Sludge in the sump

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jim barry

jim barry

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jun 21, 2006
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Hi all

Posting this question in the ray section as that is what I keep and I need advice from fellow ray keepers.
Have been running my tank and sump for nearly 4 years now. I got lazy last year and did not have a really good clean of the sump as I should have done. End result, lots of gunk and sludge in the sump!! I have spent a lot of time removing what I can by syphoning and using filter wool to catch as much as I can once it has all been stirred up.
Going forward I was wondering if there is any 'Ray safe' treatment that can assist in reducing the build up of sludge.
I currently use 'Pure Pond bomb' by Evolution Aqua fairly regularly which helps to keep bacteria levels up. But I am beginning to wonder if this has any detrimental effect on the system?
Any ideas guys and gals? Besides the obvious of I should not be so lazy and carry out more regular maintenance!!
 
I had a similer issue with this "sludge" since having a sock and rinsing it every day ( only takes 2 mins with shower head ) I havnt had to do the deep clean on the sump and sludge seems minimul , I also now keep all my media in baskets so when a deep clean is needed I can just remove the media syphon and place backets back in and away we go
 
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+1 on the Rid X, works great and cheaper than virtually the same product marketed specifically for pond/aquarium use.
 
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Ashley106 said:
I had a similer issue with this "sludge" since having a sock and rinsing it every day ( only takes 2 mins with shower head ) I havnt had to do the deep clean on the sump and sludge seems minimul , I also now keep all my media in baskets so when a deep clean is needed I can just remove the media syphon and place backets back in and away we go
Click to expand...
I cant use socks (would need 4 of them for 4 drain lines) as my sump is rubbish and 1st chamber runs the water level too high for my liking. I use jap mat in it but can't completely obstruct the water flow as the water level rises to within a few centimetres of the top of the sump. Basically the root cause of all this is a poorly built sump, designed by me but built by the same people who made the main tank. I did not specify to them how high off the bottom of the sump the 1st baffle should be and to me it is set too low off the bottom so basically the top of the water line is too high. This means I can not use as much mechanical filtration as I would like because the water level rises dangerously high!! I will never be happy with this sump!
 
Aquanero said:
+1 on the Rid X, works great and cheaper than virtually the same product marketed specifically for pond/aquarium use.
Click to expand...
Is this stuff safe for tanks holding rays? How does it work? Does the gunk just magically disappear?
 
jim barry said:
I cant use socks (would need 4 of them for 4 drain lines) as my sump is rubbish and 1st chamber runs the water level too high for my liking. I use jap mat in it but can't completely obstruct the water flow as the water level rises to within a few centimetres of the top of the sump. Basically the root cause of all this is a poorly built sump, designed by me but built by the same people who made the main tank. I did not specify to them how high off the bottom of the sump the 1st baffle should be and to me it is set too low off the bottom so basically the top of the water line is too high. This means I can not use as much mechanical filtration as I would like because the water level rises dangerously high!! I will never be happy with this sump!
Click to expand...

Could u run some kind of settling chamber so the sludge is kept in only 1 section of the sump ?
 
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