Let's talk about tank maintenance

[New&no clue]

My current tank has been up and running for 4 months and I think I've been neglecting some basic maintenance items, but I'm not sure what needs to be cleaned, how often, and the best approach. Looking around the site I haven't found a comprehensive list of all tank maintenance that should be done, and I'm hoping you more experienced reefers can help me out.

Lets start with equipment;
Power Heads, Pumps, Skimmers, how often should they be cleaned and what is the best approach?

What about my entire sump, should I empty it and clean it out every so often? I have a bunch of pineapple sponges down there, do I need to clean them off or are they good to leave? Also I have this mesh block between my skimmer chamber and my return pump (I think it's called a bubble trap) does that need to be cleaned out?

Overflow box, should that be cleaned? what about the pipes from the overflow down to the sump?

What else am I missing? I do water changes every 2 weeks, I clean my glass every couple of days, I have an A**H*** goby who moves the sand all over the place so my sand has been sifted and stirred more than one would ever want.

 

[homer1475]

I typically clean my PH's, return pump, and skimmer about every couple month. Overflow and sump about once a year.

My stuff is never really gunked up, so some hot water and a toothbrush is about all I need. If I have heavy coralline buildup, a soak in citric acid(read vinegar can cause swelling on certain plastic so stopped that) for a couple hours then scrub with a toothbrush.

 

[New&no clue]

read vinegar can cause swelling on certain plastic

I read that too, and that it was okay to clean with it, but not to soak anything in it. When you say citric acid do you use lemons or the powder stuff in a bag?

 

[homer1475]

I read that too, and that it was okay to clean with it, but not to soak anything in it. When you say citric acid do you use lemons or the powder stuff in a bag?

Found this a while ago on BRS and use it.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/citric-acid-aquarium-equipment-cleaner-bulk-reef-supply.html

 

[New&no clue]

Found this a while ago on BRS and use it.

Perfect, Ill grab some of that. When you are done cleaning your equipment do you just rinse in RO water and put back in the tank or do you need to let it dry out first. I ask because I wash my filter socks in the dryer with some bleach and after I let them completely dry and then soak in RO water for a couple hours and then let them completely dry again before putting them back in the tank.

 

[homer1475]

I just rinse in tap. What little bit of tap water that is left on them will not harm anything IMHO.

When I used socks, I washed them the same way but did not bother with the RO rinse. Bleach is pretty harmless and gasses off in a few hours. If your socks are completely dry, no need for the RO rinse.

 

[MrWheelock]

Im with @homer1475 although I've never cleaned my overflow I just clean stuff when it looks like I'm getting coraline buildup, or excess detritus.

 

[Redfoxtang]

I also clean all power heads and equipment in citric acid. Grabbed a bag off amazon for really cheap and it was next day!!

 

[homer1475]

I have a center bottom drilled tower style overflow. I simply pull my full siphon, and return pipes and turn the return on. Anything in the overflow gets flushed down to the sump where I install a sock to catch the detritus.

 

[New&no clue]

If your socks are completely dry, no need for the RO rinse.

I do the RO rinse because my skimmer would go crazy every time I put a washed sock in. After I start doing the RO rinse and dry it stopped. My skimmer is possessed though so it might not be related.

 

[lavoisier]

Perfect, Ill grab some of that. When you are done cleaning your equipment do you just rinse in RO water and put back in the tank or do you need to let it dry out first. I ask because I wash my filter socks in the dryer with some bleach and after I let them completely dry and then soak in RO water for a couple hours and then let them completely dry again before putting them back in the tank.

Food grade much cheaper here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=citric+a...PO2&sprefix=citric,aps,542&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_6

I would recommend checking with your manufactures for maintenance routines on pumps and skimmer.

 

[Samina]

Seems like your on the right track! Maintenance wise, to get into a rhythm is the best way to approach.
I wouldn’t completely empty out the sump and remove all the pineapple sponges. If you have detritus collecting in there then you can always siphon that up when your doing a water change. Those little pineapples sponges are beneficial filter feeders and good for the system. If they are encroaching upon pumps or powerheads then yes I would definitely clear those away. Here’s what a basic idea of maintenance is. You can definitely tailor it to better suit your system and schedule, but for a basic idea:

Daily: feed fish, clean glass if need be, look over equipment/ATO to make sure everything is operating correctly, (I like to make sure the weir on overflow is also clear), verifying temp

Weekly: test water parameters, replace filter socks/floss (if using), make saltwater (flush RODI), refill ATO (if need be), clean skimmer cup

Biweekly: water change, change media in reactors (if using)

Monthly: if you have a Fuge, might be time to harvest, wash filter socks, refill dosing reservoirs (if needed), clean any salt creep up

Quarterly: clean powerheads, pumps, skimmer body+pump (I soak in vinegar 50/50 mix with RODI for an hour and clean the equipment with a toothbrush. Soaking longer does increase your chance of the adhesives breaking down a bit and exposing the internal housing which can cause the vinegar to interact with exposed magnets and from there, the equipment is pretty much toast. But a lot of people are gravitating towards citric acid now, I haven’t used it), clean out ATO reservoir

Annually: take apart plumbing and clean it out, refresh CUC

 

[dugthefish]

I try to deep clean one piece of equipment when I do my weekly maintenance. Takes an extra 10-15 minutes and it means everything gets cleaned every couple months. Never clean sump or overflow, that would be a yearly chore that I would probably put off anyone unless there is an issue.

 

[New&no clue]

I try to deep clean one piece of equipment when I do my weekly maintenance. Takes an extra 10-15 minutes and it means everything gets cleaned every couple months. Never clean sump or overflow, that would be a yearly chore that I would probably put off anyone unless there is an issue.

I think that’s a good strategy. Just do one thing each water change. I’m queen of procrastination, but I do manage to do a wc every two weeks, and adding on one maintenance item each time seems better than doing everything all at one

 

[Terry Mattson]

Perfect, Ill grab some of that. When you are done cleaning your equipment do you just rinse in RO water and put back in the tank or do you need to let it dry out first. I ask because I wash my filter socks in the dryer with some bleach and after I let them completely dry and then soak in RO water for a couple hours and then let them completely dry again before putting them back in the tank.

I do the same but extra rince in washer then soak in ro/di water with a product called safe. In bottle will last 5 years or more.

 

[dugthefish]

I think that’s a good strategy. Just do one thing each water change. I’m queen of procrastination, but I do manage to do a wc every two weeks, and adding on one maintenance item each time seems better than doing everything all at one

I'm the same way. An extra few minutes each week > 3 hours of deep cleaning that would be really easy for me to kick to next week over and over.

 

[Idoc]

I read that too, and that it was okay to clean with it, but not to soak anything in it. When you say citric acid do you use lemons or the powder stuff in a bag?

I used to clean my powerheads, etc... in a vinegar/water mixture. But after reading all the negatives to certain plastics, I stopped. It seemed Citric acid was a good alternative without the toxic fume dangers of Muriatic acid. I purchased some bulk Citric Acid on Amazon and gave it a try about a month or so ago....worked wonderfully!

 

[Txplicit]

The primary things you should clean are your pumps and powerhead. If you are lazy, like most of us, my friend does a 1 to 1 distilled vinegar and rodi water in a home depot 5 gallon bucket with enough solution to dip the whole pump in. He doesn't disassemble it, and he let's it run in the solution too. He does bi-monthly and says he hasn't had to replace any equipment yet.

Sump, you do not want to empty out. There are beneficial bacteria and stock in there like your sponges. If you must, I would vacuum out the detritus left in there and put the water back ad much as you can.

Other than that, basic cleaning of protein skimmer, replace filter floss and media, siphon sand bed a little and clear algae off of display glass is all you really need.

 

[stanleo]

My routine is:

Daily: Check evaporation and fill what's needed with RO. Feed. Clean glass if its needed and do an alkalinity test and dose if it's under 9dKH.

Weekly: rotate and clean filter socks and floss, do all other testing, check pumps. Empty skimmer cup.

Biweekly: 20 % water change, clean powerheads, brush off one rock (different rock everytime, brush off the back wall, brush off the outside of the overflow box. Replace half of the filter floss. Refill the top off bucket. I go through 5 gallons every two weeks or so.

Monthly: remove some chaeto and lightly scrape the glass in the refugium. Change carbon, clean up salt creep. Once I get a cleaning siphon I am going to siphon the ditritus in the bottom of the sump (I think I am getting one for Christmas)Will also run it on the inside of the overflow box. I clean the filter pads in back of the overflow box.

Every 6 months: Take apart and clean return pump. Just run it under hot water and brush gunk off all components.

When I get to a year of age: do a thorough cleaning of the sump, skimmer and bubble traps.

I don't like cleaning the bubble traps because of the pods that get into it but I know I will have to do that at least some so I am going to do it yearly. I don't like to clean too much. I keep nitrates at 2ppm and phosphate at .03 ppm so I think this schedule is working for me.

I'm sure I am forgetting something minor that I do but this is the main stuff.

 

[Damon Jensen]

My current tank has been up and running for 4 months and I think I've been neglecting some basic maintenance items, but I'm not sure what needs to be cleaned, how often, and the best approach. Looking around the site I haven't found a comprehensive list of all tank maintenance that should be done, and I'm hoping you more experienced reefers can help me out.

Lets start with equipment;
Power Heads, Pumps, Skimmers, how often should they be cleaned and what is the best approach?

What about my entire sump, should I empty it and clean it out every so often? I have a bunch of pineapple sponges down there, do I need to clean them off or are they good to leave? Also I have this mesh block between my skimmer chamber and my return pump (I think it's called a bubble trap) does that need to be cleaned out?

Overflow box, should that be cleaned? what about the pipes from the overflow down to the sump?

What else am I missing? I do water changes every 2 weeks, I clean my glass every couple of days, I have an A**H*** goby who moves the sand all over the place so my sand has been sifted and stirred more than one would ever want.

I am definitely learning as I go and refining my routine.

I have 200gl FOWLR and about 75 gl sump. First mistake was thinking I had a well developed self cleaning tank! (let me also add the 200 is a progression from my 100, 55, and 35 tanks..all of which I managed nuke in different ways!)

I do 25 gl water changes every week. I clean glass as needed. I clean the overflow every other week. I am very good at growing Aiptasia in my over flow. I treat with Aiptasia X give it a few minutes then scrap and remove the water. With a file fish and butterfly I rarely see Aiptasia in my display...none the less I am always looking for it. I have lost way too many cool fish not understanding Aiptasia. I also used to rotate my live rock....I started using bleach, but then realized a week or so in California son killed the Aiptasia.

I change socks every week, and still run nitrate filter pads. I also run through carbon sacks.

I also realized I was not caring for my plumbing and pumps. My cooler hoses plug with muck. I clean pumps and hoses as needed.

I am currently dealing with a massive ick out break. I am treating with temp, salinity, cleaner shrimp and food. To some degree, I think the fact that my fish are still eating after two weeks of ick and appear healthy is a testament to my tank conditions. However, I recent added UV sterilizer to the mix.

I think the best advice is don't take anything for granted and there is rarely one fix, use multiple fixes. Check your water, watch your fish and unfortunately sometime you just have to spend money.