Wavebox maintenance

[Chowder]

Not sure what the manditory time fram is for cleaning these things. I had mine apart about 2 months ago and am cleaning it today . It too is looking like it is running about half spead.

Chris

[marie]

It's been about 15 months for mine . I clean my other power heads every 2 months but it never occurs to me to clean the wavebox

[Chowder]

Only reason I am doing it is because I have noticed it is not performing like it should.

Chris

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Good to know. I am just picking one up this week.

[christyf5]

I clean mine when I clean my powerheads. That is, when I remember to clean my powerheads I guess this is about every 3-6 months or so. It always boggles my mind how much stuff grows in there. Its a haven for bubble algae and feather dusters (no coralline though ). Nothing grows on the sponge except for the dreaded "detritus". I really wish they'd come up with a better system than that sponge as I think its the source of my nitrate issues, or at least part of it.

[marie]

I had some very pretty pink, yellow and purple sponges growing on my sponge, it was a shame that it had to be cleaned.
The pump I had to soak in vinegar before I could get at the impellor because it had enough coralline algae growing on it to weld the strainer to the pump body

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by christyf5

I clean mine when I clean my powerheads. That is, when I remember to clean my powerheads I guess this is about every 3-6 months or so. It always boggles my mind how much stuff grows in there. Its a haven for bubble algae and feather dusters (no coralline though ). Nothing grows on the sponge except for the dreaded "detritus". I really wish they'd come up with a better system than that sponge as I think its the source of my nitrate issues, or at least part of it.

Yeah it is amazing! I have started cleaning my powerheads along with my return pump, siphoning my sump and rocks every month when I do a water change. Water change maintenance has become a 2 hour thing once a month now but I notice a huge difference in both equipment performance and also health of the tank. I used to only clean my powerheads like once a year

[fkshiu]

Hey Marie, I think your wavebox became what is known as a "cryptic zone" where a whole bunch of very interesting stuff grows out of light and high flow. Anthony Calfo (I think) was quite a big fan of cryptic zones a while ago although I haven't heard much about them in a while. Those sponges you found are filter feeders and great for, well, filtering! I know some people who set up cryptic zone refugiums, but it seems like you had one going without even knowing it!