Tip of the Day – 5/27/2013

Curious children present many challenges for aquarium owners. Besides wanting to help mom or dad feed the fish and perform routine maintenance tasks, they can be particularly harmful to specific pieces of aquarium equipment. VorTech pumps, for example, are easily accessible to kids and they can be ruined in a short matter of time. The VorTechs operate with magnetically coupled parts, with the motor placed on the outside of the aquarium and the propeller on the inside. Because of their design, the dry side and wet site need to be aligned almost perfectly, otherwise the pump could rattle and possibly even fail. And that’s where the kiddos step in. That external motor on the VorTech pumps is just too intriguing not to touch. They want to move it and play with it, obviously causing a misalignment. A temporary misalignment won’t cause any issues, but if the pumps are allowed to operate this way for extended periods of time, then some issues may arise.