still need an answer to "what are baffles in a sump"

nobody · 05-17-2006, 10:28 PM

i am building a sump out of a 20 gallon tank and have it all down but one thing..........everyone keeps telling me to put some baffles in the sump..........but what the heck and how the heck is a baffle

skilter · 05-17-2006, 10:33 PM

its like a wall that goes in the tank... and you can have the water cascade over the top of the baffle... have several in there to sepparate your LR and your algae. say you have your tank (which is like a box, and baffles are just cross sections that go in your box, but be sure to have one section higher than the other, or it wont work as well.

well maybe this will give you some better idea, HOPEFULLY someone will jump in here and answer that in a more eloquent kinda way

nobody · 05-17-2006, 10:35 PM

so its like a waterfall.....one baffle is high then the next is a little lower and the next lower??????????????????

skilter · 05-17-2006, 10:39 PM

something like that. in my past it worked like a charm... but i have seen much more extravagant setups than that. depends on what effect you are hoping to achieve. mine was more like a refugium. on one side was the return and the other was the down pipe w/ skimmer... and between was the LR and algae.

i had 4 compartments.

VWD · 05-17-2006, 10:43 PM

I think You have the idea, Water will flow over one then under the next and so on. Depends how many you will have and the last one will be for the pump to pump water back to tank. The first one is best place to put the skimmer in. I think if You do a searh here You will get a good idea how to make one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ionracing

so its like a waterfall.....one baffle is high then the next is a little lower and the next lower??????????????????

leveldrummer · 05-18-2006, 12:44 AM

i posted some pics on your other thread, i kept all mine the same height except for the bubble trap, they can be the same height or lower like a water fall, just cant be talller.

LiquidLunch · 05-18-2006, 08:55 AM

This will answer your questions and ones you didn't know you had.
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

Twitterbait · 05-18-2006, 04:07 PM

The main goal of the baffles in the sump is to push any bubbles to the surface so they don't get sucked up in your pump and sent back to the tank as microbubbles. i don't use baffles. instead i have a 90 degree elbow on the intake of my pump that takes the intake to the bottom of the sump and allows me to avoid bubbles without baffles.

LiquidLunch · 05-18-2006, 04:15 PM

the first baffle will usually dictate the height of the water in that first section. mine is the height it is because my skimmer needs to be in 6-9" of water.

tims · 05-18-2006, 08:34 PM

also you want to keep the baffles close to the same distance fromthe top and bottom.
meaning if the first baffle is the tallest for the skimmer you go to thte next one whih will be off of the bottom, the same distance from the top of the sump as the 1st on.. and so on..
also check out the FAQ section here , gregt has a great walk through on sumps.