claening the sump question

[mrflameangel]

Ok, so i am stumped and can not find a good way to clean my sump. I have a 60 cube and the marineland sump made for it. my problems is that the sump has contained sand particles and i cant siphion it out. because it sits on the floor i cant get a strong enough suction on the draw water. all i seem to be doing is stirring the sand up worse which in turn makes me spill water and then cuss a whole lot....:yuk:would love to hear how everyone else does this.

i have since put micro pads in there to prevent this any further.....

 

[legalreefer]

If you have a powerhead, like a maxi jet, hook a silicon line up to in and suck it out that way. At least thats the way I do it and it works just fine!

 

[ralph atl]

Get a wetvac powerhead for 5 gallon buckets at home depot. I use it every water change.

 

[mufret]

+1

Wet Vac is the way to go.

 

[mrflameangel]

I have a wet vac but i was afraid to put in there cause there is no telling what that hose has touched in the garage.

 

[smallblock]

get one from HD or lowes like ralph said that fits on 5 gallon buckets. I think they are only 25 dollars. They work great and just use it for WC nothing else.

 

[grayskwerel]

Is this what you are talking about... I think I will pick one up too. Only question I have is... does it have any corrosion issues with salt water?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202017218/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053#BVRRWidgetID">http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202017218/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053#BVRRWidgetID</a>

Edit: Another question... can you reverse it to add water to the tank as well?

 

[jennm]

I don't think I'd use it in "reverse" but those Bucket-head jobbies are the way to go.

Jenn

 

[ralph atl]

grayskwerel;688025 wrote: Is this what you are talking about... I think I will pick one up too. Only question I have is... does it have any corrosion issues with salt water?

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202017218/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053#BVRRWidgetID">http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202017218/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053#BVRRWidgetID</a>

Edit: Another question... can you reverse it to add water to the tank as well?[/QUOTE]

That's it

 

[smallblock]

I wouldn't use it in reverse either it would be way too much and I don't think it could get all of it out of the bucket either. Water would go everywhere and the flow would not be consistent at all. As far as corosion there isnt much. Its pretty much all plastic. There are a few screws on the top that will rust other than that nothing. I've had mine over a year and it works great. I just spray it off after every use. Lowes has one too but its a little more powerfull and actually collapses the lowes buckets. I went with the hd for this very reason.

 

[acroholic]

Ditto on the wet dry. I have a Lowe's wet dryand it works great fo rthe sump. One thing you can do is buy a set of attachments for crevices, etc. It really cuts down on the diameter of the intake and lets you vac a longer before the vacuum fills up and shuts itself off.

Looks like these:
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<legend> Attached files </legend>

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class="gc-images" title="Micro-Cleaning-Kit-4YJ84_AS01.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a> </fieldset>

 

[jd22]

I don't have a sump would this be something I could use for in-tank purposes like lightly picking up some hair algae clumps on the sand that don't get picked up by the siphon or would it be to much power? It is only a 30 gallon tank

 

[jennm]

Hmmm I wouldn't suggest it for that use... water changes. Too much risk of sucking up a fish, or a frag, etc.

Jenn

 

[smallblock]

JennM;688069 wrote: Hmmm I wouldn't suggest it for that use... water changes. Too much risk of sucking up a fish, or a frag, etc.

Jenn

Good point I only use mine in sump.

 

[grayskwerel]

Acroholic;688059 wrote: Ditto on the wet dry. I have a Lowe's wet dryand it works great fo rthe sump. One thing you can do is buy a set of attachments for crevices, etc. It really cuts down on the diameter of the intake and lets you vac a longer before <span style="color: red">the vacuum fills up and shuts itself off</span>.

Looks like these:

It has auto shut off too?!?!?! Gonna pick one up tonight... I'm due for a water change tonight so I'll have a chance to check it out right away.

 

[acroholic]

grayskwerel;688076 wrote: It has auto shut off too?!?!?! Gonna pick one up tonight... I'm due for a water change tonight so I'll have a chance to check it out right away.

Mine isn't the 5 gallon bucket type. Standard wet dry vac on wheels, but just costs like $25. It uses a float type thing that blocks of suction when a certain water level in the reservoir is reached, like a ping pong ball type arrangement in a skimmer waste collector. Vac stays on, but suction stops.

 

[smallblock]

yes, but you have to be carefull I still get a little blow out if I'm not carefull. You hear an audible change in tone of the vac and thats how I know to stop. I try to stop before it does it because sometimes it spits some out of the other side. Another tip, when you stop always point the hose up because when you turn it off it will dump some back out of the pickup. Always drain the hose by pointing it up. Like actually lift the whole hose up vertical not just the tip.

 

[acroholic]

Smallblock;688085 wrote: yes, but you have to be carefull I still get a little blow out if I'm not carefull. You hear an audible change in tone of the vac and thats how I know to stop. I try to stop before it does it because sometimes it spits some out of the other side. Another tip, when you stop always point the hose up because when you turn it off it will dump some back out of the pickup. Always drain the hose by pointing it up. Like actually lift the whole hose up vertical not just the tip.

Very true. I also like to run a little fresh water through the vacuum after using it on salt water. I don't know if it is needed, but the idea of salt residue sitting in contact with metal parts (if there are any) doesn't sound right.

 

[mrflameangel]

I guess I may just have to go get one of these. Would save me time and plenty of 4these letter words.


Blake I sent u a text last weekend and never got a response. Do I have ur correct number or have I been banned? Lol

 

[smallblock]

I dont think I got it bro? I always try to respond to any messages.