Feeding and pumps

[lando]

Hi all. I just finished bi-annual sump cleaning. Twice a year I remove all of the LR rubble, take the sump out and completely empty it and rinse it. I noticed a lot of detritus in the bottom of all three sump chambers. I am sure this expalins my recent NO3 reading of almost 10ppm. When NO3 starts to climb I know it is time to clean the sump. My LFS suggested I turn off the sump pump when feeding so it does not draw the food into the sump. Anyone else out there stop your pumps during feeding? To me it makes sense. It may help keep my sump cleaner, longer.
What do you think? Thanks! Lando

 

[SpEd]

You might try having the water drain through a filter bag as it enters your sump. That way you you could just periodically clean the filter bag.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

you don't have a prefilter on your sump intake? If you don't you could add one.

 

[quarryshark]

Ya, I just change my prefilter every 2 weeks. Costs $5 a pop but is worth it. Keeps my sump pretty clean.

 

[lando]

I actually do not have a prefilter on my intake. Mostly because it is a PITA to get to with myinternal over-flow. But now worth looking into.

 

[IndyReefMan]

I shut off my return pump when I feed my reef tank. I then turn it back on after around two hours. No point in having food go into it where it is not needed. I also have a small clean-up crew in the sump... have you tried that?

 

[lando]

The only thing I have in my sump for a cleaning crew are a few britle stars that migrated and a dozen or so limpits I keep finding in my main.

 

[IndyReefMan]

Might want to throw in a few hermits, Lando. They're great at getting into those nooks and crannies and if you have a lot of live rock rubble in your sump, like I do, that could be very helpful.

 

[lando]

I have though of that before, good idea, I may give that a shot as well.