Aquarium maintenance practices

[The Saltman]

Hi guys,

Can you describe to me a good maintenance practice practice that you guys do with your reef as far as keeping salt creep off the tank and cleaning powerheads, etc. I see they have various salt creep eliminator sprays, etc. I also was wondering what is the best thing you can do for long life of your internal and external pumps running in your tanks.

Thanks

[old salty]

For salt creep, a damp washcloth works well (no, not the one your kid sister uses.) Salt creep eliminator spray?? What will they think of next?

I clean my pumps regularly; no more than two months go by before they are completely cleaned. Removing the slime that builds up keeps them running optimally as well as keeping them cool. I don't run alkalinity into the stratosphere, so I seldom encounter any buildups on impellers and such.

Keeping track of your equipment with a simple board works wonders. You might be surprised as how quickly time goes by and how long it's really been since you last cleaned out your main pump.

[snorvich]

Great idea. I use a computer, but a board is much better as one has to look at it.

[jeweldamsel]

I use Excel table to keep track the parameters, feeding, and cleaning schedules.