melev
The benefit of a clean tank
by
, 07-24-2011 at 05:55 PM (2705 Views)
When people come to visit, they often talk about how clean my system is. I clean everything at some point, never all at once in a single day because there is too much to do. Every few weeks, I clean the glass with a hotel Room Card (those plastic credit cards they hand you), swiping it between the glass and the sandbed to keep the view of the sand clean. I scrape off any algae along the sand bed, near the silicone seams, and along the entire top edge where the water laps up against the eurobracing. The top of the eurobracing is wiped down as well, removing those drips that I left behind. The black trim on top and along the bottom of the tank is wiped down.
Any empty snail shells or other debris are taking out rather than leaving that stuff on the substrate. It seems no hermit will take on an abandoned shell, and by eliminating the refuse / rubble, the tank appears to be cleaner because it is less cluttered. Dead coral branches from former colonies should also be taken out, no matter how much you loved that former coral. Just get it out of mind, out of sight, out of your tank. Put something new there and enjoy what you have rather than what you had. Lamenting about those losses won't make your tank look any better.
Monthly, I clean the sump to remove algae build-up, salt creep and general dust that adheres to the level surfaces. I wipe down the steel frame. Wiping off any drips, spills, general mist residue... all these things make it possible to spot potential issues before they get too far gone. Wiping away excess crud in the sump reduces the stuff that pollutes the water. Any accumulations around the baffles should be removed.
The black acrylic panel that hides the overflow on the left end is completely scraped clean with a credit card every few weeks. I've noticed that when it has brown or green film algae, the tank has that hue to it, but getting it off the wall makes the tank look so much better. The glass is cleaned every couple of days with a cleaning magnet to erase all the film algae. I look down the full length of glass from the end of the tank to see any spots I missed and hit those again so my view is unmarred.
Every few months, I clean the Vortech pumps thoroughly. It takes a long time and I do them one at a time, but seeing everything sparkly clean gives me that new tank feel. I'm going to have to clean the penductors soon, they are on my list. As is my light rack. I guess it never ends, but that's okay. I love this hobby.
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