Daily I try to clean the skimmer cup and run the glass cleaner across the glass. But sometimes I skip both of these tasks and do them every other day. I check the temp. Dose with B-ionic system. Feed in the evening. Sometimes also a piece of seaweed during the day. Top off with 4-5 quarts DI water. Feed corals twice/week.
Weekly I baster-poof-off everything and change 5 gal water. Sometimes in the process I vaccuum the sand surface. Clean the filter sock and the little sponge on the skimmer return. Do all parameter tests. Sometimes add Calcium, sometimes add Iodine.
I have cleaned the sump out once, after the first two months of operation. LOTS of dusty sediment. Since then I have been putting off another such cleaning. I'm slouching toward getting a canister filter to 'vaccuum' out my sump so I can clean up the crud without having to break the whole thing down (and kill my huge colony of tiny sponges
populating the sump.)
Question: I have 3/4 inch flex tubing bringing water back to the tank from the sump. Algae is growing on the inside and undoubtedly slowing the flow. How often should I change out that tubing? Is the drag all that much? Waddayathink?
Tank is not yet 6 months old, so no lighting change out.