Cleaning substrate

[Chris_W]

Hello, just curious how people with a basement sump are cleaning their substrate. I can go the traditional route of syphoning it into a bucket, but with everything else, this is just a bit of a pain in the butt.

I was looking at either the eheim quick vac or the cobalt power gravel filter. I like the idea of being able to clean without removing water, but both seem to have relatively sketchy reviews. Anyone have experience with these items, or something similar?

 

[Balz3352]

Following this... As I'm going to set up a basement sump.

Do you have sand sifters?

 

[Chris_W]

I have a tiger cucumber that does a decent job. Pretty sure my wrasse has eaten most of the other sifting inverts at this point. Replacing the CUC puts wrasse food on a cost level with my kids.... figured something like a powered vacuum would be a little easier to justify.

 

[Balz3352]

I'm just throwing ideas out here. Any ss gobys?
Think the wrasse would go after a fighting conch?

 

[szavoda]

I remember using a vacuum years ago - I wasn't thrilled with it. Perhaps better technology today.

 

[Chris_W]

I've got a conch (rarely see it so I forget that it's in there). I'm a little hesitant on adding more fish at the moment, the current residents aren't the nicest to new fish.

The other part of the issue for me is I haven't got the flow down perfect yet. With a 36x36 footprint, I can't seem to escape having a few dirty areas.

I keep seeing that with the power vacuums, their battery compartments are not exactly water tight. Maybe I'll just stick a maxi-jet in the middle of a standard vinyl tube vacuum and put a filter sock on the end...

 

[Balz3352]

Do you have any bottom dwellers

If not most of the time fish stick to their areas of the water column. At least in my experience. In my freshwater tank I have the biggest a hole rainbow shark that chases everything but the blikd albino cory cat I have. Along with the oto cats I used to have in there


Yeah I could see water movement being a problem with that footprint. Maybe make a separate post asking guys with square tanks what they did.

 

[Chris_W]

Kole tang, powder brown, purple tang and PJ stay mid-low level. Banana wrasse and harlequin tusk stay mid-upper. Banana likes to dive bomb toward the guys at the bottom. He'll be in a 28x28 cube shortly though. Might look into some gobies after that.

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

I'm curious why it'd be any divergent with a basement sump or an under the tank sump...

 

[Chris_W]

When I had the sump under the tank in a previous home I would just run the spy hon line into the filter sock if I needed a quick clean.

 

[Chris_W]

Siphon.... Not spy hon....

 

[Dr.DiSilicate]

When I had the sump under the tank in a previous home I would just run the spy hon line into the filter sock if I needed a quick clean.

Aah that makes sense. I just stir up the sand and add a sock to the basement sump. That's the only time I use a sock. I then leave the house so I don't see the dusty mess. Lol

 

[static reef]

Cut your return plumbing line above the return pump in the sump room. Add a tee fitting with a ball valve on top of it and another ball valve on the 90 degree bend that you just created. Direct the new 90 degree outlet into your drain in the basement (for a no bucket water change). Clean your sand, close the top ball valve, and open the other.

This should allow you to clean your sand and deplete all the crap you have stirred up. After you get the desired water volume out of the tank, close the new 90 degree ball valve, add new water, and open the directional ball valve. Not only will you get rid of floating sand particles but you will change some water.

 

[Chris_W]

So basically run an additional small return line off the main pump, with valve control, and use it as a syphon start? Like a person would use a garden hose with a python for Fw with the exit end of the Python entering the drain for the display?

Even if I couldn't run a T off of the return, putting the discharge of the vacuum into the drain and adding a sock to the output in the basement could work.

Thank you! I just might be giving this a shot in a few days after I finish my tank blackout.

 

[static reef]

Good luck

 

[Chris_W]

Ran the discharge into my emergency drain. The main syphon broke for a few and it got a little noisy, but it worked perfectly.

 

[Chris_W]

As information - I picked up one of the eheim quick-vac's. Thought i could use it in my 35g cube. It worked alright in there, figured I'd give it a shot in the 150... Worked for a few minutes then died. The filter cage filled with small sad particles and detritus pretty quickly, mostly small sand particles. had to clean it twice on the 35 before i was done.

Filter pad in a bucket with a python is more effective. Won't be buying another one of these.

 

[CRW Reef]

One cool thing I have seen is hooking up a filter canister to the suction tube and then stuffing the interior full of filter floss. Then Runt the return line from canister filter back in to the sump or Display tank. 09Bumblebee used to do this and he said it worked great!

 

[Chris_W]

That sir, is a great idea... Going to have to dust off the ole external.