Need some sump advice, will this work??

[edshas2]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c332/uknowbest/Sump.jpg

Need some advice with this sump, the black baffles are the baffles that this sump already has. The two red ones are the baffles i want to add to be able to have a separate fuge area. Will the water flow properly all the way to the area with return and skimmer, thanks for advice and please no compliments on my Paint skills lol.

[alton]

I am not the greatest but I would move baffles to the left side to keep bubbles from reaching your return pump, and put your skimmer where your water in section is. Also I would create a seperate fuge section and regulate how much water flow enters it, right now you have all your water flow going into the fuge?

[justahobby]

Looks good. If not using an auto topoff I would add one more baffle to separate the skimmer from return. That way rising and falling water levels don't mess with skimming

[hobogato]

i agree with alton. also, you only need three baffles for a bubble trap, so that will give you an extra inch of fuge. remember, all evaporation will show up as a water level change in the return pump section. so, if you use an auto-topoff of some kind, you can make that section smaller.

[edshas2]

yes i did have all the water flow going into the fuge, should i not do that? also do to limited room i cant put the skimmer where water goes in. Not wide enough

also the reason im adding the 4th baffle is i want to have sand in the fuge area but the third baffle would drain right into the sand not sure if that would be a problem

[hobogato]

if you have the skimmer in the same section as the return pump, it will likely put microbubbles into the tank. can you reverse the whole design and have the water enter on the left with the skimmer and the return pump on the right?

[edshas2]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c332/uknowbest/sump1.jpg

would this work better?

[jroescher]

Leave enough room between your baffles to drop a small pump in there if you ever need to drain or clean between the baffles. Also, does the height of the baffles leave enough headspace to account for the rise in water from a power outage?

[hobogato]

you can eliminate the last baffle that the water goes under. i would also recommend that the last baffle that the water goes over be shorter - the closer it is to the water surface of that return section, the fewer bubbles it will produce.

[edshas2]

thanks everyone really appreciate the help

[BBQHILLBILLY]

It will work. But everybody allways forgets mechanical filtration before the refugium. I would add at least 1 more baffle to the input side and separate by 1 inch.

Fill that baffle with as much LR rubble as you can.

You can also get a sock but you have to worry about the skimmer pump pulling on the sock. Turn the pump around and you can use a sock.

Socks can become a problem because you are constantly running sw over bad stuff.

I understand the placement of the skimmer. They take a big footprint. But you want to clean as much as you can before the refugium.

Just my hillbilly thoughts.

[betiuminside]

Hello!! It's funny because I am trying to do the same thing!! DIY Sump! I am modifying my 30" Wet/Dry into a sump!
I will do this tomorrow! And based on edshas2 design I decided to modify it a little bit....
I I will try to create a rectangle where the water will drain and it will be full of life rock, then the skimmer, then fuge, then I decided to put as well 4 baffles, so the third space can have some mechanical filtration and also be able to put carbon or any other stuff. Also I figured out that the water will not fall creating bubbles again in this last part and the pump shooting them up in the tank.
What do you think?
And my main question would be, where the water level would be? on each section?
Last question, is the space between the baffles (1") okay?

[betiuminside]

I really don't know what is happening... LOL. Every time I post something, no body will follow the thread or post anything anymore...
Maybe it's just me tripping or something... Maybe it's my English; it's not my 1st language and maybe I am not expressing correctly and for that I am sorry.
Anyways... I will be here no matter what! LOL. I learn a lot and I enjoy all the post everywhere.
So I started to modify my wet dry today and it's coming out the way I wanted. Everything is glued and in place... I just need to know if anyone is out there... Is the 4rd baffle okay? based on my design?
Cheers!

[Big_Pun]

I'll help you.... no need for a 4th baffle. just expand the distance in the first baffle and second baffle(from left to right) and that will be your media chamber for carbon. you can make a tray out of egg crate to keep the bag of carbon off the floor of sump

[FireWater]

Sorry for not being a team player.

Like Chris said, I would widen the space between a set of baffles so that you can use it for filter floss and media. I will try to get a picture of mine for you or you can come by and check it out.

Also, water height in the sump will be as high as the first baffle if you have enough flow through it.

[betiuminside]

Thank you Big_Pun & FireWater! I am in the process of building the sump... so I will let you know what I did and how I did it. Cheers!

[FireWater]

Remember to factor in extra water in the sump for when the tank is not running. I have seen more than one person over fill a sump because they forgot to factor in the extra and did not build it high enough.

[edshas2]

i tested my sump and even though i have high baffles when the power is out it doesnt overflow or get close to it. And im using the sump from the second picture on the first page.

[FireWater]

Sounds good edshas. My last tank set up had a similar design and I did not see too many disadvantages. The only thing I did differently this time was separate my fuge from the rest of the sump.