pump locks up

It's definitely been running hot. The magnets have always been hot to the touch when I take the pumps out of the tank for maintenance.

The freshwater and vinegar mix are both colder than the saltwater. I didn't try running it in freshwater for long enough, TBQH, so it might have locked up had I let it run for longer. It also doesn't lock up when it's sucking a little bit of air with the water; only when it's fully submerged.

It's a Hydor made, Red Sea branded pump that came with the tank.

 

White vinegar straight, but I would disassemble, inspect parts, soak them, clean/scrub, & rinse 3 times in warm water. Then put it back together.

 

what make & model pump?

 

It's a Hydor made, Red Sea branded pump, that comes with the RSM250. I believe it's a Seltz L40, rebranded. It has the same shape body as the Seltz pumps.

 

does it look like this?

 

It has the other front piece on it, the blue rim, and it doesn't have the base, but it has the slots on the bottom that it fits on to. Otherwise, that's it. It's also got a label saying "Made by Hydor for Red Sea"

 

Then it would be this or that? lol..

 

It's like this one, but it doesn't have the inner piece. The outer piece is a ring (a locknut, as it's called by Marineland on the MaxiJet Utility pumps) to lock on another ring (intake and shaft holder), which holds the impeller in place. It's similar to how the MaxiJet is designed when used as an external pump. The picture also has a piece (that I don't have) used to connect a tube into the front.

This is from an AIO, so they only give you what you need, not the whole kit as you would get if you bought it retail. It's the same pump, I'm fairly sure. It may have a slightly smaller impeller than standard, which would account for the 100 GPH difference between the rating on mine and on the Seltz L40.

 

It seems that the impeller on the pump wasn't broken, but the indents on the magnet had stripped away the plastic pieces that fit into the indents, so the magnet was running loose from the rest of the impeller. It explains why it ran in air but not in water (higher pressure under water let the magnet break free; the grip was noticeable but not very strong), and why it was running unevenly. Should I use crazy glue, or something else, to repair it?

 

two part epoxy will do the trick