Brown Sump Waste

Matt · #1 07-22-2008, 03:50 AM

Brown sump waste... I have some of that. I hardly ever remove it, though. I bet it absolutely seethes under a microscope!

gkersten · #2 07-22-2008, 05:45 AM

Thanks I guess that answers my question > I do have a skimmer but thought that the skimmer would remove this waste and felt that perhaps it was not working to capacity if this sludge appears in the sump

untamed · #3 07-22-2008, 05:49 AM

I have two sumps. All this stuff gets drained out of the one sump during a water change. But the main sump has accumulated this stuff for over a year now and I've not pulled it out. It is probably 1cm deep in some spots.

Delphinus · #4 07-22-2008, 05:52 AM

I had about 3 years buildup of it I ended up cleaning with a shop vac back in March. It was... gruesome. I resolved to never let it get that bad again. I've promptly not done it again since. I probably should do something about that ... but man ... shop vaccing the sump means draining it completely and it's a PITA. But .. ugh, 3 years of it was gruesome. Did I mention it was gruesome? It was gruesome.

Johnny Reefer · #5 07-22-2008, 12:03 PM

untamed · #6 07-22-2008, 01:55 PM

That looks like a very handy device. What is it? Where can I get one?

banditpowdercoat · #7 07-22-2008, 03:03 PM

What is that contraption you got there Johnny?

drydock · #8 07-22-2008, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delphinus

I had about 3 years buildup of it I ended up cleaning with a shop vac back in March. It was... gruesome. I resolved to never let it get that bad again. I've promptly not done it again since. I probably should do something about that ... but man ... shop vaccing the sump means draining it completely and it's a PITA. But .. ugh, 3 years of it was gruesome. Did I mention it was gruesome? It was gruesome.

Does using your shop vac for your sump leave a distinctive 'sump smell' when you use it for other projects as well? I have always been hesitant you use mine to clean out a tank or sump.

fishoholic · #9 07-22-2008, 04:00 PM

We just used a siphon to suck out most of the detritus from our sump, worked well for us.

Delphinus · #10 07-22-2008, 04:31 PM

I didn't say I recommend leaving the gunk as long as me.

I live my life to serve as an warning to others.

In my defense, this was only 1 tank I let it get that bad, and there were a couple complicating factors. I had mangroves growing in it for the longest time so I had sort of gotten used to not doing much to the sump. My other tanks get their sumps cleaned on a far more regular basis but the odd thing is that this one tank happens to be the tank with the least amount of nitrate or phosphate or algae, and generally speaking the squeeky wheels get more oil.. so it just didn't get onto my radar.

Still, three years without a sump cleaning is kind of bad.

I guess I'm doing a "Do as I say not as I do!!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by drydock

Does using your shop vac for your sump leave a distinctive 'sump smell' when you use it for other projects as well? I have always been hesitant you use mine to clean out a tank or sump.

Well, I do rinse it out really well after use but I imagine it probably smells richer than your average shop vac. However, the tanks are the only reason I have it in the first place anyhow, cleaning up spills during water changes or overflows or whatever.

I too would like to know what Johnny Reefer's little device is. I'm guessing a power filter modded to be a vaccuum ... but does it dump the effluent back into the tank or into the sink?