Aquarium Sediment

[MikeC_EE99]

I have a 180 gallon aquarium that is almost two years old now. For the past 6 to 9 months I've really started to accumulate more and more sediment throughout the aquarium. It really seems to stick to the rock making it difficult to remove during water changes. It's all over the rock...in the refugium...just everywhere. It has slowly accumulated over time, but is now kind of out of control. I have a mag drive 12 circulating 1200 gph through my refugium as well two Tunze Nanostream 6045 and two Hydor Koralia 4 pumps. I also use a G3 skimmer which is working just fine. Shouldn't this remove a lot of the sediment? I have moved the pumps around the tank trying to find an optimal location for them , but nothing really seams to make a difference. I perform my 10 - 15% water changes every two weeks. During that time I make sure to vacuum as much of the sediment off the rocks as possible, but it settles back on top of everything after a few days. I'm careful not to overfeed my fish. All of the food appears to be eaten after just a few minutes of feeding.

Any thoughts on where all the sediment is coming from and how to prevent it? Also, does anyone have any ideas on how I might remove it from my existing tank?

 

[iseeweed]

Maybe try installing a canister filter with a tight mesh or foam media. Blast everything with a turkey baster(or whatever) for a few days to keep everything strirred up until the canister filter captures the sediment.

 

[Anonymous]

Either that or install a filter sock over the end of the overflow where the water comes out into your sump. Then do what iseeweed suggests with the turkey baster (whatever might be a powerhead).

 

[Anonymous]

+1 (to both) - you need some sort of mechanical filtration to catch that mess.

 

[MikeC_EE99]

Thanks everyone for the input. I do have a piece of foam in the refugium which all the water has to pass though, but it's not a very tight mesh so maybe I could just go to a tighter one. I would rather not have to buy a mechnical filter at this time. Thank you so much for the advice!!!!