Hey! Clean your pumps!

Larry L · Jul 1, 2017

Some of my corals were looking... meh. I realized I hadn't cleaned my circulation pumps for a while, so I cleaned them. They didn't look visibly dirty, but enough crud had built up on the impeller vanes that after I cleaned them they seemed like they were pumping about twice as much water.

Just a public service announcement. That is all.

brownsalt92 · Jul 1, 2017

Once every month to month and a half its routine

moseley75 · Jul 1, 2017

I have to clean mine about every other month.

Lisa Maxwell · Jul 1, 2017

I have two pumps. I remove one and replace with one that has been soaked in 50% water/vinegar solution, then disassembled, cleaned and rinsed. Also provides a little peace of mind in case one fails, I have a backup.

reeftilldie · Jul 2, 2017

if u clean the pump by soaking vinegar, will coraline algea come off?

Velcro · Jul 2, 2017

I used to clean my pumps. Then I bought vortechs

Flippers4pups · Jul 2, 2017

I have a reminder set on my aquarimate app that reminds me to clean mine once every two months. Return and wave makers.

Makes a difference in flow.

Reefbuds · Jul 2, 2017

Water/vinager works wonders. I soak my skimmer intake in this to clean it and it works fantastic. Let it soak fr a good 24 hours. It will kill coraline algae but don't worry it will grow back in time.

Lisa Maxwell · Jul 2, 2017

reeftilldie said:
if u clean the pump by soaking vinegar, will coraline algea come off?

It doesn't come off unassisted, but after a couple hours, it becomes soft and comes right off with a vegetable brush.

Daniel@R2R · Jul 3, 2017

Good reminder...something I need to do...

A_game43 · Jul 3, 2017

Dido, I clean my powerheads once a month, great reminder I have not cleaned my two return pumps in a while. I will need to pull them and have a go at cleaning them.

jrwoltman · Jul 3, 2017

Good advice, I clean mine every few weeks.

joe berkman · Jul 4, 2017

i bought a used mp10 it was loud so i cleaned it with tap water and a tooth brush, it looked clean but was still loud so i bought a qd upgrade controller, it was still loud. finally tryed tunze citric acid and its quiet as a mouse.

CindyKz · Jul 4, 2017

Velcro said:
I used to clean my pumps. Then I bought vortechs

I have mp40s, why wouldn't you clean the wet sides? Even though they are sealed so nothing gets on the impeller and I don't think performance is affected, the blades and stuff get cruddy.

Velcro · Jul 4, 2017

CindyKz said:
I have mp40s, why wouldn't you clean the wet sides? Even though they are sealed so nothing gets on the impeller and I don't think performance is affected, the blades and stuff get cruddy.

I only clean them when they start to make noise which is about every 6 months. Every other powerhead I've had loses DRASTIC flow when dirty, but these really don't.