Tank Maintenance

[Frank_Farmakis]

This question might have newbie written all over it and for that im sorry. I just want to make sure that im not forgetting anything. When cleaning a reef tank you must clean the glass, change filter, empty protein skimmer, water change, clean sand, but do you ever clean the actual filter machine, or power head? Also, is there anything else that is important to clean that i might have left out?

[FireEater]

I pull my powerheads, tear them apart and clean them at least every three months. Depends on what they look like. I will soak all part of them in a bleach solution, then rinse, scrub, scrape, toothbrush, poke, prod, immunize, and ask it to turn it's head and cough. Then rinse thoroughly again.

Are you asking about a hang on filter? If so , you can clean the impeller area on it also. Pull the impeller and clean the magnet, the hole where it goes with a toothbrush and the impeller itself. You can also give the whole body a fresh water bath to remove salt creep.

[Baywatch Babe]

.....change filter, empty protein skimmer, water change, clean sand, but do you...

Why do you have to clean the sand??? Is this the norm nowadays???

[charlie]

Depending on the depth of the sand bed, I would only stir the top 1/4 to 1/2". I normally don't touch the sand bed!!!

[kronos5]

i would agree with charlie about the sandbed

[dendro982]

When cleaning a reef tank you must clean the glass, change filter, empty protein skimmer, water change, clean sand, but do you ever clean the actual filter machine, or power head?

I'm using the slightly different routine: cleaning what visibly requires cleaning (even 2-3 times a week) and changing water (with cleaning before that), when water parameters may become affected.

Glass - more frequently, with razor blade only before water changes, mechanical filter media - as soon and it becomes dirty (twice a week), filter body and impeller - every 3 weeks (for my tanks, your may be different), cup of protein skimmer - once in 2-3 days, skimmer's body and pump - once in may be 2-3 months, same for powerheads: once in 2 months, when either the flow decreases and intake grid becomes dirty, or coraline grows on it too much.

What else: watch for detritus accumulation under and on the rock, or unused food could be brought by flow in one place, out of the view. It's all.

[kronos5]

Looks like a good routine dendro