Baffled by baffles

[RWD]

I'm re-doing the sump on my 300 gal reef. I now have a 30 gal Sterlite container with no baffles and lots of bubbles getting back into the tank. My new sump is a 40 gal breeder (36" long x 18" wide) that is drilled for 2 bulkheads. One is for the external return pump (Little Giant 4 mdqx-sc about 1000 gph @5') and the other connects to my 20 gal refugium. I will have a DAS BX-2 skimmer and 2 heaters in the sump. The skimmer and the 2 overflows dump water into the far right side of the sump. I plan on having a 24" x 18" section for the skimmer area. The skimmer needs 8" of water to operate.

My question is how should I lay out the baffles? I'm thinking that 4 should be enough to control bubbles. Looking at the sump with the skimmer on the far right and the bulkheads on the far left, Should the first baffle ( right to left)have water go over it or under it? I'm thinking under because the highly oxygenated water from the skimmer/overflows will have a lot of bubbles near the top of the water. Drawing water from the bottom of the skimmer section seem like it would have less bubbles. Is this correct? Am I on the right track here?

My plan is to have a 1" gap under every other baffle with a 1" space between each vertical baffle. Any comments?
Bob

------------------
Check out my Reef Site

[just an observer]

I would say the water from the skimmer needs to go under first. Just the fact that the air wants to rise should rid you of much of it that way.The under over approach is a good one , but I would make one of the sections(where water enters at the top , exits at the bottom) wider so that you can plant that space with some caulerpa. It will have to be wide enough to hold a piece of rock that you can anchor a few pieces too.Just a thought.

------------------

[horge]

Hi RWD-in-the-snowed-over-north!

Drawing from the less-frothy depths is good, but heck you knew that from the start

Depending on the draw of the return pump, and therefore the velocity of water from under one baffle to the next, you may be better served by spacing the individual baffles further apart.

Giving the water more loiter time before going under the next baffle allows for more microbubble-rise and elimination. An inch between baffles doesn't strike me as a whole lot unless the water movement is very slow indeed --you could wind up with a layer of water going under all baffles without ever going up for air & independent pockets of water eddying about between baffles.

HTH

horge-in-the-mildly-sunny-Philippines

[RWD]

just an observer,
I do have a seperate refugium so I have that covered. Thanks
Horge,
Yea, keep rubbing it in about the weather .So you think 1" space between the baffles might be too close. How about 2"? The pump is rated at 1000 gph @ 5'. What you are saying about loiter time makes a lot of sense and I'll take that into account.
Thanks,Bob

------------------
Check out my Reef Site

Not to mention its harder to get big DIY fingers in between when siliconing the baffles in place

------------------
I thought I was me, but we were wrong
email: geeflipr@internetcds.com

[Kinesthesia]

I don't mean to piggy-back on someone else's thread or bring this one down to a lower level, but I've been thinking about baffles myself lately and frankly.. am a bit baffled. My setup is a wee bit simpler... just a regular old wet/dry filter with a bulkhead output on the far end. But I've been thinking about a lighted sump, or baffles at the very least. So, my question is more like... how do you install baffles ? Get glass or plexi cut to the right width and then just silicone in place ?

Yes if you are using a glass tank get glass baffle cut and silicone in place, if using acrylic then use acrylic cement. Your tolerances are a lot tighter here as the cement actually melts and bonds the two pieces together. Putting baffles in a rubbermaid tub is more of a challenge as not much sticks to it as far as adhesives go

------------------
I thought I was me, but we were wrong
email: geeflipr@internetcds.com