Apr 15, 2013· Normally, F/M ratios calculate to less than 1 pound of food (as BOD or COD) per pound of MLVSS. Sludge volume index is considered to be the volume, in milliliters, of 1 gram of suspended solids after 30 minutes of settling. Put into simple terms, sludge volume index is the result of a calculation where two other test results are combined into one.