Let's Talk About ~Equipment Maintenance~

[dgasmd]

Mantenance? Well, let's see:

1. pH, ORP, salinity, and temp probes:
Clean with a tooth brush once per month. Also calibrate them once per month except for the temp probe obviously.

2. TDS meter:
Have never really clean it. Calbrate when changing the baterries only. Have a primo unit too.

3. Refractometer:
Have never calibrated it. I guess I will today

4. Pumps:
All my pumps are shaft driven except for the recirculating one in my calcium reactor. I have never taken down for cleaning, but they are fairly new. Should probably be done yearly.

5. Bulbs/reflectors:
Clean them once per week. Just wipe them with a moist cloth.

6. Calcium reactor:
Take the media out and rinse the filter pads about once every 6-9 months. I am planning on using schuran media this time around, so maybe it won't be done but once per year if ever.

7. Heaters:
This I never did before but should probably do more often. If your heaters have an internal thermostat as all glass heater do, they will turn on and off more often. If you ahve the titanium ones, it won't affect them as much. Mine is titanium, but I will soak it maybe every3-4 months in vinegar.

8. Kalk reactor:
About once every 2 months, I empty the entire things and rinse it off. That is it.

9. Skimmer:
I clean the riser tube every couple of days. The bottom 2/3 of the skimmer remains clean, so never touch it.

10. Ballasts:
I have electronic ones, so they don't need to be touched.

11. Carbon/PHO4 removing media chambers:
Get rinsed every time I change the media, which is about every 2 months.

 

[fishermann]

Have you tried lowering the exit tube, that is the adjustment mechanism on a euro-reef. I have to change mine when i put a new poly pad in the sump, or if you use socks and don't prewash them they well make it go crazy, also make sure your skimmer is sitting in 5 to 8 inches i beleive is the water depth for it.

 

[dnjan]

i also cleaned the hose for my return today. it hasn't been cleaned since i first installed it over 2 years ago. i put it on a pump and just stuck it in a bucket and let it run for about 2 hours. my god.....i was shocked at the coralline that was in the hose. it was probably a 1/4 inch thick or thicker in some areas. the entire bottom of the bucket was covered in bits of coralline that came out of the hose. no telling what type of nitrates was trapped in there! anyway glad i cleaned it......one more thing to add to my list to clean on a regular basis.

Yes, I was shocked at how much accumulated in my return line. I think what happened is that the light heated up the return line, causing precipitation of calcium carbonate (solubility decreases at increasing temperature). Since I had a steady supply of slightly cooler water containing CO2 and Calcium, the little bit of warming caused a little bit of precipitation. Multiply that time X-gallons per hour times 24 hours per day, times 365 days per year ...
Well, you get the picture. I would guess that most people with return lines in a position to be heated by their lighting have some amount of precipitation.

 

[fishermann]

Scott I take the hose off my venturi and run a small bush in it about every 2 wks, I suppose you could use a pipe cleaner also. I clean the inside of the chamber with a long type of bottle brush once a month, doing this routine maintance in the sump saves having to take it out and doing a big cleaning. My 6-2+ is two yrs old and I have never had it out of the sump.

 

[Hooked]

Curt wrote:

Every couple of weeks, I lightly clean my pH probe with my wife's toothbrush.

 

[Hooked]

Curt wrote:

Every couple of weeks, I lightly clean my pH probe with my wife's toothbrush.

 

[wlaboda]

I'll try that.

 

[VINA DEL MAR]

Cleaning the small vent motors in the lights fixtures(tank canopy).I have noticed that the small fan blades get very dirty after a few months.

VINA