How clean should I get my sump during maintenance?

[sanzz18]

Tank has been running for 9 months now. Sump is filthy and I am about to do sump maintenance this week. Part of the reason why so much detritus accumulated at the bottom was because I was running the tank without any socks/roller for awhile when I was fighting dinos.

Should I just vacuum all the detritus at the bottom or should I scrape all sponges and feather duster looking things off the glass as well?

 

[Hydrored]

Tank has been running for 9 months now. Sump is filthy and I am about to do sump maintenance this week. Part of the reason why so much detritus accumulated at the bottom was because I was running the tank without any socks/roller for awhile when I was fighting dinos.

Should I just vacuum all the detritus at the bottom or should I scrape all sponges and feather duster looking things off the glass as well?

I use a wet vac but leave all of the sponges and feather dusters

 

[outhouse]

I use a wet vac but leave all of the sponges and feather dusters

Agreed in full

 

[sanzz18]

I use a wet vac but leave all of the sponges and feather dusters

Awesome. I bought a maxi jet, silicone tubing, and vacuum attachment. You leave all the sponges and feather dusters in all the compartments of the sump?

Agreed in full

Thanks for your input.

 

[outhouse]

. You leave all the sponges and feather dusters in all the compartments of the sump?

No reason to remove them. They clean up minor amounts of stuff and I never try and clean off living stuff.

 

[Red_Beard]

I used to be pretty good about cleaning out detritus, but found that the pods like hanging out in it, so i leave the section in the fuge alone for them. Also i am kinda lazy w maintenance....lol. so far no adverse affects, last cleaned about last year some time, other than too many amphipods.

 

[Gup]

Again, I too have been up and running for a solid 9 months. My sump is not dirty. But I have a related question.

I have an enclosed compartment that sits above the 1st partition. It holds my fiber filter. Below, the largest partition holds my Black Bio Balls. They are in two large netted bags.

My question: For those of you that may use bio balls or something similar, in your 1st partition, do you ever remove them perhaps to rinse them off in fresh salt water. Is there even a need to do such

I would very much appreciate some guidance people. Thanx

 

[blaxsun]

My question: For those of you that may use bio balls or something similar, in your 1st partition, do you ever remove them perhaps to rinse them off in fresh salt water. Is there even a need to do such

I would very much appreciate some guidance people. Thanx

I have my bio balls and blocks all post-filter socks, as they quickly became clogged and dirty when I had them in the chamber where the overflow empties into (and they also recommend this). Insofar as cleaning, I do occasionally take them out to clean that sump chamber (and vacuum all the tiny bits that periodically break off). When I do this I place them in a bucket of warm salt water and gently swish them around before returning to the tank. Otherwise if you just rinse them off with tap water or RO you end up potentially destroying all the beneficial bacteria. I maybe do this every few months, but not on any regular schedule.