how do you siphon sand junk out of sump?
- Thread starter moz71
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RobB'z Reef
2500 Club Member
$20 maxi jet pump, some flexible 1/2" tubing and a 4" filter sock. It's how I vacuum sand as well. No need to lose any water over that task.
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
This is part of my yearly cleanup. Hmm... bout that time of year, too 
Every fall, I drain the sump, disconnect and remove _everything_ from in the sump, clean, inspect, and replace what's showing signs of wear. As part of that, the sump comes out, gets cleaned, and goes back.
Check power cables for hardening, clean the heater, disassemble and scrub down the skimmer, clean up the deposits around the dosing tubes, rinse out rubble or marine pure blocks that might be in the sump...
Stuff hides in there. Once a year, I want it _clean_.
As for how to empty it... siphon as you can. If you've got a downstairs or outside that's lower than the tank, a long hose works pretty well. I use a wet dry vac to get at the last of it.
Every fall, I drain the sump, disconnect and remove _everything_ from in the sump, clean, inspect, and replace what's showing signs of wear. As part of that, the sump comes out, gets cleaned, and goes back.
Check power cables for hardening, clean the heater, disassemble and scrub down the skimmer, clean up the deposits around the dosing tubes, rinse out rubble or marine pure blocks that might be in the sump...
Stuff hides in there. Once a year, I want it _clean_.
As for how to empty it... siphon as you can. If you've got a downstairs or outside that's lower than the tank, a long hose works pretty well. I use a wet dry vac to get at the last of it.
I bought one of these and it works great.
MJ Pump Vacuum Attachment from Vivid Aquariums. Not sure if they still make them. Attached a piece of silicone tubing into a sock.
dank reefer
IG: dankreefer_IG
Get a BucketHead from Home Depot.
Fits over a 5 gallon bucket and works as a shop vac
Fits over a 5 gallon bucket and works as a shop vac
OP
OP
moz71
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Dang! all good suggestions! I thought I was good at thinking of these things! Now I don't know which one to go with! lol
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That's a great Idea!!!
Off to HD tomorrow lol
Currently I use a powerhead attached to a hose that recirculates into a filter sock, works well enough
dank reefer
IG: dankreefer_IG
That's a great way to do it as well as you can keep on sucking the gunk out without having to empty out the bucket.
But when you use the Buckehead method, its quick and swift.
Blue Spot Octopus
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I place a reactor with filter floss in the sump, I turn off the return pump, I place a pump in the sump so it will stir up everything in the sump, when clean remove and turn on return pump.
Sweet Reef Corals
SweetReefOH on IG
I got a Buckethead for Christmas last year. Perfect for cleaning out the sump and any areas where gravity fed cleaners won’t work. Awesome tool for the hobby!
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