Pump has just stopped working!!

[IndiaHawker]

Have no money till I'm paid on Friday and after a routine water change and pump cleaning, it won't turn back on! Tried taking it apart and putting back together a few times, but nothing! What's the best thing I can do till I can get a new pump? Daily water change? Not feeding tank?

Please and thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

what sort of pump is it?

is this on the tank with the trickle filter?

Most external filters can be kept alive by letting water flow through them. With an external canister filter, you put the outlet hose into a bucket and let the bucket fill up. Then put the outlet hose back in the tank and pour the bucket of water into the tank. This should be done every few hours.

With trickle filters you can scoop out the water from the sump and pour it into the tank. It will overflow down the drain pipes and flow through the filter materials.

If the filter is not going to be fixed for a few days, then take the filter materials out and clean them in a bucket of tank water, then put them in the tank and leave them there until the pump is fixed.

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Reducing or stop feeding for a few days will not harm the fish and will limit the ammonia produced in the tank, and this will help keep the water cleaner for longer. Monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels each day and do a water change if there is any.

Increasing the lighting on the tank can encourage the plants and algae to grow more and use more nutrients. When the pump is fixed you reduce the lighting times back to what they normally are.

If you have a spare air pump, get that going and have an airstone bubbling away in the tank to help circulate the water and keep oxygen levels high.

 

[Fishmanic]

If it’s a hang on back filter, you could remove the tubing and look into the housing and see if you can see the impeller. Take a pointy tool like an ice pick and push (spin) on the blades a few times and see if it will restart.

A better long term fix would be to turn off filter and then remove the motor/impeller assembly and then pull out the impeller. Thoroughly clean the impeller with a small brush (toothbrush will work) and also clean the area the impeller fits into with a q-tip. Reassemble and turn on power.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Ok, here’s a woman's way of doing it. Run some water through and then bang it on the side of the sink. This will dislodge any pebble or debris that may be clogging it. Works every time!

 

[IndiaHawker]

Thanks so much all! Didn't feed last night, have an eheim air pump with two air stones anyway which hopefully helped, and had just done a water change when the problem happened so hopefully water was nice and clean! Managed to get to nearest fish store today thanks to a friend, turned out one of the rubber bits holding the impeller in place had got pushed on too far which was the problem so I feel a little stupid but at least pump is working and fish seem okay Thanks again!