I thought we could start some discussion topics and kick it off with an easy one, maintenance.
Maintenance I think should be thought of as more than just when you do a water change or change out your light bulbs but also cleaning and observing as well.
Here are some thoughts.
So a little disclaimer, none of these things I am telling you are set in stone. I think if you are really paying attention and you notice something is out of sorts, or that something works better for you, buy all means do it. This is meant more for people who need to get a handle on these aspects of reef keeping, more than to change your ways if you are already doing something that you are successful with.
Lighting
If you are still using T5 and MH.
Change out MH once a year
Change out T5 every 10 months.
LED when they stop working?
Regardless of what lighting you are doing, pay attention to the glass, or whatever is being used to shield your lights and clean them of salt splashes that get on it from time to time. Same goes for the reflectors, they should be as clean as possible. I look at them once a week and clean them as necessary.
Detritus in the sump
Siphon it out when you do a water change, you don't have to do it every week, but maybe at least every 4-6 weeks.
Cleaning filter socks
When I use them, I change them out when they clog.
Water Changes
I am a big fan of water changes. I think water changes are probably the cheapest way to keep your tank in good shape. If I have the time I would do them every week, but I try to do it at least every two weeks.
Blowing off the rocks
An hour or two before you do a water change blow off all the rocks with a turkey baster.
RO/DI
This sort of depends how much makeup water you go through. I change out the sediment filter every 4-6 weeks, the DI filter every 4 months and the carbon filter ever 6 months. The RO filter generally last me 2-3 year before I need to replace it.
GFO
I don't leave it in the tank for more than a month.
Carbon
Carbon is really only effective for a few days to a week. Lots of people change it out monthly, I don't think it is harmful to leave it in the system long term, but it is not very effective anymore.
Skimmer.
Clean the skimmer every week. The skimmer is less effective after 5-7 days.
Cleaning the glass
Way back in 2004 I wrote about how long can you go without cleaning the front of your glass before you can notice it being dirty? I had written that I used to be able to go only 3-4 days and then it really needed to be cleaned. After I got more aggressive on my water quality, I could easily go 7 days without cleaning my glass and you could hardly even notice any buildup on the glass when I did clean it, which was once a week.
I think that you should be able to go 5-7 days before having to clean the glass. I still think it is one of the best indicators of a good tank that has low dissolved organics and doesn't have nutrient problems.
Lastly salt creep.
Get rid of salt creep when you see it building up on parts. Lots of time it gets on the top of the tank around plumbing parts that enter the water. Leaving it can cause a few problems. A chunk of salt can fall in the tank and land on a coral burning it while it dissolves. Salt creep that has dried and been in the open can get dirt and other nasty stuff on it over time, when that eventually falls into the tank all that junk just went into the tank water as well. So get rid of salt creep when you can.
So those are the basics that I can think of right now, what did I, and miss what are you doing that has really helped to keep your tank in good shape?
Maintenance I think should be thought of as more than just when you do a water change or change out your light bulbs but also cleaning and observing as well.
Here are some thoughts.
So a little disclaimer, none of these things I am telling you are set in stone. I think if you are really paying attention and you notice something is out of sorts, or that something works better for you, buy all means do it. This is meant more for people who need to get a handle on these aspects of reef keeping, more than to change your ways if you are already doing something that you are successful with.
Lighting
If you are still using T5 and MH.
Change out MH once a year
Change out T5 every 10 months.
LED when they stop working?
Regardless of what lighting you are doing, pay attention to the glass, or whatever is being used to shield your lights and clean them of salt splashes that get on it from time to time. Same goes for the reflectors, they should be as clean as possible. I look at them once a week and clean them as necessary.
Detritus in the sump
Siphon it out when you do a water change, you don't have to do it every week, but maybe at least every 4-6 weeks.
Cleaning filter socks
When I use them, I change them out when they clog.
Water Changes
I am a big fan of water changes. I think water changes are probably the cheapest way to keep your tank in good shape. If I have the time I would do them every week, but I try to do it at least every two weeks.
Blowing off the rocks
An hour or two before you do a water change blow off all the rocks with a turkey baster.
RO/DI
This sort of depends how much makeup water you go through. I change out the sediment filter every 4-6 weeks, the DI filter every 4 months and the carbon filter ever 6 months. The RO filter generally last me 2-3 year before I need to replace it.
GFO
I don't leave it in the tank for more than a month.
Carbon
Carbon is really only effective for a few days to a week. Lots of people change it out monthly, I don't think it is harmful to leave it in the system long term, but it is not very effective anymore.
Skimmer.
Clean the skimmer every week. The skimmer is less effective after 5-7 days.
Cleaning the glass
Way back in 2004 I wrote about how long can you go without cleaning the front of your glass before you can notice it being dirty? I had written that I used to be able to go only 3-4 days and then it really needed to be cleaned. After I got more aggressive on my water quality, I could easily go 7 days without cleaning my glass and you could hardly even notice any buildup on the glass when I did clean it, which was once a week.
I think that you should be able to go 5-7 days before having to clean the glass. I still think it is one of the best indicators of a good tank that has low dissolved organics and doesn't have nutrient problems.
Lastly salt creep.
Get rid of salt creep when you see it building up on parts. Lots of time it gets on the top of the tank around plumbing parts that enter the water. Leaving it can cause a few problems. A chunk of salt can fall in the tank and land on a coral burning it while it dissolves. Salt creep that has dried and been in the open can get dirt and other nasty stuff on it over time, when that eventually falls into the tank all that junk just went into the tank water as well. So get rid of salt creep when you can.
So those are the basics that I can think of right now, what did I, and miss what are you doing that has really helped to keep your tank in good shape?
