Detritus in sump?

[Jonathan Troutt]

so I am not using filter socks at the moment and my first chamber of my sump where my skimmer and heaters are gets a layer of detritus on the bottom. How often should this be cleaned off to prevent nitrate build up. And is there anyway to prevent this without a sock? I can’t think of anything but figured I would ask.

 

[Adele]

I think you will get mixed opinions on this. Some clean it out (me) some leave it to let it mix in the water column as coral food or as a stable funk in the Sump.
As long as your parameters are stable it’s personal preference on taking it out or not.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

Ok fair enough thanks!

 

[Diznaster]

I know it's a bit of a dormant thread, but just sharing some of my experiences. I used to clean my sump bi-weekly. I started to slack off on being obsessed with a clean sump (maybe clean every 3-6 weeks). I'm starting to find a trend with algae problems when my sump gets a certain level of detritus settled on the bottom. I don't see any change in my NO3/PO4 tests. I think what is happening is the nutrient increase is slow and algae growth increases to use it, which keeps it low. My best guess is this funk on the bottom isn't in the water column, so my skimmer can't remove it. It slowly decomposes and feeds the algae. I'm currently working on keeping the bottom agitated and not settling. That way it can hopefully be skimmed or captured in daily water changes better.