How often do you clean your return pump?

[areefer01]

For those in the hobby that own cars, do you change the oil and do regular maintenance on it? A return pump is no different. Especially since it is one of the more critical life support pieces on our aquariums. Pretty much the way I view it and your mileage (no pun intended) may vary.

Another way to look at it is that if it is out of sight out of mind it is easily forgotten. Simply put, it is there and never looked at. Is the cable frayed? Is it damaged? Body cracked? We don't know if there is any wear and tear on the externals. What about the inside? Volute / spiral shaped clean? Damaged? Film?

We need to ask ourselves the basic question. Is it running efficiently? Meaning, is it running equally as if it was cleaned and/or new? Chances are it is not. The next question then is if it matters? Maybe to some (those who clean) and not, to those who do not.

I also do not believe manufacture or brand matters. This is not a cost / quality issue but rather a piece of critical life support in our systems. So no budget shaming here.

TL; DR - routine maintenance gives us a chance to inspect things and make sure they are running properly and efficient. I typically do them on Tuesdays and never between Friday and Monday or holidays.

Example for reference of low flow between cleaning/maintenance, before, after. All the best.

 

[Gtinnel]

For those in the hobby that own cars, do you change the oil and do regular maintenance on it? A return pump is no different.

Sure its different. If I could buy a new car for $100 I probably wouldnt bother with changing the oil. If I owned an incredibly expensive return pump I'd probably be more diligent with cleaning it.

I do completely agree with your point about being a time to inspect the equipment though.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

The return pump I am running now, its been on for about 6 months, give or take, have not cleaned yet. Since my pineapple sponges have diminished, I don't plan a cleaning for it. I did take my wave maker pumps down about 2 months ago and cleaned them after almost 2 years. Only because they had a lot of coralline algae on them and thought it was hurting the flow

 

[AGBReef]

Been running an Abyzz 200 for the last two years and it suddenly gave me a run error. I took it apart and found the titanium shaft broken. When I sent it in for repair (they have a 10 year warranty) they told me it was coated in limescale and should have been cleaned more often. I have been running it at 65% since it was installed. I had run other pumps in the past for years without cleaning but this incident made me aware that return pumps need cleaning on a regular basis, obviously more than once every two years.

 

[FernBluffReef]

I have two tanks, both RedSea returns - one 7000, one 5000. I clean the return pumps annually and it makes a considerable difference flow wise.

I also have a smaller Sicce 3 (yes I know Sicce makes the Red Sea returns) that runs my UV. The Sicce app seems to think I need to perform maintenance monthly lol. Generally I find that pump needs to be serviced more regularly than the return. Probably due to its size but also likely due to the it’s water pickup location

 

[Chocka]

9 months Sicce SDC 7.0 very easy to clean comes right apart soak it in hot water with some pump clean citric and practically rinse clean

 

[Dom]

Lately it seems like i have to keep turning up my return pump to compensate for it slowing down. Once i clean it, i can always lower back down to my initial settings. I feel like i’m having to clean it a lot lately. So i ask, how often does everyone else have to clean theirs? I’m most interested because I find it to be a pain in the butt.

Maybe up your mechanical filtration, allowing less debris through the sump and into the return chamber?

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

Lately it seems like i have to keep turning up my return pump to compensate for it slowing down. Once i clean it, i can always lower back down to my initial settings. I feel like i’m having to clean it a lot lately. So i ask, how often does everyone else have to clean theirs? I’m most interested because I find it to be a pain in the butt.

Maybe up your mechanical filtration, allowing less debris through the sump and into the return chamber?

I have filter socks, a protein skimmer, a refugium, and a carbon filter in my sump. All that said, i do think that despite all this, that i have a high amount of DOCs in my water. This week i’ve started to try coral snow as it sounds like this may help clear things up.

 

[Dom]

I have filter socks, a protein skimmer, a refugium, and a carbon filter in my sump. All that said, i do think that despite all this, that i have a high amount of DOCs in my water. This week i’ve started to try coral snow as it sounds like this may help clear things up.

I run an Aquaclear 110 HOB filter off of my sump and pack it with Polyfil to add an extra layer of mechanical filtration/polishing.

I'm interested in seeing how Coral Snow helps.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Might have been said already but I think it depends. My returns were in the sumo chamber where I dosed calcium and alkalinity so it would get this thick hard shell buildup on and in it so it needed cleaning more often.

 

[mfinn]

Might have been said already but I think it depends. My returns were in the sumo chamber where I dosed calcium and alkalinity so it would get this thick hard shell buildup on and in it so it needed cleaning more often.

They were Abyzz pumps?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

They were Abyzz pumps?

Not these. They were ETM pumps.

 

[landlubber]

i'm a never as well but I do notice my pump is definitely running a little harder so its probably coming soon.

 

[biecacka]

Reeflo dart hybrid. Not as often as I should and usually only if I notice salt creep or whatnot. I probably should do better though.


Corey

 

[Reef Jedi]

I’ve never cleaned them in the past. On this current tank I run a core15 at 50% and see no reason when I look in there to clean it.

 

[BubbleAlgaeFarmer]

Might have been said already but I think it depends. My returns were in the sumo chamber where I dosed calcium and alkalinity so it would get this thick hard shell buildup on and in it so it needed cleaning more often.

Interesting. I dose all for reef in my sump, it’s two chambers before my pump. I’ve noticed that my protein reactor has given me some fits too. Makes me wonder, should dosing be going into the display instead?

 

[McPuff]

I clean mine at least once a year but try to do it more like 6-9 months. Should definitely try to do it twice per year as it definitely makes a difference.

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

If I install it on an outlet with watt monitoring, I clean it proactively when I see the wattage drop. Without that warning, the maintenance frequency drops dramatically.

If I’m smart enough to install it so I can remove it in under 60 seconds, the cleaning frequency skyrockets.

If I install it in some cute, intricate setup where pulling and reinstalling it is a pain, it almost never gets cleaned, something has to go wrong first.

 

[mmorrison55]

If I install it on an outlet with watt monitoring, I clean it proactively when I see the wattage drop. Without that warning, the maintenance frequency drops dramatically.

If I’m smart enough to install it so I can remove it in under 60 seconds, the cleaning frequency skyrockets.

If I install it in some cute, intricate setup where pulling and reinstalling it is a pain, it almost never gets cleaned, something has to go wrong first.

I find this to be true of almost all aquarium maintenance.

I wish pump and wave maker companies would build this into their products, the ability to “hot swap” their gear for easy servicing.

This is one of the reasons I like ecotechs mp line of wave makers. I can have one or two extra wet sides and simply swap them out every few weeks and then soak the dirty in some citric acid and rinse and repeat.

 

[skey44]

Yeah I need to clean my return pump, add it to the list. I’ve cleaned the skimmer twice since I upgraded my return pump. It looks fine, but I do need to get it out and at least inspect everything.