Fuge maintenance - how often do you vacuum/clean-up?

[WallyTime7]

Hey friends! I don't have the highest flow in my sump so a lot of sentiment/detritus seems to fall under my live rock layer (which is under my chaeto).

If applicable, how often do you vacuum, clean it up? I have some snails in there but they don't seem to snag all of that. 9 month old tank.

 

[Lavey29]

For my fuge, I pull the chaeto and just turkey baste the rocks to get detritus in the water column and then net out what I can. I don't want to siphon out microfauna there so it generally stays fairly dirty with mulm but a lot of biodiversity.

 

[Mikey-D]

I put a gyre in my fuge to help with flow. It's non tested but here's hoping it keeps maintenance low and the flow steady.

 

[WallyTime7]

For my fuge, I pull the chaeto and just turkey baste the rocks to get detritus in the water column and then net out what I can. I don't want to siphon out microfauna there so it generally stays fairly dirty with mulm but a lot of biodiversity.

How often do you do maintenance on

I put a gyre in my fuge to help with flow. It's non tested but here's hoping it keeps maintenance low and the flow steady.

It's a good call - Mine is a small sump area so I feel like that would be overkill? Any small type that would work well? Last two months I've gotten green hair algae that's starting to over run my chaeto

 

[Mikey-D]

How often do you do maintenance on

It's a good call - Mine is a small sump area so I feel like that would be overkill? Any small type that would work well? Last two months I've gotten green hair algae that's starting to over run my chaeto

Sicce nano? Small enough to push some water around

 

[WallyTime7]

Sicce nano? Small enough to push some water around

Have to ask - why do you NEED a decent flow in the sump? What is the benefit of having it versus not?

 

[Mikey-D]

Have to ask - why do you NEED a decent flow in the sump? What is the benefit of having it versus not?

Keep cheato moving around if flow from the DT to the Sump isn't pushing it around....

My goal is to have a decent flow and don't want to rely on the drain flow so I figure why not throw a powerhead in there and keep the flow constant

 

[exnisstech]

I've cleaned mine once in 3 years. Only reason I cleaned it then was because I tried running without filter socks, which are in the first chamber and my chaeto (second chamber) was just trashed and packed with detritus. I pulled the chaeto, cleaned and added fresh chaeto and went back to filter socks. That was probably a year or so ago. I run a pretty slow flow and my chaeto doesn't really move much less tumble and it grows great. I just flip it over by hand once in while. It is lit on 3 sides tho so I'm sure that helps. Cleaning the sump is not part of my maintenance routine.

 

[Lavey29]

How often do you do maintenance on

It's a good call - Mine is a small sump area so I feel like that would be overkill? Any small type that would work well? Last two months I've gotten green hair algae that's starting to over run my chaeto

I blow it out maybe once a month. I hand rotate and trim the chaeto weekly. Fuge are messy but that is a trade off to having natural nutrients export and a home for microfauna to enhance your biome.

 

[WallyTime7]

I blow it out maybe once a month. I hand rotate and trim the chaeto weekly. Fuge are messy but that is a trade off to having natural nutrients export and a home for microfauna to enhance your biome.

Sharp - what's in the other chamber that's not a filter sock?

 

[Lavey29]

Sharp - what's in the other chamber that's not a filter sock?

One filter sock one media cup that I keep a bag of chemipure blue in.

 

[blstravler]

I just cleaned mine last week - I absolutely hate doing it. But I don’t always run filter socks and I can get detritus build up in 2 chambers (one is my refugium) I added a couple of maxijets to help keep things stirred up.

 

[hart24601]

Maybe once a quarter I hook up a canister filter with polyfill to clean my Rubbermaid 150 downstairs stock tank but since adding a reef mat it’s remained pretty clean

 

[vetteguy53081]

I do not disturb mine- Part of the ecosystem and natural fauna

 

[Toff]

I run very small wave makers in my sump, one in my fuge, keeping the cheato moving which is on a timer with the fuge light and one where my return pump and doser pipes are. I dont really need the second one but it does help stir the fluid coming from the dosing pump with return water.

 

[Slicktop]

I have never cleaned mine in over 5 years ..

 

[Khalilkaram]

once a year i give the sump a deep clean remove all the equipment and clean the sump

 

[Tcook]

I recently cleaned mine when I replaced my Apex and reprogrammed everything. It started up my 2 Cor 20 pumps at 100% and sucked everything out of the sump into the display.

 

[Neptune 555]

For my fuge, I pull the chaeto and just turkey baste the rocks to get detritus in the water column and then net out what I can. I don't want to siphon out microfauna there so it generally stays fairly dirty with mulm but a lot of biodiversity.

Do you think your red sea star could do a good clean if you put in in the sump for a few days? Have you tried?

 

[Lavey29]

Do you think your red sea star could do a good clean if you put in in the sump for a few days? Have you tried?

No he mainly just cruises the rocks for film algae