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What will cause a Pump seal to fail? water chemistry is in the limits. There is a white crust around the seal and in the pan under the pump. Its an itermiten leak.
several things will cause a pump seal to leak. 1 = Friction, running the pump for a period of time without water, such as an air lock creats heat by friction. 2 = water chemistry and acidic chemicals.Should you discover a pump seal leak it is less than a $100 repair, if neglected it becomes a $500 repair.The white salts are residual chemicals from the water the leaked through and evaporated leaving the chemical and mineral content behind as evidence.
PH, Alk are all in the limits, no floater, Hardness is where is should be. The tube is a year old. Never ran with out water or bleeding system first. Maybe just a bad seal from factory?