A little maintenance

[colin779]

Over the last two days finally got around to cleaning all of my powerheads and pumps. That was a serious pain in the butt, so many nooks and crannies... Its amazing how much flow is lost over the course of a year, I should probably do that every six months.

How often do you guys dismantle and clean pumps and powerheads??

 

[dnjan]

About once per year (yes, I agree - about half as often as I should).
Rule number one for a new tank setup should be:

"Thou shalt make all pumps easily accessible for easy and frequent cleaning."

 

[Krish]

I use to clean mine any time they looked dirty :lol:. I'd say every 4-6 months probably.

 

[mfinn]

I usually only clean my pumps about once a year unless I notice any issues.
Just drop them in a bucket of vinergar overnight will help break up most deposits and a little scrubbing with a brush.

 

[Sasquatch]

and why is it with all the millions of aquarium pumps there are in use has no manufacturer found an additive for plastic that stops algae growth?
I use pickling vinegar it has a higher acid level than the rest, and I clean them when they stop working

 

[dnjan]

it would leach into the water ...

Actually - it isn't algae that bothers my pumps, it is the solid precipitates in the lines plus the vermitid snails (sp??? those things that look like mini feather-dusters) in the intakes.

 

[TJL]

What! we're supposed to clean our powerheads... just after they start to blend in with all the Live Rock.... Yes, for me maybe once a year for me as well and does make a huge difference in performance afterwards. The coraline is not to bad but, turf algae, bubble algae, Nerite Snail egg casings and Vermetid snails can really reduce flow.

Cheers, Todd

 

[colin779]

About once per year (yes, I agree - about half as often as I should).
Rule number one for a new tank setup should be:

"Thou shalt make all pumps easily accessible for easy and frequent cleaning."

Haha, everyone should keep that in mind for sure =)

I usually only clean my pumps about once a year unless I notice any issues.
Just drop them in a bucket of vinergar overnight will help break up most deposits and a little scrubbing with a brush.

That's like cheating...

Actually - it isn't algae that bothers my pumps, it is the solid precipitates in the lines plus the vermitid snails (sp??? those things that look like mini feather-dusters) in the intakes.

Same, that stuff seemed to be the main culprit in bogging my pumps down. Its amazing how much hard stuff was built up in there. I soaked mine in vinegar for about 30 minutes then went to town with a small tipped slotted screwdriver and a toothbrush. Probably took a solid couple hours for me to clean 4 koralia's and my two return pumps.