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What do you use to clean your sumps (and pipes)?

Alexander1312

Alexander1312

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Curious which tools you use to clean your sumps?

And since we are on this topic, how do you clean the pipes?

My sump is 57 gallon and I have not cleaned it since the inception of the tank a year ago, and I would like to do this now. But I do not know how to get started, vaccuming the sump seems more difficult since I cannot use what I use for the DT, and I think I should probably start cleaning the pipes too.
 
I bought the fluval provac to give it a try - meh, at best. It will pick up the things that easily float.
I also bought a maxi jet 900 to combine with a VCA vacuum attachment -- slightly better but awkward with the equipment in my sump
I also got a long handled scraper -- razor and plastic attachment to get stuff off of the walls in the sumps -- that worked great

In the end, I vacuumed up some stuff with the fluval after scraping -- it did get a lot of gunk off of the surfaces and main sections of the sump. I then just left the maxi jet in a far chamber of the sump to improve circulation and keep gunk in suspension to come back through the sump to get filtered out -- sump is cleaner and display visibility is better (less random occurrences of stuff being kicked up) -- or it might just be the 57W UV being operational for the past 3 weeks. Did both projects at the same time.

Just my 2 cents
 
I use a siphon tube just like I would from the display.
Level in an empty bucket is lower than the level in the sump.
Don’t clean plumbing cause I’m lazy. My display that was up for like 7 years had some stuff in it but was just fine. If you have small gauge like 3/4” maybe needs more attention or replacement every 5 years or so
 
I’ve tried all of the above and never really been satisfied. Which is why I don’t clean it very often.

Shop vac goes too fast. Doesn’t give critters I want time to move away. And fills up super fast, a few seconds.

Regular passive siphon tube doesn’t have much suction since the difference in water level isn’t much and decreases quickly. I’m thinking of doing it with the outflow water going through filter socks, and a small pump returning the water to the sump so I can keep going.

I’ve tried a couple different versions of suction bulbs and the 1-way valves required for them to work just clog open too quickly when you’re siphoning crap. So you have to stop and clean it frequently.

Similarly I’ve tried small pumps like maxi jet to suck out but the impeller fouls quickly so you have to stop and clean it multiple times.
 
As far as pipes- I wasn’t planning on cleaning them but a couple years ago I had to because they were growing too much tube worms and other stuff and starting to siphon less/unreliably. Especially the emergency pipe wasn’t working well, which can lead to a very unpleasant surprise.

I siphoned out a bunch of gallons, emptied the entire overflow into the sump. Took out the plumbing and disassembled what I could (not too hard with Red Sea). Then cleaned each segment with vinegar/citric acid and scrubbing, plus stiff pipe brush on a long flexible metal line I have for the inside. It’s kind of a project and has to be done within a few hours since it stops your return/tank heating/etc.

At the same time I cleaned out the overflow chamber, which was similarly overgrown. Just manual chipping/scrubbing.

I’m due to do it again soon.
 
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