Give thanks to NYproDJ for that pic...he is the one who made it (and who inspired me to do my own)
As far as the dimensions go for each baffle....mine are the same, but in opposite order....notice how his baffles the first one is connected to the bottom, and the water goes overtop of it, and underneat the second one...mine are opposite...my water goes underneath the first one then over the second one...and also my Refuge is in the second chamber not first.
I chose to do this because:
1.) I wanted for the "dirty" water to go threw the chemi-pur first, to take out large debris and phosphate and such, then i wanted it to be cleared with the carbon, then finally go through my sponge filter where good-clean water will thrive life in the sponge....then that good clean water will go into the fuge, and let life thrive there, then move onto the pump to be pumped back in......
2.) With my fuge being after the filtration, it allowed the chaeto to get good water, also the chaeto is heavy enough not to be "sucked" inot the third chamber over the top of the baffle, and into the water....
Other than that, my tank is very similar to his.
Just a heads up, when you are cutting the teeth for the surface skimmer, Make sure they are at least an inch deep, but not TOO deep as this will keep the water level on the main display up...and all your evaporation will happen behind the false wall....I am a bit anal, and I didnt want the water level to be seen.....so cut about 6-7 teeth an inch deep, check the water level/tension on the surface (the teeh may not be far enough apart, and the water will hold its tension and go "over" the teeth like mine did the first time) then go on from there...
Other than that, it is pretty much straight forward...be sure to apply ample amounts of sealant to where the plexiglass for the false back meets the glass for the baffles, and the tank, because plexiglass is pretty smooth material, and doesnt adhear that well to glass....but it will work good enough.
