baffles

[bosscrab]

Just got a 30g glass tank for sump. The Q is how do I determine the water level and where the baffles go?
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[bosscrab]

Will this work?

[Fish'InMN]

It depends on what water height your skimmer runs best at.

In my 30g sump I am using an EuroReef RS80 which prefers (supposedly) 6-8" of water, so I used 9" baffles for the over-under-over and then created a 2" lift out of PVC and eggcrate. I chose to put the skimmer in the drain compartment for now, but I have plenty of room to move it to the middle if needed. Also, for the last baffle before the return I used a 4" piece of glass and then 7" of eggcrate, in case I decide to use the middle as a macro export area.

Cheers,
Marty

[bosscrab]

Am I right that the water drains down through the rock frag before the skimmer and is there suppose to be frag in the bubble chamber?
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[tashier]

Well, me personally. I'd make the sump very simple. Your design is pretty good. I don't know if you need the first baffle between the drain and the skimmer. Space your bubble baffles 2" apart. You'll need a box in the corner for the drain hose to go into like 3x3 or something. Maybe put some teeth in the bottom for water to escape. If you don't bubbles from the drain will be everywhere in your sump.

[tashier]

Another thing I've found, with any baffles in there it becomes even more of a better idea to have auto top off to keep the water level in the sump steady. If not you'll be topping off more often to keep that consistent level for the skimmer. Without any baffles your entire sump is really a holding tank that can deal with water loss a bit longer.

[bosscrab]

Thanks tashier, so replace the first baffle with some sort of box to keep the frag in?
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[bosscrab]

Also should the return section be bigger than the skimmer section?
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[tashier]

Are you talking about live rock when you say frag? What is frag? I don't keep any LR in my sump at all. Check out the drawings of this guys sump. See the tall box in the corner? That's where your drain hose would go in. It traps the bubbles and causes them to stay in the corner. I didn't do this and now I'm using a tupperware spaghetti tube in the corner of my sump instead. I need to glue one of these boxes in my sump in the future.

http://thereeftank.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90801

[tashier]

Don't copy that sump though, it does have a few mistakes on it.

[bosscrab]

Gotcha thats what I thought and, it needs to be tall. i thought I've seen live rock fragment in that chamber (Thought to help catch large debris and also to help catch bubbles). So there is nothing in there?
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[tashier]

I don't think so. I don't think there needs to be. Some people put live rock in their sumps but I don't think it's in the bubble tower.

[Fly Guy]

Once you figure out what the optimum height your skimmer operates at you make the first baffle that height, and then any others a little shorter. Then no matter how much your water level varies in your sump, it will never change in the skimmer section. Thats very important IMO, if you truly want control of your skimmate when using a in sump skimmer

[jennmac415]

Just saw this thread... Bill, how can you figure out what height your skimmer works best at? I am thinking about getting the Octopus NW200... any idea what the water level should be for this skimmer?

Thanks!