Who's got the dirtiest sump?

[mcarroll]

When I used a sump I used a wide-open aquarium (no baffles) and kept a cheap powerhead (Seio 1000) at the opposite end from the return pump to prevent anything from settling. So it was always spotless and corals were always well fed from any detritus that ended up down there. Now my 125 Gallon is an all in one, so no sump. (But the tank is filthy. Where's my show-off theread??!! )

 

[zheka757]

 

[mcarroll]

FTW!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I never once cleaned the mud out of the sump in my old tank. It approached an inch thick in parts. I saw no advantage in removing it.

 

[zheka757]

I never once cleaned the mud out of the sump in my old tank. It approached an inch thick in parts. I saw no advantage in removing it.

Is it true that "mud" lowers ph of water

 

[mcarroll]

Is it true that "mud" lowers ph of water

That probably depends on what you/I/Randy mean exactly by mud (ie a specific product?) but detrital "mud" that would naturally accumulate (sometimes referred to as detritus) is typically a nutrient-poor alkalinity source, so on average it ought to be supportive of pH levels.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Is it true that "mud" lowers ph of water

I don’t know. As mentioned above, that would depend on what it was. I expect it contained some organic matter that was slowly degrading, but I cannot see that being a big effect relative to other processes adding and removing CO2.

My pH ran high in that tank (8.3 to 8.55) due to using kalk and a leaky old house.

 

[Freenow54]

Who's got the dirtiest sump?

Mine is terrible for salt creep but I have had an epitome and now know from making my own sump how to fool proof it . I cannot bring back my old sump to pristine because of the what I call etching of salt but I can and will stop the progression

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have not cleaned my sump in decades. It is ~50 gallons.

There are ~50 pounds of rock in there, inches of mulm in some areas, and the panes are covered in dense tube worms, tunicates, and sponges. I broke most of it away here to see in. Other areas are nearly opaque.