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Most of us have been reefing for many years, some even decades. Along the way we tend to pick up little tricks that can save us time, money or hassle. I figured it would be a good idea to start a thread to share the wealth of knowledge within our club. So lets hear your favorite tips and tricks. ill start off with a couple of tips related to cleaning.
1. If you have an ro/di unit and a spare brs reactor and pump then this one is for you. Take your old sediment filter and give it a good spray down with a hose and stick it in your spare reactor. Then hook up the pump to the reactor and use it to pull any detritus and junk built up in your sump. This can be done anytime and does not require a water change since the output of the reactor just goes right back in your sump. Once you are done you can pull out the sediment filter and rinse it with the hose again and store it. You can do this a few times before the sediment filter is useless. This also works great if you want to clean your sand bed but don't want to do a water change. Simply stir the sand up to release the junk and then suck it up with the pump.
2. Another one for those with brs reactors and ro/di units. Once your ro/di filter cartridges are used up and before you toss them in the trash, pull the rubber gasket off the top and bottom of the cartridge. This gasket fits onto the hard shell brs reactor's canister top and could possibly fit other filter that need a gasket. It's a tight fit but can be a good replacement for the orange gaskets that come with them because those tend to get very stiff and hard and by that point it may not give the best seal.
3. If you don't have a reactor that accepts ro/di cartridges but still want to clean your sump without doing a water change, there are a couple options. One if you have another type of reactor you can stuff it with filter floss. If you don't have a spare reactor at all take a sheet of filter pad and wrap it around the end of a flexible hose that fits a pump you have one laying around (if you don't have a spare small pump laying around you're not a respectable reefer). Then just stick the pump and the end of the hose in your sump and clean away.
1. If you have an ro/di unit and a spare brs reactor and pump then this one is for you. Take your old sediment filter and give it a good spray down with a hose and stick it in your spare reactor. Then hook up the pump to the reactor and use it to pull any detritus and junk built up in your sump. This can be done anytime and does not require a water change since the output of the reactor just goes right back in your sump. Once you are done you can pull out the sediment filter and rinse it with the hose again and store it. You can do this a few times before the sediment filter is useless. This also works great if you want to clean your sand bed but don't want to do a water change. Simply stir the sand up to release the junk and then suck it up with the pump.
2. Another one for those with brs reactors and ro/di units. Once your ro/di filter cartridges are used up and before you toss them in the trash, pull the rubber gasket off the top and bottom of the cartridge. This gasket fits onto the hard shell brs reactor's canister top and could possibly fit other filter that need a gasket. It's a tight fit but can be a good replacement for the orange gaskets that come with them because those tend to get very stiff and hard and by that point it may not give the best seal.
3. If you don't have a reactor that accepts ro/di cartridges but still want to clean your sump without doing a water change, there are a couple options. One if you have another type of reactor you can stuff it with filter floss. If you don't have a spare reactor at all take a sheet of filter pad and wrap it around the end of a flexible hose that fits a pump you have one laying around (if you don't have a spare small pump laying around you're not a respectable reefer). Then just stick the pump and the end of the hose in your sump and clean away.
