Sump/fuge cleaning?

[afilter]

Hello,

I am preparing to do a good cleaning and filter maintenance tonight and just wondering how often people clean there sump/ fuge?

My plan is to drain most of the sump to remove most of the detrious that has collected with a siphon. I have done this once before since setting up in Sept 05. I am also going to pull my bio balls from the sump and filter media from the bak pak 2. Probably contributed to hair algea I am recovering from.

Does anyone ever clean the fuge? I do not plan to, but just wondering if anyone else every does?

I spent about two hours last night with a tooth brush manually removing the small amount of hair algea that still remained from the outbreak last month, so think it should be looking pretty good once I do the sump maintenace and change about 25-30 galons of water.

TIA,

 

[melosu58]

I have never cleaned mine. I`m interested in the answers also.

 

[afilter]

Well, I started cleaning the sump and I am so glad I did. The first compartment is disgusting. To my amazement I found my six line wrasse which has been missing for about two months. Looks healthy and has grown at least an inch.

AMAZING!

Mission complete, I did drain the sump and vacuumed each compartment. A lot of detrious had collected in the first compartment. I did put the bio balls back in the first compartment ( after rinsng in sw) as I was too chicken to go without. I will start collecting some LR rubble and replace them next time around.

I am going to continue to watch the sump and plan on doing this everu 4-6 months.

I also cleaned the fuge by lightly vacuuming the sand. There was some detrious from the grape clapura I keep in there. I am also thinking I need to get a bit higher flow rate through the fuge. I may look at replacing the Rio on my CPR BAK PAK 2 and using that as a dedicated pump for the fuge instead of the T.

 

[seaham358]

I syphon out the sump maybe twice a year on my reef and once a year on the fowlr. I never cleaned the fuge on the fowlr but I just had to repalce the SB in my reef fuge a few months back.. It went BAD and it had to go.. I have a few snails and crabs in both fuges to help keep things clean.

 

[afilter]

OK, intent of my fuge was for more pods. I may add a few inverts as well. I was suprised that I did not find more coraline. I do run a 18w PC 24/7 on the fuge.

 

[cmor1701d]

I have to scrape my sump/fuge front so I can into it. I don't bother with the other sides. The coralline growth is all over everything.

 

[afilter]

I picked up some small Nasarious snails and a few more hermits to put in the fuge to help keep it clean. Guy at LFS thought this might be a good idea as well. I am going to try to get a few to the bottom of the first compartment of the sump as well. Hopefully this will keep up from getting so nasty again.

Here is the pay off almost all hair algea is gone:

 

[melosu58]

Beautiful tank

 

[afilter]

Thanks, like many it is a labor of love. Unfortunately the Mrs. does not always understand.

 

[seaham358]

tank looks nice...
question.. If you have a sump why do you have the heater in the tank looking Ugly? Its JMO but I hate having things hanging in the tank..

I am a lucky man.. the wife is the one who wanted the fish tanks... She told me to get a larger tank for my fowlr last month...
So we picked up a used one last weekend for $50, thats a 90 gal tank and stand..

 

[afilter]

seaham358,

You bring up a good point on the heater. I originally started out with two heaters in the sump. Unfortunatly it did not do the job once the WI cold hit and I suffered a bout with ich. I since aquired the WON which you can see and left another in the sump. No problems since then as the WON is a superior unit.

I just have not been brave enough to move it to the sump. Maybe this summer when we do not get the temp spikes.

Great deal on the 90g!

 

[morgan24]

afilter where are you in wisconsin?