DIY Sump

[thebulkhimself]

Any idea whether this will help irradicate micro air bubbles

This is the plan for one side of my new sump. I figure that if i intentionally produce big air bubbles (from an air stone) against the current flow they will 'pick up' mini air bubles as they pass. Probably not an original idea but any reasons why i shouldnt do this?

Also I dont want to put an air stone in my tank so I figure this is as good a place as any to put an air stone

Ideas?

[PSH]

I think the flow through the baffles will take your micro bubbles and your air stone bubbles into your return pump. If your baffles are done right you shouldn't have a micro bubble problem.

[thebulkhimself]

I forgot to mention - that is only one side it then passes through the bio medium and into the sump which will be baffled with sponges

[Geoff]

that will not work. it would work in FW, but not in SW. SW has a stronger surface tension and holds onto its bubbles much more strongly. this is why skimmers work in SW and not in FW systems. the bubbles maintain thier size and do not conglomerate when colliding with other bubbles.

G~

[thebulkhimself]

Ok so assuming i keep the current plan- will that work as a good oxygen enricher for the tank- i really don't want to put any electronics into the tank. Can i ask how this differ's to a baffle set up? I'll show the plan for the other side to see whether i have put enough thought into this sump - I am completely baffled by this (Pardon the pun)

[Geoff]

why do you think you need an oxygen enricher? just having a power head pointed up at the waters surface is enough to keep CO2 levels down.

the problem with any kind of trap like you have pictured is that it can trap detritus. trapped detritus leads to phosphate problems if not cleaned regularly.

G~

[thebulkhimself]

Dunno why I thought i needed an oxygen enricher. Probably rude asking this but if anyone could be bothered could you give me a guide as to how i could/should change my current design to be (how would i describe it.......) not crap

[Geoff]

do you have a pic of your current setup? there are a lot of different ways to run a system, so having a good view of the start point would help.

G~

[thebulkhimself]

Thanks for your help Geoff,
I actually havent built it yet so anything is possible. My only restrictions are the dimensions of the total thing must be 21"(L) x 15"(W) x 16"(H).

Cheers mate

[Geoff]

the first thing you need to figure out is what skimmer you want to use. this will determin whether or not you need an external pump for it. you may also want to decide if you want an external pump for the return also. you do not want to make a sump and then realize you can not fit a pump down there.

G~

[thebulkhimself]

Cheers geoff. I'm looking at an in tank venturi protein skimmer seperatly powered by a pump located in the sump. And the return pump is an Ocean Runner OR2500 which is roughly 4"(W) x 4" (H) x 6" (L) which will be fitted inside the sump. Im basically trying to make the filtering part as small as possible to enable a larger sump with the remaining area

[Geoff]

explain what you mean by the filtering part as small as possible? for me the entire filtration of my system is done by the skimmer and the LR. i have nothing else for filtering.

21" long is a bit tight, but it can be done. i would make the return section the smallest. it is going to be tight getting baffles in a sump that small. i would not make the sump untill you have all of the pumps and skimmer. you want to make sure you can fit them in before putting the baffles in.

G~

[thebulkhimself]

ok cool - yeah thats why i didnt want the bio-ball filtering that big because eventually i hope to remove it completely and just have live rock filtering - can you just explain to me how i should design the baffle system? is it simply 2 or 3 vertical sections to make the water travel over the first under the 2nd etc? or is it more involved? I have an engineering degree so hit me with the big terms if you need to

[Geoff]

i would not even think about putting the bio-ball media at all in, even in the beginning. it is not necessary.

baffles are for setting the water height for the skimmer and also for keeping bubbles from getting to the return pump from either the drain or the skimmer. when figuring out the baffles it is a good idea to figure out what the recommended water level is for the skimmer. most have a min and or max water level they like to work at. this is the height you set your skimmer water height baffle.

i prefer to use an under, over, under, over for my baffles. if you do not have the room, which will be close for you, than i would do an over, under, over baffle placement. the first one listed being on the drain/skimmer side. a good rule of thumb is to have 2" spacing between baffles and baffle start heights for the unders.

the first over baffle sets the skimmer height. the second over baffle sets the sump water height. in the sump return section is where you will place any auto water top off devices. heaters can be placed anywhere.

the advantages of the 4 baffle design compared to the 3 is that the first baffle is pulling from the bottom of the skimmer chamber. this water has less bubbles in it than the water at the top of the chamber. just gives a good start for removing all bubbles before the return.

HTH,

G~

[thebulkhimself]

Cheers geoff and others for your help, Not gonna do it for a couple of weeks. will post when is complete.

Cheers