Hydor Koralia Evolution 1400 failure (do'h)

[Integral9]

Just over a year after using this product, the impeller has swollen and seized against the housing body preventing any kind of movement. After extracting the impeller it's obvious that water got inside the magnet and caused it to rust. Given the pump has a 2yr warrenty I am going to contact Hydor about a replacement, just as soon as I inspect my other 1400. I have been in this hobby for 6 years and I have never seen this happen before. I really hope this is just a chance failure and not indicative of the product line.

 

btw does anyone know if rust would increase pH? I've been trying to track down the source of my ever increasing pH and at first thought it was my kalk stirrer back siphoning into my top off reservoir. But I shut that down and disconnected the feed line, rinsed out my top off bucket and the pH still rose up. Then I thought it was my RODI water as I found my TDS to be higher than I like ( need a new in-line TDS meter now ). And now I've found the magnet on the impeller swollen and it looks like iron-oxide (rust) leaking out.

[Origami]

It's possible (from a chemistry perspective). Iron, when dissolved, becomes an electron donor (Fe ==> Fe²⁺ plus 2 electrons ==> Fe³⁺ plus another electron). These electrons are picked up by hydrogen ions (H⁺) (which, in an oxygenated environment combine make water), thereby raising pH. Toward the end of the process, you get rust (Fe₂O₃). This conversion normally takes up hydroxides, lowering pH, but some iron gets bound up with organics. The net effect is that pH can be raised. I have no idea if the magnitude of the conversion is what's behind your increasing pH in the tank. Has your pH probe remained consistent in its calibration such that your confident that it has not somehow been fouled?

[Integral9]

Hmm... the probe was calibrated a little over a year ago (when I started the tank) so it does seem appropriate to recalibrate it just in case. Do you know if the calibration solutions go bad over time? I still have the ones that shipped with the unit.

[Origami]

If exposed to air, they can go bad. Especially the high pH ones like pH 10 calibration solution. It picks up CO₂ from the air, reducing its pH. This is less of a problem with low pH solutions. If it's something like Pinpoint calibration fluids in the hermetically sealed packages, they last a very long time (though I can't tell you what the shelf life is exactly).

[Integral9]

meh, It came in little vials with screw on tops. It's probably bad then. I'll have to get some new stuff. Thanks.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I always use the packets so I am sure they are right, also both of my evo 1400's have done the same thing. If you know how to contact korilia let me know because I am pissed also. My magnet on my new one which was used for maybe 6 months cracked and is swolen. Now niether will run forwards, they keep spinning backwards.

[dmatt56]

The 1400 spin backwards when the little rubber piece comes off the front of the PH. Contact hydor customer service and they will send new rubber parts and magnetic shafts for free. 3 of my 4 magnetic shafts have already been replaced. It takes about a week to get the replacement pieces.

 

Matt

[Integral9]

This is the only way to contact them that I have found. I will let you all know how it goes.

http://www.hydor.com/main/contact

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I am doing the same.

[zygote2k]

FWIW, many pumps use cheap impellers. The magnet is just a thin coating on a ceramic? core and is not impervious to saltwater.

I've seen it happen on cheap pumps as well as expensive pumps.

[Integral9]

This is the first time I've seen this happen and I still have my original powerheads from when I started this hobby and they still work great. Not all of them have the same impellers, but for different reasons than magnet failure. I understand if a shaft breaks or impellers snap off (those parts are under the most stress) and I have seen that happen before. This stinks of manufacturing defect. QA needs a bump in the factory, imo.

 

Here are some picks I took of the impeller:

 

 

[Integral9]

La tua richiesta è stata inoltrata correttamente. Ti risponderemo al più presto.

Cordiali saluti.

 

translate.google.com:

Your request has been submitted successfully. We will respond as soon as possible.

Sincerely.

[Origami]

Yeah, that looks pretty bad and, if it's happening a lot in a short amount of time, they definitely need to look for an improvement in quality from their supplier. It does happen from time to time with other pumps, too. For example, I had an Eheim 1262 do something very similar to me once. The operative words, though, are "time to time." If this is happening regularly with a lot of people, it's a problem that Hydor needs to know about and address in my opinion. I hope that they'll fix this for you and also work on improving this product.

[ToddR]

I had 2 1050 evolutions do the same thing after a vinegar soak. Hydor replaced both of them free.

[Integral9]

I checked my other 1400 powerhead and it's magnet is in perfect condition. Since I purchased them at the same time it's probably a defect from the manufacturer. I have never soaked them in vinegar. I clean them in warm tap water with a nylon brush and use an old butter knife to pick off the crustaceans and whatever else decided to attach to it.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

They contacted me yesterday and are sending me new parts for both.

[Integral9]

Still no response from Hydor for me.

[matt]

Is Hydor givein you exactly the same parts back or did they figure out something better to send as replacements?

 

Also, are you guys dissapointed to a degree where you wouldn't buy koralia's again? I'm running mj-pros and hating I have no magnetic mounts. A couple of Koralia 750s were on my list of possible purchases

[dmatt56]

I like the 1400. They are super quiet and wave maker compatible too.

[Muddy357]

I am getting ready to take one out of my 55 tomorrow and it will just sit around for a few months your are more then welcome to borrow it if you need to till you get the parts to fix yours.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I love Korilias, except for how tangs will eat off them and they will slowly point down towards the sandbed. All of my Mag series have ran with no problems for years. This is the only model that has done this. I asked Korilia if i should be worried about the new magnet going bad in 9 months again but no response to that yet.

[smallreef]

Ive had a korallia nano for over 7 years and never had any problems...have run it for almost 5 years of that 7

[Integral9]

After 2 tries on their website and no response, I found an email address on a thread in RC. So I gave that a try today. Hopefully I'll hear something back.

 

Piper: Did you just use the form on their website? I don't understand why I am not getting any responses.

[Integral9]

Finally got a response from Hydor and they are shipping replacements.

 

FYI: The customer contact form on their website doesn't seem to work. I tried that method twice. The method that does work is to use the email address: hydor.usa@hydor.com

[Wes]

I've had great experience with their customer service. FWIW I'd guess that the seal of magnet may have been compromised when cleaning. That's happened to me before with a skimmer impeller, wound up with the same swelling/rusting. I've always had good luck with koralias, had them running over 4+ years in a tank.