Sump design help.

[abong]

I drew this up for my 29 gal sump on the 75 show. im putting in baffels on my old 29 gal tank. just wondering if i drew this right and if it will work correctly. Thanks

[gtoon159]

Link provided seems to be another thread about the 75 which looks nice. So the questions about the sump.

If you are going to put a skimmer in it then choose a baffle hieght that is ideal for your skimmer and set it up something like this

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So the point is to put three baffles in the two outside at the best skimmer hight and the on in the middle the same hieght but offset by 1.5 inches so the water has to flow under it to trap the bubbles.

Drop me an email and I will send you the Visio design I did for my sump I had built at reefmania. There is also GREAT information at melev's reef on sumps

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

All of Marcs are built out of Acrylic (as is mine) but you can get to the same basic design with glass you just have to be VERY careful glueing the baffles in as they will be VERY sharp.

[gtoon159]

Originally Posted by gtoon159

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Sorry the TXT picture didn' come out. My email is gtoon159@yahoo.com if you would like the desgin of my sump.

[abong]

oops sorry forgot to put in the link

[gtoon159]

That is the right idea. Are you making the baffles out of glass or acrylic?

I would drop the egg crate / bio balls area and just extend the skimmer section. Put some extra live rock in the skimmer section for more bio filtration if needed.

I just don't like bio balls. Just a personal preference. I tend to believe that they contribute to nitrate problems.

GT

[abong]

I dont have any nitrate problems. I'm just running out of room on the back of tank. Plus I thought there needed to be baffles inbetween the skimmer and where the water comes in out of the tank. By the way i have a css 125 and the output from that needs to hang on something i believe, otherwise there are tonnes of bubbles everywhere. I have spent too much mental energy on this sump stuff. So what you are saying is take out the baffles and put live rock down there. Do i just put them on bare bottom of the glass, or do i put sand? And how does the water level stay the same in the sump?

[gtoon159]

You are correct I would run some sort of bubble trap in the inflow. I use a filter sock insode my bubble trap that works very well however others won't like the sock as it requires changing every couple of days. Since I have never run Bioballs I will let others comment on them further.

Yes in this case the live rock would just sit on the bottom of the tank. I Can send you some pics of how mine is set up but I have yet to figure out how to post pics on the board. Perhaps there is a self help post out there I should read.

In mine I have mircle mud in my refugium and my sump runs bare bottom. Lots of live rock in both.

In your picture the water level will drop in the lowest point of the sump which as water evaperates will be the return pump section. There are lots of options out there for good auto topoff systems. I use a Kent float valave and a gravity fed jug of buffered RO water. Auto top off is a significant benifit of a sump IMO and there are lots of good options for your design. The float I use requires a hole in the return section so I doubt that will work out unless you decide to drill your 29.

[abong]

How do you make a 'bubble trap'? And I can replace my water without the auto top off, because i dont really know what it is.