[I just did a 15 gallon water change on my new tank (ammonia finally reads just over 0. Nitrites are still .25, but nitrates are rising as the nitrites go down (up to 15).) Hopefully in another week or two the levels will read zero and I can begin thinking about a cleanup crew.
To do the water change, I shut off all of the pumps and drained water out of the sump. While I had the sump mostly drained, I went ahead and took out the protein skimmer to clean it (Even though it hasn't had any performance problems yet) and removed all of the sand sludge that had collected in the sump from when I set up the tank.
Question to the masses: How often do you tear down and clean your skimmer? (I'm not talking about emptying the collection cup.)]
To do the water change, I shut off all of the pumps and drained water out of the sump. While I had the sump mostly drained, I went ahead and took out the protein skimmer to clean it (Even though it hasn't had any performance problems yet) and removed all of the sand sludge that had collected in the sump from when I set up the tank.
Question to the masses: How often do you tear down and clean your skimmer? (I'm not talking about emptying the collection cup.)]
