SUMPS,,what’s ur maintenance like??

[Paulie069]

I don’t see much about sump husbandry,, or am I not looking in the right place??
I’ve read about main tank care, hospital tank care, dosing, parameters,, ect ect but not much on sumps being cared for. There are a few I’ve seen that are display tanks alsoAnd they are beautiful and well taken care of of course
But rarely have I heard any discussions of how people take care of their sumps just regularly along with water changes which is the number one thing you hear about. I’ve been led to believe that I take to good care of my sump that some say I would want it to be a little dirtier for lack of a better term as his job is to collect all the ugly stuff I’m totally not sure of the protocol But for me I have to clean it because I cannot look at dirty glass it just drills into my OCD would totally love to hear what other people do and how they feel about sub husbandry

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

Can I tag along and ask a total sump newbie question. How exactly do you do a water change? How much equipment do you turn off? If main pump shuts down, display tank water will drain to sump until siphon break point (?). Then display tank missing water and sump having to much water (hopefully not overflowing), does one drain water from display tank? Then full display tank back to the same point at siphon break? Then allow main pump to drain sump back???

 

[Peace River]

Good question! The team at WWC have always recommended a clean sump so I clean my sump - for me it is really about that simple.

 

[Niteowl]

I clean my sump. I also crammed all my mechanical equipment to one side so I could make a habit for sump crabs. Kids love to look at the big crabs

 

[fish farmer]

Can I tag along and ask a total sump newbie question. How exactly do you do a water change? How much equipment do you turn off? If main pump shuts down, display tank water will drain to sump until siphon break point (?). Then display tank missing water and sump having to much water (hopefully not overflowing), does one drain water from display tank? Then full display tank back to the same point at siphon break? Then allow main pump to drain sump back???

if you have an adequately sized sump with siphon break, your sump should handle the water from the display.

You can WC whatever you like, sump or DT. I shut my main pump off/skimmer off. I siphon water out of my DT, collecting detritus, etc into a marked 5 gallon bucket. I add the same amount back into my sump and pump it back up. I generally pump the full sump into the DT while I'm adding the new water. I could have a pump/hose coming off my water mixing station and have it go into DT or sump but haven't got that far yet.

 

[Paulie069]

Can I tag along and ask a total sump newbie question. How exactly do you do a water change? How much equipment do you turn off? If main pump shuts down, display tank water will drain to sump until siphon break point (?). Then display tank missing water and sump having to much water (hopefully not overflowing), does one drain water from display tank? Then full display tank back to the same point at siphon break? Then allow main pump to drain sump back???

Myself had it set up what Morortrendz likes to call ,” Paulie069 Proof” All I do which I’m sure lot’s others do is just shut whole thing down. I don’t touch any controls or valves and if I take 5gals out of sump I put five gal back in,, and if I take out of main,, well you see where I’m going with this. Just always have bunch of towels ready just in case

 

[YankeeTankee]

Vacuuming out detritus now and then is helpful, if you're gonna clean it completely I'd do it in portions over time. Reason I say that is if you go from a dirty sump to a spotless sump same day, that can do wild things to nutrients/stability. Just think about stability when you're making a plan.

 

[fish farmer]

Myself had it set up what Morortrendz likes to call ,” Paulie069 Proof” All I do which I’m sure lot’s others do is just shut whole thing down. I don’t touch any controls or valves and if I take 5gals out of sump I put five gal back in,, and if I take out of main,, well you see where I’m going with this. Just always have bunch of towels ready just in case

My skimmer will overflow with a full sump so yep, shut it down. Another thing would be ATO on a float....I usually pump new water in gradually shutting off the pump so it doesn't shoot freshwater in while WC is taking place.

I probably clean my sump yearly or when I do a major pump cleaning.

 

[X-37B]

I just put a powerhead on a hose and put the end in my filter sock.
Turn off return and suck up debris into filter sock. Change filter sock and done.
My sump only has a carx and skimmer so very easy to clean also no baffles.

 

[CubsFan]

I use a shop vac and attach some vinyl tubing to it so I can set the vac outside in case it overflows. I do it every few months.

 

[Paulie069]

Vacuuming out detritus now and then is helpful, if you're gonna clean it completely I'd do it in portions over time. Reason I say that is if you go from a dirty sump to a spotless sump same day, that can do wild things to nutrients/stability. Just think about stability when you're making a plan.

That’s what I’ve herd a lot and try do only one chamber at a time, I only cleaned the return chamber today when I installed new pump,, tomorrow is protein skimmer chamber

 

[Paulie069]

That’s what I’ve herd a lot and try do only one chamber at a time, I only cleaned the return chamber today when I installed new pump,, tomorrow is protein skimmer chamber

What it looks like any time I do any tank maintenance,, so looks like this a lot I try to do when wife not around

 

[John08007]

Can I tag along and ask a total sump newbie question. How exactly do you do a water change? How much equipment do you turn off? If main pump shuts down, display tank water will drain to sump until siphon break point (?). Then display tank missing water and sump having to much water (hopefully not overflowing), does one drain water from display tank? Then full display tank back to the same point at siphon break? Then allow main pump to drain sump back???

I turn off my skimmer, return pump, ATO. Your sump should always have enough space for the water that drains into it. I suck water out of display tank, add new water to display tank till starts going over the overflow. Turn pum0 back on, then skimmer, top off tank to bring sump back to where it was.

 

[CubsFan]

What it looks like any time I do any tank maintenance,, so looks like this a lot I try to do when wife not around

This looks similar to what I’ll have going on when I do a water change. I live alone, so it might look like that for several more days after the change. I do what I want. Then someone comes over and I am embarrassed. It’s like giving someone a ride and as they’re climbing in you have to clean all the trash out from the front seat and throw it all in the back.

 

[Pntbll687]

I put a "t" with half inch hose coming off the return and back into the sump for added flow and it keeps detritus from building up. I take the house and spray around when I see a little build up. That's about all I have to do.

Kept it clean from the beginning so it's easy now.

 

[Sdot]

Filter socks helps keep my sump clean. However i use a fine fish net to catch things out of the skimmer chamber.

 

[Paulie069]

Filter socks helps keep my sump clean. However i use a fine fish net to catch things out of the skimmer chamber.

Now that’s a clean sump,, OCD certified

 

[Bxr126]

I like to clean my sump so that it doesn't turn into a big nitrate factory. Once every 6 months or so I isolate my DT from the sump and empty it out, scrub it, and reorganize as necessary. its a PITA and time consuming, but the outcome is worth it. I think it really depends on the size of your system too. My sump is only 34 gallons so its not too bad. I couldn't imagine doing this on some of the bigger tanks.

 

[Sdot]

Now that’s a clean sump,, OCD certified

Thanks!

 

[Greybeard]

Part of my maintenance schedule, once a year: Remove the sump, clean it, and inspect EVERYTHING that goes back into it for deterioration. I replace float valves and float switches every year, and heaters every other year.

A sump monster helps a great deal in keeping buildup in the sump to a minimum. Rock crab, gorilla crab, big emerald... Something that doesn't need a snail shell, and grows large enough to stay out of pumps, etc.

If you're not running a refugeum, keep lighting to a minimum. Less algae growth that way. If you ARE running a ref, use an opaque material for baffles, help keep the light in the ref area.