Cleaning Pumps

[jiggly75]

Anyone know of a good way to clean return pumps (Mag 7) and power heads (maxijets)? I heard running them in vinegar works.

[Reefland]

Yup, I just used the vinegar method myself.

I filled up a tub of pure vinegar and disassembled our Tunze Streams and let them sit in the vinegar for a couple of hours. A couple of times while they were soaking I took a toothbrush to them, paying special attention to the impellar and magnets. After a couple hours of soaking and scrubbing with a toothbrush a couple of times, I rinsed them under hot water and reassembled. I could tell a difference in the pump output after this cleaning.

[Tereefic]

I have also used the vinegar method to service pumps with great success. I just disassemble the pumps and impellers and soak them for a couple of hours. Some brushing/light scraping may be neccesary to remove stubborn calcium deposits. I have found the major locking point on maxi-jets to be the magnet will lock and stop spinning on the shaft. The pump will then not restart. I just soak the impeller and then pull the magnet off of the shaft and clean all of the deposits off of the shaft to make sure the magnet will spin freely again. I do this every couple of months and it keeps my pumps in good working order. Good luck with yours !

[middlemark]

Excellent advice above.

Not a lot to add, other than that keeping the pumps clean is the best thing you can do to keep their output up and them running as long as possible.

I replumbed my sump about a year ago to fit in a true-union ball valve between sump + pump ... making cleaning and service a lot easier [no sump draining required ... just cut the valve, unscrew, and catch the minimal water]. Something to consider - as a few improvements there can make cleaning a lot easier.