Equipment & Husbandry: Do you have an Aquarium Maintenance Schedule?

Do you have an Aquarium Equipment & Husbandry Maintenance Schedule?

  • Yes equipment ad husbandry

    Votes: 164 55.6%
  • Yes but equipment only

    Votes: 13 4.4%
  • Yes but husbandry only

    Votes: 34 11.5%
  • No I currently do not

    Votes: 79 26.8%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 5 1.7%

  • Total voters
    295

revhtree

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Do you have an Aquarium Equipment and Husbandry Maintenance Schedule?

Today let's talk about your maintenance schedule, if you have one, and what it looks like. Why is preventive maintenance important when it comes to aquariums? Because it could mean the difference in a clean aquarium or an algae filled aquarium. Or a broken expensive pump or a smooth operating expensive pump! It could literally make the difference between life and death of your fish, coral and ultimately your aquarium hobby.

Instead of just saying you have a schedule of maintenance why don't you get as detailed as possible so that others can see what you do and hopefully learn to be better aquarist? I need the help myself! I'm terrible about preventive maintenance.

Let's get detailed and break it down by listing what you do within these certain time frames.

What does your Equipment and Husbandry maintenance schedule look like?

DAILY
- What do you do?

WEEKLY - What do you do?

MONTHLY
- What do you do?

QUARTERLY - What do you do?

YEARLY - What do you do?

bigstock-Calendar-And-Clock-Icon-Calen-356924420.jpg
 

andrewkw

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What does your Equipment and Husbandry maintenance schedule look like?

DAILY - What do you do?
Daily has really increased since I started raising clownfish, but besides them I do try and clean my glass everyday, as well as feed my fish several times a day. I also have a nano that does not have an ATO so I usually top it off. It's fine going a day but not having an ATO makes me at least look at the display which is tucked away with all my other non display fish stuff. For the clownfish, as soon as I wake up I feed them, feed their rotifers phytoplankton then harvest one bucket. I repeat this at night plus feed the babies a few times during the day. Every other day I culture baby brine shrimp as well.


WEEKLY - What do you do?
Water changes every single week on several systems. I don't mind doing this, I know people hate it but I find it's a good time to do inspections with no pumps on. I also target feed corals once a week. I scrape the back wall of my tanks once a week before coraline gets too bad. Fill up auto top offs. Wash filter socks in washing machine (swap them twice a week). Weekly I check my rotifer density under a microscope and also inspect the rotifers for possible contaminates. Clean skimmer cup out.

MONTHLY - What do you do?
Soak powerheads in citric acid, brush them off ect. This is both to improve performance and to improve the view. A dirty powerhead will eventually slow down, but it will look bad long before that. When the powerheads are off I'll take out the scraper and get any spots the flipper doesn't. Change GFO, and run carbon for a few days. I'll also check out my dosing reservoirs, refill them ect. Wash out my rotifer buckets completely and clean up the cultures to ensure they will continue to produce.

QUARTERLY - What do you do?
Mix new 2 part. Change RO filters except DI. Check out how much supplies I have as far as food, salt, other consumables. Nothing worse then going to change an RO filter and not having one on hand. Generally I keep enough salt on hand for an emergency but since all my tanks run independent if something crazy did happen I have the option of moving livestock to a different system.

YEARLY - What do you do?
Take my skimmer pump apart and clean it. Sometimes take my return pump apart and clean it. Hose the skimmer down outside right before it starts getting too cold to be outside hosing things down. Rinse marinepure block out and remove detritus from sump. Change DI - I am really lucky the water from my well is really good and making 30+ gallons a week of RO/DI water only requires 1 change per year. I use the colour change cartridge and even if it is still producing 0 or 1 TDS I will typically change it once a year just so it doesn't get to the point where I forget about it.

That's all I've got off the top of my head. Most of this stuff I just remember to do. I don't have them marked on the calendar or anything. For cleaning out the skimmer, once it's too cold to wear shorts on a daily basis I start thinking about it..
 

stanleo

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DAILY - Run my mag float over the glass, feed frozen mysis or brine shrimp in the morning and nori and flakes in the evening. Make sure all equipment is running visually. Check the level of the ATO reservoir. Twice a week I feed the brain coral and lobo and once a week I use reef frenzy.

WEEKLY - Run a full battery of tests every Wednesday and record it on a spreadsheet that I keep to note everything I do for the tank. Adjust auto doser if needed. Every two weeks I do a 20 gallon water change and lightly syphon the gravel. At this time I clean the pumps in the tank.

MONTHLY - Clean the ATO, temp, and grounding probe sensors. Remove some chaeto.

QUARTERLY - clean the heaters of algae build up. Every six months I take the return pump apart and clean it.

YEARLY - Clean detritus out of the sump and give the skimmer a thorough cleaning.

I'm sure I am missing something but this is what I can come up with on the fly.
 

dbowman5

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the only time there is a schedule is when i go out of town, then i provide a schedule to my son:
daily pellet feeding of SW tanks, daily light on/off of FW tank, daily check of sumps and ATO reservoirs.
i have been out of town twice for long weekends in the last year.
When i am home;
my morning routine consists of:
switching the FW LED from blue to white,
dropping pellets into my SW DT,
visiting with each tank for a few minutes,
topping off ATO buckets, and
adjusting the full siphon valve if necessary.

supplemental feedings of defrosted food are 5 times a week.

glass cleaning is as needed
skimmers are cleaned as the bubbles being produced gets different
tank water is tested when i remember to.
water is tested when made and before water changes.

thank you for this QOTD it will probably inform my future schedule
 

Ippyroy

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This is exactly what I need. I need to make a more detailed schedule.
Daily- Feed frozen twice a day for main DT. Pellets once a day for Mangrove tank
Weekly - 20% water change. Empty and clean skimmer. Blast all rocks and clean sand bed.
As needed - Clean pumps and fill ATOs. Clean off lights. Harvest chaeto and mail to reefer in need. Check additives levels.
 

Reefs and Geeks

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What I plan to do and what I actually do are unfortunately two different things.

What I actually do is:
Daily feed fish
As needed clean glass (twice a week or so)
Once or twice a week alkalinity test
refill 2 part containers as needed
80 gallon water chance about once a month

What I plan to do:
clean the glass every other day
alk test every other day
once' month water change
quartarly cleaning of all return pumps
quartarly clean of all powerheads
Weekly turkey blast of display rocks
quarterly or semianually clean out sump detritus
 

Noob_Sam

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Do you have an Aquarium Equipment and Husbandry Maintenance Schedule?

Today let's talk about your maintenance schedule, if you have one, and what it looks like. Why is preventive maintenance important when it comes to aquariums? Because it could mean the difference in a clean aquarium or an algae filled aquarium. Or a broken expensive pump or a smooth operating expensive pump! It could literally make the difference between life and death of your fish, coral and ultimately your aquarium hobby.

Instead of just saying you have a schedule of maintenance why don't you get as detailed as possible so that others can see what you do and hopefully learn to be better aquarist? I need the help myself! I'm terrible about preventive maintenance.

Let's get detailed and break it down by listing what you do within these certain time frames.

What does your Equipment and Husbandry maintenance schedule look like?

DAILY
- What do you do?

WEEKLY - What do you do?

MONTHLY - What do you do?

QUARTERLY - What do you do?

YEARLY - What do you do?

bigstock-Calendar-And-Clock-Icon-Calen-356924420.jpg
Daily: Clean the glass, check temperature, and feed.

Weekly: Dosing.

Monthly: Check Water parameters. (Phosphate, Ammonia, PH etc.)

Quarterly: Maybe A water change if needed?

Yearly: Buy a bunch of new corals :)
 

Aj050

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What does your Equipment and Husbandry maintenance schedule look like?

DAILY - What do you do?
Check my water volume of the ATO reservoir and bi-daily water testing.
Checkup on my equipment.
Feeding the fish
Checking the fish

WEEKLY -
What do you do
10% waterchange. Add bacteria.
MONTHLY - What do you do?
Clean powerheads
Check date from testkits

QUARTERLY - What do you do?
Clean return pump and sump.
YEARLY - What do you do?

Renew Rodi filters, renew heater
 

arussellnsg

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I check daily, I can't help it, everytime I walk passed out, I have to glance at the equipment and shape of the fish, water, etc. I am getting an ato to help with some of my salinity, water concerns. I only change water about every 4,5 months. But hoping with my new RODI system I can do more
 

Jax15

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I selected "yes, yes" though I don't have a true maintenance schedule, per se. In that I don't put specific timeframes around when I do things. Instead I've developed a sort of sense for when things need to be done.

For me it's all about leaving buffer. Don't wait until pumps are clogged before cleaning. Don't wait until DI resin is toast before replacing. Don't wait until colonies are touching before fragging. There's always a lot to do, and never enough time, but I manage to get it all done! (and enjoy it).
 

kkelly007

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Six month old 105g DT:

DAILY - Clean glass with Flipper (and Tunze strong along sandbed), rotate internal skimmer cup wiper (RSK600), three times a week (Sun/Wed/Fri) change all four 100 micron filter socks, couple of times a week check dKH, independently check temperature a few times a week, manually dosing with Fusion 1 & 2 and Mg while I wait on Versa pumps to come back on market, observation of tank & sump.

WEEKLY - 20% water change, siphon sand, blow off rocks, check full water parameters (Ca, Mg, NO3, PO4, pH), remove and clean skimmer cup.

MONTHLY - Remove some chaeto

QUARTERLY - Disassemble and soak powerheads (Reefwave 45's) in citric acid solution

YEARLY - Haven't reached a year, but intend to take apart skimmer and thoroughly clean. I have a Vectra M2 and wondering how often I need to disassemble and clean--probably something to do each quarter/six months?
 

Angeleyes reefraf

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This thread is right on time for me. I'm only Just over 2 months into my salt water journey. With my 20 gallon Only CuC, coral and random good hitchhikers I
Daily I am deserve many times A-day clean glass if needed Top off give a basic view inspection of all the equipment turn my lights on and off
Weekly I check water parameters and I feed my Duncan and my Little flower Anemone twice a week At the same time I add a little bit into the water column from other coral and cleanup crew Also Partial water change As well as making sure there's no salt creep cleaning things off By the time I am at monthly I think most things have been done and obviously I am not at the quarterly or yearly yet. However last night I picked up a 65 gallon Fowlr Tank With a 3 and a 1/2 year old Tang And a blue damsel plenty of clean up girl a sand sifting star in to engineer gobies My plan is to get rid of the Tang to someone with a tank big enough and turn this into a corral tank With just a few fish I am noticing she must have not had a very good schedule because power heads are filthy excelera so I'm gonna slowly start cleaning all that any advice is welcome
 

Doctorgori

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Anyone scheduling on Neptune Apex using its calendar?
if so you mind posting what you do? I’m especially interested in large BB sps dom tanks with sumps and dosing equip, pump maint schedules et.
good thread topic...thanks

daily:
check ato, top off
check socks R&R if needed
clean glass

weekly:
wipe down sump and tank rim, get off salt deposits
wipe off salt inside and outside cabinet, apply polish
wipe off bulbs
add kalk to ATO if needed
check dosing levels and output tubes for leaks/clogs
test Alkalinity , phosphate if high change GFO or any other media
clean skimmer
adjust levels of Ca Alk or phosphate

monthly:
change H2O 10-25%
refill RO jugs
make new SW
clean powerheads
siphon detritus
adjusts dosing schedule
quarterly
blast rocks
 
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mathewdura

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6121E658-861C-49DB-B52F-1218DE20EDEC.jpeg

i do a 5 gallon water change Every weekend also change my filter socks twice a day clean my skimmer about once a month and my return pump harvest chaeto as needed Clean the tank glass at least twice a week powerheads every other weekend I check Alki and calcium on a daily basis or every other day and check all my others every weekend feed my corals Wednesdays and Sundays Red Sea ab+ and my fish frozen cubes Wednesdays and Sundays and seaweed for my fox face and Hippo tang My tank is about eight months old right now and this is my very first tank so just trying to figure things out I might be doing more than I need to do but I enjoy it And this is also my first time posting so I don’t know if I’m doing this right
 

ArtsyFish

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DAILY Mornings- Top off my DT and QT with RO water, empty and clean protein skimmer cup, feed thawed out and rinsed Frozen Mysis or Brine Shrimp in RO water and feed fish (one time a day), manually dose with Korallin-Zucht liquid additives and keep track by writing in a daily log book. I have a rotationg schedule of K-Z additives that change daily.

Tuesday Evenings - Hand feed cynarina and scolymia pellet food.

Friday Morning - mix my salt mix

Sunday Morning - 10% water change on my DT and QT

Monthly - change my carbon in my HOB filter

Every six months - clean all pumps (HOB filter, HOB protein skimmer, HOB refugium), clean filter and skimmer housings.
Replace RO membranes.

thirteen month old 57 gallon rimless tank with four 3" fish, 29 corals (mostly soft and LPS and 4 SPS branching Monti), 2 shrimp, 1 Tuxedio urchin and about a dozen snails.
 

RickSanford

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Daily: Clean glass, refill nori holders, feed Fish Frenzy (AM)/Reef Frenzy (PM), auto-dose Brightwell Reef Code A/B once each every 24 hours, check pH, REDOX, Temp, Salinity, check/drain skimmer cup, check/replace sump filter floss, wipe down top of DT light

Weekly: Water tests every 2 days (Alk, NO3, PO4, Ca), clean skimmer cup, 10% water change, clean & replace overflow tubes/filter foam, rinse screen tops, clean refuge top, wipe down aquarium/stand exterior (plain RO/DI on microfiber cloth), refill ATO reservoir, dose trace elements, ChaetoGro, Reef Snow, target feed corals

Monthly: ICP test, change ROWAPhos & Carbon media, wipe down sump top/exterior & interior of stand, wipe down wall & floor behind tank, turkey baster rock

Quarterly: Remove & clean skimmer body/pump, perform sump-based water change including detritus removal, remove & clean overflow box, clean gyre pumps w/citric acid, replace RO/DI primary cartridges

Yearly (approaching end of 1st year): remove & clean return pump w/citric acid, replace twin sump-based 300W heaters, remove, clean, recalibrate GHL probes, deep clean Brute container, replace RO membranes
 

725196

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What does your Equipment and Husbandry maintenance schedule look like?

DAILY


Dosing that is not set up automatically, feeding and visually inspecting the tank and sump.

WEEKLY


Water change, replace filter sock, empty skimmer cup, check algae reactor, test phosphates and nitrates.


Monthly
:

Clean MP40 heads (I have a spare so I simply switch them out) and pull the UV bulb for inspection and cleaning

YEARLY

Deep cleaning or the whole sump, pull art equipment and give it a thorough cleaning
 
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Emerson

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Daily: Feed
2-3 Times/Week: Clean glass, change filter sock, test Alkalinity
Weekly: Clean skimmer cup, check ATO level, dose trace minerals and Brightwell MicroBacter Clean
Bi-Weekly: Change carbon and GFO (if using), test Nitrate and Phosphate
Monthly: 20% Water change, make enough RODI water to do water change and last a month for ATO, test Calcium
Bi-Monthly: Re-fill two-part dosing containers, test Magnesium
Quarterly: Compressed air clean and wipe LEDs, wipe T-5s, clean powerheads
Yearly: Disassemble and clean skimmer, replace UV sterilizer bulb, clean sump
Bi-Annually: Replace T-5s
 

H3rm1tCr@b

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I have been working on a feeding schedule: Omega One Marine Mini Pellets in the morning, live phytoplankton in the afternoon, and Marine Cuisine frozen at night. Seems fine for my Lubbock's Wrasse. The other stuff like scraping the glass and water changes I just do when I think it needs it. I just did a gallon water change just for the calcium. My nitrates were maybe 1 ppm and the phosphates around 0.03 ppm. Pretty dang low considering I went like three months without one.
 
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