Sludge in the sump

[Jesseliu13]

i used pond zyme with barley from api... works decently well. i normally just siphon it all out. what kind of sump do you have? it only builds up in my wet/dry sumps.

 

[dogofwar]

Siphoning sludge out a sump is about a million times easier than having to frequently break down and clean multiple canisters to remove the same sludge!

I have dump filters (basically a sump on top of the tank) on my large tanks. I keep the media off of the floor of the sump with an egg crate shelf. Makes getting under the media and siphoning out the gunk that much easier.

As an aside, there are people who will argue to their last breath that filter gunk is not bad (and that, for example, the mechanical filtration in canisters don't need to be cleaned for months at a time). I'm not one of the them.

Matt

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.

 

[CANAMONSTER]

The best way to eliminate it in the sump is to have a three stage sump filter design.

Coarse mechanical first , fine mechanical (socks), then Biological.

This is how my new tank filter will be.