New viewer here with several questions. Am I correct in that this system is a system you designed and put together rather than something you bought off the shelf? Do I understand your system correctly: heart of this system is the pump, the vacuum end of the pump is connected to the clear small-diameter hose, that clear small-diameter hose passes through an air-tight connection to an inverted plastic box placed over a large sponge, the sponge lays in the bilge to absorb water with the vacuum hose and plastic box on top of the sponge (which is weighted down), back at the pump the discharge end of the pump (the larger diameter solid white hose) is plumbed to your shower sump, the 12VDC system is powered through a timer that gives you programming options? The system works as follows; the sponge soaks up all bilge fluid it comes in contact with (works all the time until it is saturated). When the pump is turned on, the top of the sponge is subject to low pressure, vacuum, from the pump through the hose which has an air-tight connection to the plastic lid to keep it from sucking air instead of bilge fluid. The fluid is then routed from the sponge to the pump under vacuum and then ejected out of the pump under pressure to the shower sump and then on to the grey water tank (by the shower sump pump). The system runs as long as the timer is powered, and that is determined by the setup of the timer itself? Did I get that correct? How exactly is the clear plastic hose interfaced with the sponge to keep the orifice at the end of the hose from getting clogged by the sponge itself when the vacuum is applied? The sponge itself will act as a filter to block larger particles from clogging the line leading to the pump, but how do you ensure the orifice end remains open and clear?

How long does the pump run every time it cycles on? Have you considered an adjustable vacuum switch to shut the pump off when it is no longer sucking water? Another option could be a flow switch on the outlet side of the pump..

How is the pump holding up?