeller a few times, and it works now. That's bizarre. 

 

I didn't bother trying to clean it because I cleaned it a few days ago, so I didn't think it could possibly be dirty enough to make it completely not work. Because it wasn't just that it wasn't blowing any water- it did nothing when plugged in. Like it wasn't plugged in at all. 

 

Thank you so much, the replacement pump is rattly and bothers me. I also worry that it bothers the fish. So... why the hell did that work? 

Usually a small piece of sand or something stuck inside.