Marine aquarium equipment maintenance schedule

This is important for aquarium electrical and metalic equipment longevity.

With new LED lights and tubes as well as anything else like power lead ends and the female part of leads as well if visible, the plug holes in the power board, all fluro-T8 and T5 ends and their tomb stones,all bulb ends,chillers, all equip that will be any where near the salt water, with in two meters needs to be sprayed with nulon-silicon spray!

Never let this sprayed substance make contact with the water it will kill the PH,but if you do not put it on all items electrical and metalic in particular than wipe it off,(that’s wipe it off) don’t leave a coating on these items, it just a fine film left and the gaps it stays in that’s important, with out the nulon, these will corrode or rust or short out much quicker than you would like!!

If you make your own light fittings for the LED tubes,use the spray internaly and wipe off before use as well.

If you want to catch up by using this on your old gear,clean your power lead male ends or anything metalic with a (plastic) scourer not metal,aluminium or stainless steel wool and then wipe it clean and spray it with silicon spray/nulon and wipe it off and all is good!

This is the time of year where you should be stripping down your chiller to silicon spray all electrics and metals, lube the fans bush bearings and generally check to make sure there has been no moisture get into it anywhere. Don’t spray the radiator grill; it will lower its potential!
I was told the cheap chiller I purchased would only last a year or two, its still like new and it has just finished its seventh year of operation. I just stripped mine down and gave it a once over and stored it, ready to be taken out for next October to set up for that season. What you guys do with your chillers is up to you.


An essential thing to do is make sure the power head or water pump that is the return pump from the sump is of the best possible quality, if this one breaks down you will most likely loose your aquarium life forms if it is not functioning and not noticed for more than 6 hours.

Any and all power heads and water pumps of all types should be cleaned each month or at the most each two months, circulating pumps in the tank need to be cleaned with vinegar or light acid to dissolve any calcium build up and than use a scourer and brush.

If regular cleaning is not carried out on power heads they may seize and fail, causing permanent damage.

This is very important if waters before pumps are not pre filtered to at least 100 microns!!

Power board burns from water getting under the plug, spray them with silicon lubricant and lightly wipe this off before use and keep them dry.


Cleaning impellor should be done with a brush or some scourer and sponge gently as to not bend the shaft for the impellor.


Cleaning magnet area.

With wood or plastic only, tooth pics maybe or a piece of plastic, no metal should touch any of the pump areas unless you are very gentle with it.
Be gentle with the shaft the impellor slides down onto. See the yellow part, that part incorporates the shaft, so if the shaft breaks or is worn, that part is replaceable.


These brushes from a junky shop are great for cleaning in side the impellor area.
Cleaning brushes


Brush to clean all out side areas.


Where this tooth pic is laying is where water will sometimes lay and the electicity will arc across between positive and nagetive terminals causing a carbon build up and this will continue the arcing until cleaned out of the burnt groove,once this happens its best to get rid of the power board totaly.


These pics show the rubber caps that act as a bearing in many cases, these should replaced if worn. The pics are of both porcelain and stainless shafts.
Rear of stainless variation.


Front


End cap on a porcelain shaft.


Silicon spray to all metal parts before use that do not go into thewater.