Cleaning the sump

[degibson84]

what does everyone use to clean their sump? I have been thinking do I add some snails or just drain it all and clean it out

 

[sirreal63]

When I clean my sump, I use the Python to siphon out any crud in the bottom.

 

[MondoBongo]

i have a small pump that i use to drain all the water. then i use paper towels to mop up any excess and get any detritus at the bottom.

for some reason i can't get my python to produce enough suction (make your own joke there) with where my sump is in relation to my sink.

 

[sirreal63]

It takes good water pressure for the venturi to create enough suction, our house is typically at 60psi or more and in the other house it is about 40, and sometimes less, and the Python didn't work as well.

 

[degibson84]

i have a small pump that i use to drain all the water. then i use paper towels to mop up any excess and get any detritus at the bottom.

for some reason i can't get my python to produce enough suction (make your own joke there) with where my sump is in relation to my sink.

This is the issue I have. I did read somewhere that a guy used a shop-vac to suck everything out

 

[sirreal63]

Some people use a shop vac, nothing wrong with that, my shop vac is only 6 gallons, not near enough.

 

[shellsea]

Well, this may sound nuts, but my sump collects a lot of debris. I was using a turkey baster which took about 48 hours lol. I had a crazy idea, have not seen a down side to it yet but last clean/h2o change, I took out the cheto, return pump, skimmer and I used a wet vac. Took all of 3 minutes.

 

[azjohnny]

I have the Home Depot "Buckethead" which makes a 5 gallon buck into a shop vac and it has plenty of suction

 

[Habu]

I have the Home Depot "Buckethead" which makes a 5 gallon buck into a shop vac and it has plenty of suction

+1 to this. Works great

 

[KeepNitReel]

I pull off the faucet attachment from my python and stick a mj1200 to the hose, put mj1200 in 5g bucket, plug it up and suck out the debris from sump.

 

[woodnaquanut]

It takes good water pressure for the venturi to create enough suction, our house is typically at 60psi or more and in the other house it is about 40, and sometimes less, and the Python didn't work as well.

I find the python works best with lots of flow. My kitchen sink doesn't have nearly the flow as an outside faucet. Of course when I'm syphoning from a SW tank I can't let it just run into the yard. It does work great sucking out a FW tank!

 

[D-Nak]

I have the Home Depot "Buckethead" which makes a 5 gallon buck into a shop vac and it has plenty of suction

I use this as well. Works great and is only 20 bucks.

 

[moondoggy4]

^^^^ Do not use the cheap Lowes buckets. The 7 gallon salt buckets work great.

 

[Keyvan S]

I have the Home Depot "Buckethead" which makes a 5 gallon buck into a shop vac and it has plenty of suction

Home Depot "Buckethead" is the best way to clean your sump :beer:

KS

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

I hook up my Diatom filter without the powder & use the suction hose to move around.

 

[HurricaneSystem]

I never clean mine out period. I put a high flow powerhead on the side of the sump and point it down toward the other corner. Keeps everything kicked up nicely and stays clean. You should try it sometime. Works great.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

SO, the dirt just goes back into the tank?

 

[D-Nak]

I never clean mine out period. I put a high flow powerhead on the side of the sump and point it down toward the other corner. Keeps everything kicked up nicely and stays clean. You should try it sometime. Works great.

Are you using a filter sock to collect it?

I don't use filter socks or any sort of means to collect detritus. I like having a place for it to settle, that way I can just vacuum it out. I'm not really into the "out of sight, out of mind" approach.

 

[Buzz1329]

I use powerhead to drain section of sump, then use wet/dry to vacuum up da crud. But that's just me.

 

[HurricaneSystem]

Yes I use filter socks, plus filter mat media as well. So no, the dirt doesn't go right back into the tank. Well, I suppose it could, but unless it is very built up, you will never notice it before it goes through the media.