Sump cleanliness

DanH86

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A bit of a backstory here - I am in the middle of my second major algae bloom. The glass (nothing else) gets covered in a dusty algae within 30 mins of cleaning it. It briefly went away for a week but came back following a weekly cleaning session which got me thinking it’s my sump cleanliness giving me issues.

Every compartment in my sump has a layer of detritus except for the drain section. My return pump is covered! I think I can see the cause - I run 2 filter socks and when pulling out the tray to swap them out, a load of crud comes loose and floats around the sump which has built up over time. Today I bought a vacuum and have given it a good attempt at a clean but it still looks filthy.

How do people maintain the cleanliness of their sumps, if at all?
How do people remove socks without causing crud to go everywhere?
 

CuzzA

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When I design a system I always ensure my water change reservoir is at least the volume of my sump with the return off. About every six months to a year I would turn the return off and get in the sump and scrape and brush every surface, clean equipment and then vacuum all the water out of the sump and replace with fresh water. A small powerhead in the sump will go along way in helping detritus to find it's way back up to the display where it can be consumed rather than rotting away in the sump.

As for your filter bags, hard to say without a picture of the setup. I never had this problem when I ran bags (filter roller now). The rim of the bag should be above the water line when the return is off so when you pull the bag nothing get released back into the sump or if your pump is off nothing is able to just float up and out.
 

Quietman

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Small power head in main section and occasional vacuum (haven't had to vacuum since I put the 400gph power head in there though.

I noticed some improvement in nutrients but nothing earth shattering though...a few ppm.
 
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DanH86

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Thanks both for replying.

Forgot to say originally, it’s a reefer 250 v3 sump. I like the powerhead idea!
 

robbyg

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I use a canister filter. Then I bought a separate vacuum cyclinder attachment that works with the filters hose. It allows me to clean the sump bottom and the clean the sand in the main tank. I just hang the return line on the side of either and get to work.

This is the unit a sibling bought me as an Xmas gift a few years ago.
Link
 
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ihavecrabs

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A bit of a backstory here - I am in the middle of my second major algae bloom. The glass (nothing else) gets covered in a dusty algae within 30 mins of cleaning it. It briefly went away for a week but came back following a weekly cleaning session which got me thinking it’s my sump cleanliness giving me issues.

Every compartment in my sump has a layer of detritus except for the drain section. My return pump is covered! I think I can see the cause - I run 2 filter socks and when pulling out the tray to swap them out, a load of crud comes loose and floats around the sump which has built up over time. Today I bought a vacuum and have given it a good attempt at a clean but it still looks filthy.

How do people maintain the cleanliness of their sumps, if at all?
How do people remove socks without causing crud to go everywhere?

Wet vac once a year. Otherwise I leave the detritus.

For you, I’d buy a few more snails and clean the glass once daily. Algae isn’t a sign of poor husbandry but a sign of a healthy system. Just have to find the balance!
 
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DanH86

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Wet vac once a year. Otherwise I leave the detritus.

For you, I’d buy a few more snails and clean the glass once daily. Algae isn’t a sign of poor husbandry but a sign of a healthy system. Just have to find the balance!

thanks, hopefully it is a healthy system. All parameters are ok except nitrate which is a bit low at 0.5. Phos bounces around 0.03.

So next question then is what size cleanup crew should a reefer 250 have? I currently have 8 trochus, 2 nassarius and 4 mexican turbo snails. Oh and 3 hermit crabs.
 

zalick

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When I change socks, I get cloudy stuff too. Wouldn't be too concerned about it.

There are kinda two philosophies on sump flow: fast to keep stuff suspended and slow to allow it to settle in sump for easy removal.

Mine is slower than yours as all my detritus settles in the first two Chambers and return is always spotless.

I clean mine once a month during water changes. I use a pump for water changes and change from the sump. I scrape all the crud as I move the pump around. Stays pretty clean.

Think about running a higher flow sump to keep it suspended and available for consumption.
 

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