How To Maintain An Aquarium Overhead SUMP Filter

How to maintain an aquarium overhead SUMP filter:

You can rely on a filter which can clean your aquarium by removing solid waste particles & stabilizes the water conditions by removing toxic components. SUMP filter is a type of filter which has a container that can hold mechanical & biological filtration media.

In this tutorial I will show you how to do maintenance of aquarium top filter also called SUMP filter. I have built an overhead SUMP filter in my previous tutorial & if you want to know how to build it then you can read my other article.

• How to build a DIY aquarium overhead SUMP filter

Steps: How to maintain an overhead fish tank filter: 

In this article I will show you how I maintain the overhead sump filter of fish tank.

How to maintain an overhead aquarium filter

I have been away for more than 4 weeks & in between this period only my family members have fed my fish & no other maintenance have been done which means water has not been changed, & also the filter media of aquarium SUMP filter has not been changed & it is now very important to change the filter media. In today’s tutorial I am going to clean my aquariums & change the water, & also do some maintenance of tank filter.

Step 1: Scrub the internal glass:

Step 1: Scrub the internal glass

Before changing water, I scrub the internal tank glass. However, the glass looks clean & no algae is visible but there is some that you might not see on the camera. So it is very important to scrub the glass before changing water. Cleaning is important but you should also observe the amount of good bacteria present in your filter. If your filter has enough good bacteria, then it can break down all the toxic components so there is no need to change water every 2 weeks.

Step 2: Clean the sponge:

Step 2: Clean the sponge

I use a sponge as a filter sock & it looks dirty as it has collected fish waste & other debris. The filter pads need to be changed because they are really dirty. In my aquarium filter media setup, I usually use a medium & fine foam. After cleaning the sponge, I am not throwing it in the bin as it looks really clean now. I am going to use the same sponge in my aquarium filter. I am going to use a new fine foam because it is very cheap.

Step 3: Use new foam & put the media back in filter:

Cut new foam & put media back in filter

Open the pack of fine foam & use a sharp scissor to cut the foam. I lay down fine foam on my filter tray. I am using 2 layers of fine foam & this time I am not going to use a medium foam. Water from the pump passes through sponge filter sock first then it flows through the fine foam. The maintenance is very simple because I only clean the sponge.

Step 4: Maintenance of top aquarium is over:

Step 4: Maintenance of top aquarium is finished

It takes around twenty minutes to scrub the glass, clean the filter media, & change the water. I turn on my filter so that it starts building up good bacteria again. My top aquarium maintenance is over. In my top aquarium I have five gold fish. In my bottom aquarium I have over 35 guppies & now I am going to start maintenance in my bottom aquarium.

Step 5: Maintenance of bottom aquarium begins:

Step 5: Clean the bottom of aquarium using hose

There is too much waste at the bottom of my aquarium. The waste is produced mostly by the dead leaves of aquarium plants I have. The reason behind keeping my aquarium bare bottom is because it is very easy to clean them. I am using a hose to suck all the waste at the bottom of fish tank. If my aquarium had gravels or other material at the bottom, then it would be difficult to clean the mess. When I have more fish in aquarium, then I keep the aquarium bare bottom because it is easy to clean water & do maintenance which keeps my fish healthy.

Step 6: Clean the sponge of internal SUMP filter:

Step 6: Leave the pad but clean the sponge of internal filter

My internal SUMP filter is working fine. Filter pad does not look that dirty & it has tons of good bacteria so I am not going to change it because I might lose lots of beneficial bacteria. The internal SUMP filter is operated by a sponge filter. I am going to clean one of the sponges of my double sponge filter.

Conclusion:

In both of my aquariums the level of water was low. My aquarium inhabitants are happy with the setup & I like my filters because they are doing a great job. I clean the filter & make a thirty percent water change & I have plants in my fish tank that can help me in removing nitrates.