Q on Sump?

[West1]

I got confused on my last Q with a friend.

I have a 50gl DIY sump to my 300gl and I noticed that about once a months the sump collects a lot of dirty water (In the return, it has a Sock, that is on a large 2x2 sponge to catch more debree... that has ceramic rings under, that fall to the Sump full of BioBalls Ill take pics tonight).

So my Q is, is is suppos to do that?
Is it best to keep the water in the Sump moving (should I add a small powerhead just to move the water) or motion less as possible?

I have 4 fish in my 300 and I dont over feed what so ever (starving my Armatus now to get off live foods too) and I have a Rena X4 and a big pump in my Sump (4750 GPH) and feed the others once a day

Thanks

 

[West1]

Is the water in the Sump suppost to have current or is it best to keep still?

Thanks

 

[justin guest]

pics?

 

[West1]

Sorry, I forgot to snap some pics. I will def tonight

 

[justin guest]

Sorry, I forgot to snap some pics. I will def tonight

 

[West1]

Here we go. (sorry about the dark pic. No light to get under the stand)

(Left) Return line with a sock, square sponge, ceramic rings then bioballs... to the right is my plumbing and the pump under water

 

[justin guest]

Here we go. (sorry about the dark pic. No light to get under the stand)

(Left) Return line with a sock, square sponge, ceramic rings then bioballs... to the right is my plumbing and the pump under water

Are the bioballs partially immersed?
Do you notice that the dirty water comes after tank maintenance or any other routine having to do with the aquarium?
Is the sock filtered water being evenly distributed across/through the biomedia?

j<><

 

[West1]

Are the bioballs partially immersed?
Do you notice that the dirty water comes after tank maintenance or any other routine having to do with the aquarium?
Is the sock filtered water being evenly distributed across/through the biomedia?

j<><

I have all the bioballs thrown in the sump. Some float and the rest are packed under them... as for the sock, the water flows throu the sock and on to the sponge, then flows down to the ceramic rings and then going to some bio balls (ceramic rings and bio balls are in a square acrylic box, that is 2-3" from the bottom so the water can flow to the rest of the sump). Once the water goes down the acrylic square it makes it way to all the bioballs in the sump. On the other side of the sump is my Pump to go back to the tank

Thanks for your help

 

[justin guest]

I have all the bioballs thrown in the sump. Some float and the rest are packed under them... as for the sock, the water flows throu the sock and on to the sponge, then flows down to the ceramic rings and then going to some bio balls (ceramic rings and bio balls are in a square acrylic box, that is 2-3" from the bottom so the water can flow to the rest of the sump). Once the water goes down the acrylic square it makes it way to all the bioballs in the sump. On the other side of the sump is my Pump to go back to the tank

Thanks for your help

Hmmm... Do you have the bioballs sitting directly on the base plate of the sump? If so they may be accumulating fine mulm which then occasionally gets washed out in clumps. To help avoid this problem you can put a drip plate under the bioballs to keep them off the bottom (1" should be enough) and then place air stones evenly spaced under the plate so that the water is evenly circulated throughout the whole filter. This will also strongly increase the biofiltration capacity of the filter.
j<><

 

[TheFishWrestler]

My 100gal sump on my 300gal tank used to be really dirty in the bottom. So I added a powerhead to clean it up and I love it. My sump is super clean now. I dont see any problem with it. You have to add a powerhead with a sponge on it though. Otherwise all of that dirty stuff will just go back into your tank.