We've all done it. Turned off our pumps during maintainance and then when switching back on you get a flush of gunk in your display tank. Its like very fine slithers of egg white for want of a better description and looks messy. Too combat this i started to clean out my pipes once a month or so and it's solved the problem.
However, i haven't cleaned them for about 3 months now but everytime i turn my return pump on after maintainance the water is very clear!!!!! So i came up with a theory as to what's cured the problem even though i'm not cleaning the tubing anymore.
It's summer over here in the uk and although the temps aren't that high in the uk the evaporation levels still increase. What i do, every other day more or less, is to top up my sump with a few litres of pure untreated tap water. I believe that this regular sudden gush of untreated water through my return pipe is killing/preventing the bacteria building up that results in full blown gunk further down the line. In winter when i don't need to top up as much i suspect my gunk problem will return unless i revert to cleaning my pipes again. It's a long shot but do you think i could be right?
However, i haven't cleaned them for about 3 months now but everytime i turn my return pump on after maintainance the water is very clear!!!!! So i came up with a theory as to what's cured the problem even though i'm not cleaning the tubing anymore.
It's summer over here in the uk and although the temps aren't that high in the uk the evaporation levels still increase. What i do, every other day more or less, is to top up my sump with a few litres of pure untreated tap water. I believe that this regular sudden gush of untreated water through my return pipe is killing/preventing the bacteria building up that results in full blown gunk further down the line. In winter when i don't need to top up as much i suspect my gunk problem will return unless i revert to cleaning my pipes again. It's a long shot but do you think i could be right?
