Think it would take a bit more than a power head bud. The sump is 6x3x2 with 4 chambers and a separate grow out chamber in one end. Looking at it last night I think I could actually use on chamber as a settling chamber, would mean moving out a load of media, but I think if I raise the media in this chamber up off the bottom I could let gunk settle there and syphon off. Going to Investigate at the weekend. For now everything is good again after stirring everything up and removing as much as I could. Man did I see some crap come out!!
Sludge in the sump
- Thread starter jim barry
- Start date
You could build one of
DB junkie
patented radial flow separators. Seems to me they work pretty well and then just a basic mechanical filter afterwards should do the trick.
Are you at all able to drill a bulkhead into your sump where the sludge collects (ideally elevate the sump a bit if on the ground and drill in bottom of the tank) and connect a valve with some tubing? So you can crack the valve and quickly drain all the sludge? Even if you stack 2 2x4's along the edges of your tank you should be able to get a bulkhead and hose barb in there, and then you can attach line and put the valve further down the line for easy access. Maybe 3/4" or 1" so you can crack it and it will quickly create a vacuum? If you can't do it on the bottom of your tank maybe low near the side and just put an elbow and a bit of piping towards the bulk of the sludge, but then I would for sure go 1".
What helped me? A stronger pump. I used to always get that sludge, essentially dead bacteria I believe, and my mechanical filtration is a single layer of filter floss that gets replaced twice a week. Ever since using a much higher GPH pump (and possibly upgrading from 1.5" to 2" piping to help accommodate the pump) I have gotten ZERO of the sludge, my filter pads get unbelievable more gross, and I have about 20x the snails I used to in the sump. Not saying this is the final solution to mechanical filtration, just an observation on my own system.
DB junkie
patented radial flow separators. Seems to me they work pretty well and then just a basic mechanical filter afterwards should do the trick.Are you at all able to drill a bulkhead into your sump where the sludge collects (ideally elevate the sump a bit if on the ground and drill in bottom of the tank) and connect a valve with some tubing? So you can crack the valve and quickly drain all the sludge? Even if you stack 2 2x4's along the edges of your tank you should be able to get a bulkhead and hose barb in there, and then you can attach line and put the valve further down the line for easy access. Maybe 3/4" or 1" so you can crack it and it will quickly create a vacuum? If you can't do it on the bottom of your tank maybe low near the side and just put an elbow and a bit of piping towards the bulk of the sludge, but then I would for sure go 1".
What helped me? A stronger pump. I used to always get that sludge, essentially dead bacteria I believe, and my mechanical filtration is a single layer of filter floss that gets replaced twice a week. Ever since using a much higher GPH pump (and possibly upgrading from 1.5" to 2" piping to help accommodate the pump) I have gotten ZERO of the sludge, my filter pads get unbelievable more gross, and I have about 20x the snails I used to in the sump. Not saying this is the final solution to mechanical filtration, just an observation on my own system.
Thanks for the input Dave. Unfortunately for my own personal set up I can not achieve either of these suggestions.You could build one of
Are you at all able to drill a bulkhead into your sump where the sludge collects (ideally elevate the sump a bit if on the ground and drill in bottom of the tank) and connect a valve with some tubing? So you can crack the valve and quickly drain all the sludge? Even if you stack 2 2x4's along the edges of your tank you should be able to get a bulkhead and hose barb in there, and then you can attach line and put the valve further down the line for easy access. Maybe 3/4" or 1" so you can crack it and it will quickly create a vacuum? If you can't do it on the bottom of your tank maybe low near the side and just put an elbow and a bit of piping towards the bulk of the sludge, but then I would for sure go 1".
What helped me? A stronger pump. I used to always get that sludge, essentially dead bacteria I believe, and my mechanical filtration is a single layer of filter floss that gets replaced twice a week. Ever since using a much higher GPH pump (and possibly upgrading from 1.5" to 2" piping to help accommodate the pump) I have gotten ZERO of the sludge, my filter pads get unbelievable more gross, and I have about 20x the snails I used to in the sump. Not saying this is the final solution to mechanical filtration, just an observation on my own system.
Firstly I can not raise the sump as I would lose even more of the little head space I have between sump and main tank.
I could possibly go to a D.C type return pump. I could then increase my turn over a little. But my root cause issue is the sump itself. I may end up having to completely change the sump at some point if I really want to eradicate this issue.
Thanks for the input Dave. Unfortunately for my own personal set up I can not achieve either of these suggestions.
Firstly I can not raise the sump as I would lose even more of the little head space I have between sump and main tank.
I could possibly go to a D.C type return pump. I could then increase my turn over a little. But my root cause issue is the sump itself. I may end up having to completely change the sump at some point if I really want to eradicate this issue.
Yes Jim, unfortunately you very well might. Sometimes stuff just doesn't flow the way you want it to. I know what you mean about little overhead room, I get that constraint entirely. Redoing the sump will be a big task, maybe try your settling chamber idea first. I know where there is a will there is a way, just might be tricky to fine tune. Think of any possible way you could make a prefilter, see where you can stuff spongers or filter floss, etc. See if you can add a drip tray somewhere, I hated looking at that sludge in my sump. Also what I noticed if I made my filter pads oversized and stuffed them in there so the pads were kind of going up the sides of the drip chamber too that helped, as once the pads get a bit sludgy water looks for a way around them.
IF trapped in a situation like this I'd simply add air or Korilias to the sump...... Stuff can't settle if it's too windy in there.....
I do have a drip tray that catches any left over free floating crud but unfortunately this is after the first 3 chambers of the sump. I put this in as a final polish of the water before hitting the return pump. I can't put any more mechanical in the first chamber where the flows from the tank sit as this water level already runs dangerously high. I can't turn up the return flow to reduce the level in this chamber as the drain lines can't handle the flow. This is also impacted by drain lines that can not rely on pure gravity due to the height of the sump. Basically I go round and round in circles with this problem all the time, just learned to live with it!
It's not all bad as I have had 20 pups in this tank so rays must be happy enough. I just need to up my P.M programme!!
Interesting read this thread Jim, I feel your pain on the sludge. My sump is rather rudimentary and piss poor. Big learning curve for me and I will soon be tearing down mine in favour of several canisters (I'm a sucker for an eheim bucket) until I get the greenhouse/pond sorted and will then go back to a sump. I know you blame your design but you can only design, try it out and learn mate, we're always learning. Said it yourself yours can't be too bad as your rays are clearly happy and reproducing.
Obviously each setup has its restraints with access and positions but I favour the idea of a settlement area, with a drain off point at the bottom to just crack the valve and remove the solids as frequent as you like.
Obviously each setup has its restraints with access and positions but I favour the idea of a settlement area, with a drain off point at the bottom to just crack the valve and remove the solids as frequent as you like.
Cheers Mike. I'm going to crack on and try a couple of ideas this year. Maybe try some of the sludge buster stuff too.
Best of luck with your pond build too mate!!
