Questions about cleaning my wet/dry sump filter

[fishfrenzy]

I change the filter pad on top regularly but how about the sponge and the water in the sump? Do i just leave the sponge as it is so the good bacteria can grow on it or should I clean it once in a while? I've done it before, squeezing it out using tank water, but everytime i put it back and turn on the pump, the left over bacteria/dirt comes out of it and goes in the tank. And how about the water in the sump? There is bacteria/dirt that accumulate at the bottom but not much. So do I replace the water?

[Darrell Ward]

If you don't clean the return lines after cleaning your sump, then it's pretty normal to get a bit of crud flushed out into the tank on the restart. Pipe snakes are good for cleaning lines. Doesn't hurt a thing to clean your sponges. I do it in tank water as well, but you don't really have to. I usually pump out the water from the sump, and vac it with a shop vac. Makes it easy. I then pump water into the tank, letting the overflow refill the sump.

[David Rose]

in addition to Darrell, I wipe down the inside sump walls with paper towel to remove crud and slime build-up every other month. I don't use a sponge in my sump. I use Matala and a thin filter pad in the drip tray that I cycle with clean ones every couple of weeks or so.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Not to go off topic, but David, I was thinking of making a 29 gal sump and I was looking into the Matala, boy thats expensive for a small piece (30x24"), was $35.00 at Amazon. Do you change this often or would this last a long time?

I am going to build this sump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxnugJGiT3o

[David Rose]

It pretty much last forever... I believe my pricing is $30-38 for the three different densities. Let me know what densities you want and I'll take care of you.


Not to go off topic, but David, I was thinking of making a 29 gal sump and I was looking into the Matala, boy thats expensive for a small piece (30x24"), was $35.00 at Amazon. Do you change this often or would this last a long time?

I am going to build this sump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxnugJGiT3o

[Darrell Ward]

It's very durable, made from some kind of plastic stuff. I once used a single piece of Matala in a sump for 5 years before it finally wore completely out, losing all it's rigidity. I then replaced it with Poret foam only because it can filter out finer particles, and I had it lying around. :D It's good stuff, and worth the cost.