Sump not working effectively help please

[duanes]

As longs as the are spaces in-between chunks of media for water to move.
If media gets chocked with gunk, and water just flows (channels) around the outside of the pile, it is not working efficiently.
That is one of the reasons I like putting media in mesh bags, that way I can shake out excess gunk during water changes.
If yours is a salt water tank, macroscopic marine animals can help, by breaking down the gunk, and remake thru the media and substrate keeping it from compacting.
I also try to cultivate them in my fresh water refugiums for the same reason.

 

[Leon fish]

Im looking to bag up the media tommorow. My coarse filter bags have arrived.
Im going to syphon all the water out of the sump and refill it with tank water. Is this okay?

 

[esoxlucius]

You can do the cleaning process whichever way is easiest for you. But yes, tank water is your friend, no tap water at all. When I do my bi-annual bio clean I set up a large bucket of tank water at the side of my tank and just dunk all my media bags in it. It takes literally seconds. Then I let the remaining gunk from my empty bio chamber settle for a few minutes and then use a thin flexible tube to syphon it all the crud out. Then when it's pretty clear I take my media bags out of my bucket (dunking them up and down a couple of times to rinse them) and put them back in my chamber. Job done, and in total it probably takes me 20 mins.

You've got to take all the old loose stuff out, rinse it, bag it up and then determine which way you're going to place it all back in. So your first time might take a while.

 

[taksan]

Plastic Moving bed media has been found to be actually less effective then previously thought. Alfagrog is low grade bio media good for ponds but will create debris in a sump like your experiencing. The whole concept of a “settlement” chamber along with the use of k1 and Alfagrog actually reminds me of English koi pond filtration from quite a few years ago. A filter sock should negate the need for this ( or any other mechanical media). If i was setting up a sump I’d go with socks and just straight Matrix and probably Marine pure blocks.

 

[Leon fish]

Your right - i own a 30k litre koi pond and i use k1 and alfagrog for filtration so when i set this tank up i thought i'd copy that model.
I have matrix under the k1, how often does this need washing?

 

[taksan]

Hmmm maybe once every 6 months in tank water...
The problem with (uk) koi filtration is that with a pond your flowing through the filter once a hour at most ... with a tank it has to be 5-10 times .... hence a different requirement