How are you cleaning your pumps?

[mike550]

I have a couple of small submersible pumps (think skimmer, etc) that I’d like to clean. I was thinking that I would simply disassemble the pump and soak the parts in a citric acid solution, then lightly brush, and reassemble. But could I accomplish similar results by simply running the pump in the citric acid solution, and skipping the tear down?

 

[7of9]

I run pumps in citric acid water first, then tear down and scrub. Running them first helps loosen up any gunk and then scrubbing catches anything left.

 

[Rmckoy]

Rip apart , soak , scrub and rinse .
Assemble

 

[Seansea]

^This. And make sure when you take apart you remember how it goes back. My jebao wave maker still doesnt sound right and i cant figure out what i did

 

[Rmckoy]

^This. And make sure when you take apart you remember how it goes back. My jebao wave maker still doesnt sound right and i cant figure out what i did

What jeabo pump ?

I haven’t taken the cross flow ones apart yet. !
But the dc return pumps and older style wave makers never had an issue with them.
Don’t use vinegar though with the magnet impeller.

 

[zoomonster]

I would not use vinegar with anything at very least not for plastic. Citric acid best and not damaging to plastics like vinegar. I usually get a 5 pound bag of Milliard from Amazon and it lasts a long time. As far as disassembly your choice and nothing difficult for a typical pump. I went through hell when I was using Gyres mostly because they were such junk (at least original ones). So, for most Gyre types and Vortec wet sides I would just soak in peroxide to kill algae then citric acid for coralline then a toothbrush.

 

[blaxsun]

I keep a spare impeller for both of my pumps and just swap that out.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Citric acid club for me. Some stuff ill take it apart and soak it then scrub, some stuff (powerheads) I'll run it in the citric acid and scrub if needed.

 

[stoney7713]

I run pumps in citric acid water first, then tear down and scrub. Running them first helps loosen up any gunk and then scrubbing catches anything left.

If there's a lot of algae I'll spray it with peroxide first, then after all that, I run mine in clean ro water for the final rinse. I throw a tablespoon of baking soda in the water too just to neutralize any acid. Probably not necessary at all but it makes me feel better

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I disassemble, then scrub each piece, and reassemble. I don't soak unless there is coraline or some other hard crust on it.

Sometimes I just let pumps run in citric acid water for a few hours. But I just find it faster and more efficient to take it apart and clean it, I can do most of my pump in 5-10 minutes, compared to sitting for hours in citric acid, and then spending time to carefully rinse them.....

 

[Derrick0580]

What? Wait, we can clean them instead of just throwing them away and buying a new one???

Jk, citric acid is the only way to go. I keep a couple big bags of malliards on hand.

 

[X-37B]

I run mine until they look like this with monthly scrubbing of impeller and any algae.
Take apart soak in citric acid and your good to go.
I have extra everything so I can remove a pump and install another. I completely clean them every 9-12 months when they look like this and rotate them out.

 

[Stephen Glover]

I use a mild muriatric acid solution and a toothbrush. I always have it on hand since I’m a pool owner.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I run mine until they look like this with monthly scrubbing of impeller and any algae.
Take apart soak in citric acid and your good to go.
I have extra everything so I can remove a pump and install another. I completely clean them every 9-12 months when they look like this and rotate them out.

Both of my gyre's look like that, its time to clean!

 

[stoney7713]

Set a couple small RBTAs in it to see how it looks.

 

[stoney7713]

Moved some of my torches to the back wall.

 

[t5Nitro]

Muriatic acid bath for my pumps. Reminds me that's a project for today.

 

[blaxsun]

What? Wait, we can clean them instead of just throwing them away and buying a new one???

You still this for Jebao pumps.

 

[dadnjesse]

Set a couple small RBTAs in it to see how it looks.

What?

 

[Uncle99]

I have a couple of small submersible pumps (think skimmer, etc) that I’d like to clean. I was thinking that I would simply disassemble the pump and soak the parts in a citric acid solution, then lightly brush, and reassemble. But could I accomplish similar results by simply running the pump in the citric acid solution, and skipping the tear down?

I do this.
I let the pump do most of the work.
Then a short brush, a rinse and back they go.