internal sump maintenance

[janivr]

Hi,
I have a 220 liter (60 gal) tank with an internal sump.
3 chambers: 1. Floss (soon adding sponge) 2. Matrix biomedia 3. Heater, UV Filter, Return Pump

What would be an effective maintenance plan?
How, when, and how often to clean/replace the media? return pump cleaning?
Additional tips?

Thanks

[Willie]

I don't know where you're located but Wal-Mart carries mattress batting which is identical to aquarium floss. I would simply toss the floss when it gets disgusting and replace it with new floss. That would greatly reduce the need to clean out detritus.

[janivr]

Thanks, what about other maintenance tasks?

[janivr]

How about this one (i hope it is clear)?
What should I put at the entrance level in chamber 1?

InternalSump2.png

[NCHornet]

That's like saying how often should I paint my house? To many variables to give any type of accurate reply. Only you can answer that. When flow slows, it's time to clean. Much depends on the fish your keeping, what you are feeding, how much, how often, flow rates, media used, flow through sump etc....... If you notice it takes 2 weeks before you notice a reduced flow rate maybe you want to do a cleaning every 10 days? Some prefer to wait until they notice it slowing. We all need to do what works for us and the fish we keep and how we keep them. The recommendation for floss at Walmart is a good money saver just be sure it hasn't been treated with chemicals. Most fabric stores will sell floss woven into sheet form. I stopped using the loose stuff because it ended up everywhere, lol!!!!
NCH