DWC problem, cleaning res

Hey guys. Quick question for those with more experience than me. I bought a cheapo Hydrofarm DWC system called Emily's Garden ($50 at Overstock). It's actually working great with some minor fixes I added, more air stones and a pump for circulation. My problem is I need to clean the res. The netpots sit on the holes on the lid obviously. But I need to remove the lid to give it a good cleaning. The problem arises when trying to lift it. Obviously I have 8 massive clumps of root mass. I can't exactly pull the top off without damaging the roots. Should I just forgo cleaning it? I guess I should have bought two of them so I could just swap the bottoms or tops?

Why do you want to clean it?? do you see mold?? why can't you just pick the top up, what are the roots wrapped on?? they are pretty strong normally and withstand some gentle pulling (be careful!). I think I would just flush the system with fresh clean water if I thought I really needed to.

I wanted to clean it because I put some Plant Success powered mycos in there and the water looks like poop. Plus I can see some salt around the top of the reservoir. Don't think the mycos are doing anything anyways. Plus it just seemed like good practice to clean it out every couple of weeks.