# Brown gunk in the sump?



## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

My sump keeps getting covered with this brown gunk. Most of it is on the bottom of the sump, but the walls get a good layer of it too. It's not in my tank, just in the sump. Is it fish waist? There are some small snails in the sump but I don't think they could produce that much waist. Any one else have this issue? What is it?


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## locomotive282 (Jun 2, 2009)

Some pics would help. I am guessing that you have bio-balls in your sump. As water passes through the bio-balls all the dissolved organics (fish poop, fish slime, left over food) precipitate into the brown sludge that coats the walls and your bio-balls. The snails are eating it.

My recommendation is a controversial one. Instead of using bio-balls, fill the chamber with filter floss and change out the filter floss monthly or as needed. In my experience beneficial bacteria lives everywhere in the tank, most importantly in the substrate where it has most access to food. Bio-balls or other "biological media" become nitrate factories if left unchecked.


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## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

Thanks for the reply Loco.

Pictures will be hard to come by because I just cleaned out the whole sump before I posted this.

When I set up the system for a sump I was actually using the sump as a refugium, because I was planning on breeding crawfish. At the time I was using a fluidized bed filter that I had made, but it broke during my move to Chicago. So right now the tank is just surviving off of the bacteria on the substrate and other surfaces of the tank. The crawfish idea fell through so the sump is really just an extra 44 gallons of water right now. My ammonia levels are zero, but the clarity of the water has dropped some since the FBF broke, so I plan on fixing it when I get some extra money. The brown sludge isn't a big deal, I was just wondering what it was that I was dealing with.


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## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

Bump...


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## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

Ok, I got some pics...

This is the side wall of the sump, with what might be a wandering snail?









And this is the floor of the sump with a trumpet snail.









The sludge on the walls are attached, while the sludge on the bottom is thick and free floating.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

Are you using a filter sock or any sort of prefilter material before the media? I would think a sock would catch that before it got into the sump.


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## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

fox said:


> Are you using a filter sock or any sort of prefilter material before the media? I would think a sock would catch that before it got into the sump.


No, actually like I said earlier I don't have any media in the sump right now because I was running a fluidized bed filter, So it's kind of pointless for me to even have it going right now.  I'm just curious as to what this stuff was.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

If you are just using the sump to recycle and oxygenate at the moment why not put a 100 or 200 micron filter sock and use it to help polish the water collumn. A 100 micron sock does a fine job getting the water clear and if you still see brown mud you can pretty much eliminate food and poo as causing this stuff.

Just a thort. FWIW


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## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

That's a thought. I'll have to look into that. Thanks


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

That's the gunk into which all of your fish waste is broken down. That you find it in the sump means your filtration system is working very well. It is supposed to end up in the sump rather than staying in the main tank, where you would have to remove it via gravel vacuuming. It is nothing to worry about, but obviously you want to keep this stuff in the sump and remove it from there at your convenience. There is no hurry in removing it, but you obviously don't want it to be picked up by the pump and transported back into the tank. More importantly, you definitely don't want it to get into your FBF, which it would surely clog up over time.

I am also running a sump system on my 240G, and I have experimented with micron filter bags ('filter socks') as well as FBFs. I am now using Poret Filter Foam, and like that by far best of all. Clicking on any of the links will get you to articles discussing the pros and cons of each of those filtration options.

HTH

Frank


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## moto_master (Jun 23, 2006)

Thanks Frank! You sound very informative. I'm checking out your web site, looks like a place that I could get lost in, lots of fun! thanks


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