Settling Tank Desludging, Cleanup and Pumping

How to Pick a Pump for Cleaning Clarifiers and Settling Tanks. Common Questions Clients Have.
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ast-above-ground-storage-tank-cleanout

Settling Tank Pumps – Desludge and Cleanup

Settling Tanks, which are also referred to as basins or clarifiers are used in many industries such as mining, wastewater treatment, and oil to allow particles suspended in the water column to settle out. This creates a more purified product but also leaves a layer of solids or sludge at the bottom of the tank, which needs to be removed.  

Common applications for EDDY Pumps and related terms. Settling basins, settling tanks, clarifiers, sedimentation ponds, sludge dewatering, digesters, desludging settling tanks and more.

The desludging of settling tanks and clarifiers has always been a very costly and timely process. Often plants hire expensive vacuum trucks which take a lot of time to suck out all the sludge. This is also a dangerous option, as it exposes personnel to toxic material located in the settling tanks. Other options are to utilize centrifugal pumps, which pump very low percent of solids and often get clogged by the debris. 

EDDY Pump Corporation recognized this problem and has created three solutions which save the client time and money while significantly reducing any safety issues.  

For cleaning out sludge in smaller clarifiers, the Dredge Sled is a cost-effective option alongside being easy to operate. Another option is to utilize an electric or hydraulically driven submersible slurry pump with a water jetting system and a recirculation system.  When dealing with sludge removal in larger settling basins, a remote operated dredge is utilized.   

Settling Tank Cleanup Equipment

EDDY Pump partnered with UAT Pacific and is now able to offer a complete dredging solution for effective slurry, sludge, and solids removal, the Dredge Sled. With the latest technology, the Dredge Sled is a cost-effective solution for your pond, lagoon, canal, tailings pond, and settling tank cleaning.

The Dredge Sled is a simple, efficient and easy to use alternative to more complicated heavy-duty dredging equipment. The best solution for shallow pond or lagoon dredging.

Settling Tank Recirculation Pump

To pump out smaller clarifiers, EDDY Pump has designed a hydraulic or electric submersible slurry pump that can be deployed directly into the basin for pumping, recirculation, or both. The pump has an optional high-pressure water jetting ring attachment that breaks up the material to increase the percent of solids being pumped. To even further increase the solids and lower the time needed for clarifier cleanout, the pump system incorporates a recirculation valve that premixes the sludge which allows for a higher production of the cleanout. This system has the capability of pumping out the clarifier at rates of 75 to 350 cubic yards of material per hour and pumping it distances over 5000-ft.

EDDY Pump design specializes in solids handling. Less water in the process results in greatly reduced transportation cost of waste.

Submersible ROV Dredge

For larger settling tank desludging projects, EDDY Pump has designed a remote-operated submersible dredge known as the Subdredge. The client can input the dimensions and bathymetry of the tank into the operator’s controls and the Subdredge can be lowered down into the tank.  The operator is then able to precisely maneuver the Subdredge through the tank while pumping the sludge. The Subdredge is outfitted with GPS and acoustical positioning ensuring that its location is always known by the operator and what sections of the basin have been cleaned. The Subdredge is available in sizes of 4-inch, 6-inch, and 10-inch pumps and weighs between 4000lbs – 12,000lbs. Production rates of over 400 cubic yards of sludge per hour, while pumping it over long distances.

Photos of the large sedimentation tanks that EDDY Pump would be used for.


Grit, sludge, sediment pass with ease. The arm of an adult can fit through a fully assembled EDDY Pump.

Grit Pump for Wastewater

Why EDDY Pumps Are Better – Highlights

This video shows how EDDY Pump transports high slurry and abrasive materials. Featured dredge pump equipment includes the Remote Operated Subdredge, Diver Operated Pump and a Excavator Attachment Dredge Pump.

Order or Get Selection Help

Let our sales or engineering support help in your slurry pump and dredge equipment selection. Call (619) 258-7020