How do you remove the detritus from your sump?

[M.E.Milz]

Well, how do you do it. The bottom of my sump is near the floor line, so I can't use a syphon. I suppose I could try and scoop it out with a fine net, but this will probably make a huge mess, sending a lot of the crap back into the tank. I can't wipe it out with a rag since my sump always has water in it.

Any suggestions?

Mike

 

[purple_tang2001]

How about a big turkey baster? squeeze all the air out, then go in and get some out, May be a tedious task though?

 

[Anonymous]

You could have a pump suck it out...

 

[Cruiser]

Unless you have a large amount, why don't you just let it accumulate in there as food for a variety of "refugium" citters (mainly amphipods)

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You could shut down the return pump, try your fine net method a few times, let the sump settle / complete water change maybe, and restart the pump....the small amount that would return to the tank would probably be relished by your corals and fish

 

[ReefStar]

I just cleaned my sump today. I have a bulkhead with a suction screen. I put a sponge filter over the suction screen and then took my turkey baster and blasted the bottom of the sump. 90% of the crap goes into the sponge. I waited about an hour and then shut my return pump off, removed the sponge in the sump with all the crap. Another trick is to go to the fabric store and buy what is called batting. Get the thinnest they have. It will cost you about $3.00 for a 5 square yard piece. Cut it so you can wrap it around your sponge and hold it in place with a rubber band. This will make cleaning the sponge easier as most of the crap gets logged in the batting. BTW, batting is simply a flat piece of filter floss. Much cheaper at the fabric store.

Hope this helps!
Joe

 

[Chucker]

Like Cheese said- simply put a short length of tubing on the intake side of a strong powerhead, and a long portion on the outlet. Lay it flat in the sump to prime it, then hold your finger over the tip of the outlet hose. Plug it in, and aim for the nearest bucket.

 

[M.E.Milz]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I never really considered using a pump for fear of screwing it up by sucking all of the crud through it. But I do have a mag 7 that I use for mixing/pumping saltwater during water changes, and it does have a sponge filter attachment. I like the idea of adding the batting around the sponge to catch the really small stuff. That way, I can just have the pump feed back into the sump until all of the crud has been captured by the filter material.

Thanks again, Mike

 

[Len]

Every 2 months, I take my trusty wet/dry vac and suck my sump dry. Removes the detritus and accomplishes a 15% water change at the same time.

 

[Anonymous]

I've had numerous customers put a couple of blue legs down there which seems to do the trick. Personally I've never really seen the point. The fact that detritus collects there and that other organisms often thrive in that environment means that nothing harmful is coming of it and thus there isn't much of a point. If anything I'd just agitiate it and let it get pumped back into the main tank to feed the corals.

 

[Alex_78745]

I have a diatom filter. Every month or so I turn on the diatom and blast the hell out of my sump with a turkey baster. This throws all the detritus into suspension and blows it into the tank through the return line. The diatom filter makes extremely short work of that and the corals love it while it's in suspension. I do this at night and by the morning it's crystal clear.

 

[EmilyB]

Ideally, with a full reef tank, you should try to have enough water circulation down there to keep that stuff from accumulating, so it can be in constant movement and provide filter feeding.

However, in my FO, I do the polyfilter/turkey baster, stir it up method as described above.

 

[SPC]

I use a Python that I hook to the faucet in a bathroom. I have a couple of freshwater tanks and have used one of these for years. I find it to be right at the top of my list for aquarium maintenance.
Steve

 

[davelin315]

Just stir it up once in awhile and let nature take it's course. I have 2 current systems right now, and in the reef, the crud just sits there and gets reused and reused (there's an amazing collection of limpets, snails, calcerous tube worms, sponges, copepods, crustaceans, worms, and who knows what else in there). On the other system, I have my skimmer in the sump, and that seems to take care of any stray crud on the bottom (along with the aforementioned sump residents). Or, just suck it out. Even if the sump's on the floor, all you need to do is get a small diameter tube (use bigger than an airline so the shrimp don't clog it), stick it in, suck on it to start the siphon (don't drink the stuff, it's pretty disgusting and I always wondered how many sump creatures were crawling around in my intestines!), and suck out the crud. If you attach the hose to a small diameter piece of pipe, you'll be able to guide it around, and the amount of water you're siphoning off will allow you to maintain the siphon without having to stop it for your sump to refill (although you'll need a pretty wide receptacle for the siphoned off stuff or you'll run out of room and siphon it back in).

 

[davelin315]

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How about a big turkey baster? squeeze all the air out, then go in and get some out, May be a tedious task though?

I've tried this method for getting rid of stuff in the tank, and it always seems to drip right back out of the baster as I lift it out of the tank, although I suppose a more expensive turkey baster would have a better seal and hold the crud in better.