With the wide range of tasks that they can manage, aquarium dosing pumps are vital equipment for reef aquarium enthusiasts.
This makes it of extreme importance that dosing pumps be maintained properly, especially if they are not of the auto-cleaning variety.
As the pumps play a vital role in maintaining aquarium water quality, it is important to work out a staggered aquarium equipment maintenance schedule.
Pumps should be cleaned approximately every three months, and their cleaning schedules need to be spread out so that not every pump is taken offline at the same time.
This way, reef aquarium owners are able to reduce the impact of interrupted pump operation on an aquarium and its inhabitants, and at the same time, spend less time than it would take to clean all the dosing pumps at once-a boon for the busy aquarium enthusiast.
As for the pump cleaning procedure itself, the pump must be unplugged and taken apart following the manufacturers' instructions.
The pump impellers should then be cleaned of all debris that may have stuck to them.
Pipes and tubing must also be cleaned using tubing or a filter brush.
Next, the pump housing itself should be cleaned thoroughly, both inside and out.
Enthusiasts may also need to lubricate certain parts of pumps as per manufacturer requirements.
After cleaning, aquarium dosing pumps can be reassembled and reinstalled.
Some parts may also need to be primed properly before they can function again.
Aquarium owners can find these pumps and the tools needed to maintain them through select online suppliers of reef aquarium equipment.