This is a new experience.

Yes Matt, I too blame nerites. I can remember the first night I heard the clicking, it sounded like it was out of alignment. I must have messed with it for 3-4 minutes before I saw the snail inside.

Just surprised it popped off. I read alot about them and never heard that! the more you know right?!?!

 

Why would a snail being caught in the impeller/cage cause the wet side assembly to fall? I thought the impeller was supposed to shut off when something got caught in it?

 

Physics!

But seriously, if you instantly stop the impeller while it's spinning, there's a momentum transfer back to the housing; it twists itself right off the glass.

 

... because the motor is in the magnet. Hmm... Seems like a flawed design. lol

 

Only as flawed as Newton's third law

 

I have had that happen twice!! Once a nerite jammed inside and the other is when my wetside seized up! Of course both happened in the middle of the night and scared the poop out of me! :-/

 

I get the science of it. I'm speaking from a design sense. The concept of using magnets to drive the impeller is intuitive, and a great way to keep the cords/pump out of the display, for a cleaner, sleeker, sexier look for the tank.

But part of good design means you think about and consider matters such as in this case, where the falling a wet-side assembly (or any equipment) may crash on rock/coral and damage livestock within the tank.

 

That is true but then again I've had Koralias fall off the magnet mount and blow sand all over my tank. At least when the vortech wet side falls off, its dead in the water. ;D

 

Maybe so. I've never personally had that issue with my Koralia Nanos. If they did fall, they won't go far enough to damage most things as they have a cord attached. lol.

I'll take a sandstorm over injured livestock any day.

 

Maybe if it fell on a bubble coral or oter super large LPS polyp it could injure something, but Its not very heavy.