My husband and I do a water change every week. Since we are new and I lean heavily on RC and my LFS, I was told to "clean" the skimmer, filter, power head, once a month as well. This is the point at which my husband starts looking really upset. We aren't mechanical and taking everything apart and putting it back together becomes nerve racking and accidents happen. Any suggestions about how often we need to do this?
clean the equipment
- Thread starter NaCl lady
- Start date
I don't know what kind of skimme ryou have, but usually every 6 months for the basic gear is ok. Wipe out the part you can reach with a paper towel, and of course empty the cup weekly.
If you have 45 lbs of live rock, you don't actually need a filter. What you do if you do have one and want to clean it is to swish the pad and other media around in a bucket of non-chlorinated water [your old tank water that you're about to throw out will work] until you get the crud out.
1. the more often you do this, the more methodical it will get. It takes some time to learn to choreograph your moves as a team to avoid leaving a pump on when it should be off, etc. Just be calm and laugh about the oopses.
2. when disassembling something, clear a workspace and carefully lay parts down---farthest away, first thing taken off, next farthest, next thing, etc. That way when you go to reassemble it, you will know exactly in what order to assemble the pieces.
Fastest way to do a water change: a maxijet pump of about 800 level, with a hose attached, plus a 5 g bucket other than the one you're mixing salt in. Drop pump in, with hose in bucket, drain; set that bucket aside to wash filters. Put pump in new saltwater bucket [you can get these white polystyrene buckets at Lowe's paint department] and put hose end in tank; turn on pump.
Beware: a pump left in the tank wtih the power off will siphon more water even when off. Be careful to lift pump free of the water expeditiously when you unplug it. There are extension cords with off switches that help simplify the choreography of this operation.
Clean your skimmer every few months; your filter media and your powerhead sponge shield every week---do not remove your filter or powerhead, just the media and sponges---and have plenty of clear workspace for both of you to move and work. Trust me: this can be fun. You're just not there yet.
If you have 45 lbs of live rock, you don't actually need a filter. What you do if you do have one and want to clean it is to swish the pad and other media around in a bucket of non-chlorinated water [your old tank water that you're about to throw out will work] until you get the crud out.
1. the more often you do this, the more methodical it will get. It takes some time to learn to choreograph your moves as a team to avoid leaving a pump on when it should be off, etc. Just be calm and laugh about the oopses.
2. when disassembling something, clear a workspace and carefully lay parts down---farthest away, first thing taken off, next farthest, next thing, etc. That way when you go to reassemble it, you will know exactly in what order to assemble the pieces.
Fastest way to do a water change: a maxijet pump of about 800 level, with a hose attached, plus a 5 g bucket other than the one you're mixing salt in. Drop pump in, with hose in bucket, drain; set that bucket aside to wash filters. Put pump in new saltwater bucket [you can get these white polystyrene buckets at Lowe's paint department] and put hose end in tank; turn on pump.
Beware: a pump left in the tank wtih the power off will siphon more water even when off. Be careful to lift pump free of the water expeditiously when you unplug it. There are extension cords with off switches that help simplify the choreography of this operation.
Clean your skimmer every few months; your filter media and your powerhead sponge shield every week---do not remove your filter or powerhead, just the media and sponges---and have plenty of clear workspace for both of you to move and work. Trust me: this can be fun. You're just not there yet.
papagimp
COMAS Rocks!
In the event that one of your powerheads or the pump does require dissassembly for cleaning, such as the impellar getting gunked up or whatnot, don't worry bout not being mechanicaly inclined, there are not alot to em at all. My girlfriend was able to dissassemble all our maxijets one day when I asked her to, and she's about as scatter brained an unmechanically inclinded as they come. All you need is a little common sense.
Thanks to both SK8r and Papagimp for the clear and articulate explanations. I do love my Christmas present, the tank, but it was put together and filled by a friend as a surprise for me. Neither my husband nor I had any experience with fish and so we got into this backwards. I have embraced it all and my husband is along for the ride, though I see him enjoying the tank when he thinks I'm not watching.
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