Way to keep a sump spotless!

[Clownreef]

Hi all!

Thought id start a thread about how you all keep your sump clean.

I have a large sump and I get lots of detritus. I can't seem to get nitrates under control and Im starting to think its all that build up.

Ive tried the shop vac method but it sucks so much water out.

My stand's doors have acrylic so you can see the awesome color coordinated plumbing and the sump from Synergy reef so I want it to be clean since you can see everything.

Im going to try using a powerhead to blow all the detritus around and hook up an external canister filter to filter all out.

Thoughts??

How do you keep your sump spotless???

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m not convinced keeping a sump clean is needed or desirable, and I let detritus accumulate to nearly an inch thick mud over many years.

 

[sushiboss]

Bump. I’m having similar issues so I’m following

 

[exnisstech]

I clean mine whenever I transfer tanks . When I transferred the last time I scraped almost 8 years of nasty mulm along with the critters living there and dumped it all in my new sump.

 

[Schulks]

A Filter roller might help. I keep my sump really clean and it isn't much of a battle.

 

[Bruttall]

IMO the detritus is not creating high nitrates, and I have to ask what you consider High numbers? I run a pretty simple fuge with a Neptune Gro light, chaeto and with a decent skimmer working properly my nitrates stay between 20 and 40 depending on how much I feed. and I have a very heavy bio load, 30 some fish + inverts in a 300g display.

 

[gbroadbridge]

How do you keep your sump spotless???

I don't - it's all part of the ecosystem.

 

[X-37B]

I run 300 micron socks to trap the big stuff. Detrius is left unless I move a pice of equipment and it gets stired up.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

Makes me feel better about how my sump looks

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

My whole fuge section is an algae scrubber, guess my UV light is keeping the DT from being that way, also have a large amount of pineapple sponges in my sump that must have come from recent frags. But, its working great on my water parameters. crystal clear water

 

[00W]

Haven't cleaned my sump in over 8 years ...

 

[ktran]

a couple large turbo snails do the job to prevent buildup

 

[Clownreef]

Mmmm..

All I heard back in the day was all that buildup was a nitrate machine. Im surprised to read no one really cleans their sumps..lol

 

[gbroadbridge]

Mmmm..

All I heard back in the day was all that buildup was a nitrate machine. Im surprised to read no one really cleans their sumps..lol

lol, it's the engine room, not a stage show :)

Unless of course you're trying to influence or sell something ...

 

[JayM]

I wouldn't bother keeping the sump clean, but if you insist, the easiest way would probably be to "vacuum" with a canister filter and just run the return hose back into the sump.

 

[edsbeaker]

My sump

 

[saullman]

I am one of those reefers that likes a clean sump. I'm just a very clean person in general and my tank is an extension of me. So I use the VCA vacuum tool connected to a small pump. I run tubing from the pump into a sock which drains back into the sump again so I loose no water. I vacuum the sump probably every 4-6 weeks.

 

[Dan_P]

Hi all!

Thought id start a thread about how you all keep your sump clean.

I have a large sump and I get lots of detritus. I can't seem to get nitrates under control and Im starting to think its all that build up.

Ive tried the shop vac method but it sucks so much water out.

My stand's doors have acrylic so you can see the awesome color coordinated plumbing and the sump from Synergy reef so I want it to be clean since you can see everything.

Im going to try using a powerhead to blow all the detritus around and hook up an external canister filter to filter all out.

Thoughts??

How do you keep your sump spotless???

Dirty is normal. Embrace it.

Don’t waste time on an unrealistic goal. The aquarium is a toilet and the sump and connected devices are all part of a water treatment plant.

 

[Clownreef]

I am one of those reefers that likes a clean sump. I'm just a very clean person in general and my tank is an extension of me. So I use the VCA vacuum tool connected to a small pump. I run tubing from the pump into a sock which drains back into the sump again so I loose no water. I vacuum the sump probably every 4-6 weeks.

Same…

Do you like the pump?

 

[Dr. D]

I am definitely not showing my wife this thread.