Building a Sump, got some questions...

[e46mpower]

Hey guys, I had a question regarding baffles in a sump. I will be using a 30 gal AGA and having some acrylic baffles put in. I was curious as to what the purpose of the baffles are. I have seen sumps that use 3 baffles, each 1 inch apart. Is this for the purpose of diffusing air bubles. I want 3 compartments in my sump. Can anyone direct me to a good/simple sump design?

 

[daddypugg]

Melev's Reef

 

[dngspot]

I have built several of these glass refigiums for my friends and myself. I began building them about 8 months ago. I cut the baffles from sheets of 1/4 glass, it is easier than most think.
The pic is difficult to see but there is five baffles 3 on intake and two on pump side. I keep the water just over the lowest baffles to eliminate falling water.
Take a look.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/585/9684520G_Sump.JPG

 

[Nammy]

Refugium

Refugium

e46mpower

You can check out the design I made. I still have a bit of tweeking before I start building it.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=7732046#post7732046

 

[e46mpower]

Thanks for the links guys, very helpful. Should I place a sponge or some type of sock anywhere in my sump because I have a lot of debris floating around in my tank. It makes the water look dirty.

 

[Nammy]

I will have a sock right from the start..

 

[dngspot]

I use filter material in the over flow box. I built it large engough to use a 9x10 inch piece of egg crate and just put the material on top.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/96845Over_flow.JPG

The white line is the egg crate.

 

[Nammy]

Good idea dnspot.

 

[e46mpower]

I was just thinking about the baffles for the bubble trap. If the spacings are 1" between each baffle, I may have a difficult time siliconing it together because I can't fit my hands in between. If I make the baffles more than an inch apart, like maybe 1.5-2 inches apart, will it decrease the bubble trapping capabilities or have a drastic affect on the sump overall? Also, can I put two bubble traps, one in between the skimmer area and refugium/lr area and one in between the refugium/lr area and return pump area, or is that too much and not really needed?

 

[e46mpower]

Here's a sketch of what I was thinking. Any advice or opinions are wanted and welcomed...Thanks

 

[Pbrown3701]

the biggest issue I see (and this is the most common problem i see with people building their first sump - i did it too) is the size of the return compartment.

This compartment is the only one that evaporation will effect. The larger that compartment is, the longer you can go without having to top off. If you have an auto top off, then no problem, If not, then your pump will be sucking air before you know it. Don't plan any long vacations. Do yourself a favor and make it as big as possible.

 

[sjm817]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7738808#post7738808 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by e46mpower
I was just thinking about the baffles for the bubble trap. If the spacings are 1" between each baffle, I may have a difficult time siliconing it together because I can't fit my hands in between. If I make the baffles more than an inch apart, like maybe 1.5-2 inches apart, will it decrease the bubble trapping capabilities or have a drastic affect on the sump overall? Also, can I put two bubble traps, one in between the skimmer area and refugium/lr area and one in between the refugium/lr area and return pump area, or is that too much and not really needed?

Wider baffle spacing increases bubble trap effectiveness. 1" doesn't work very well. Glue the middle one in first, then the other two outside of it.

 

[dngspot]

TThe first question to ask is how big of a pump will you be using to return water to the tank, the bigger the pump the faster the flow through the refigium. You will also want to know how much of the actual refigium you are willing to sacrifice to baffle spacing. I have a 55 gallon tank baffled as I described and run a 1700 gph pump for return. I wanted a large refigium and suffered the micro bubble problem you are asking about. After the bubble caulpera took off, the problem was over due to the caulpera slowing the bubbles. I have built another 20 gallon for a friend and he uses a 400 gph pump with absolutely no bubble problem at all. If you do wish to go with a fast pump then you may consider larger spacing. I have seen up to a 1300 gph pump in a 1 inch spaced 30 gallon aquarium with out a bubble problem.

I silicone the first baffle from the input side then I use 1 inch blocks, I got from the acrylic shop, for stands for the next high baffle. It is siliconed in next. Then I install the next and work my way down the tank. You will not need to silicone both sides of the baffles.

 

[e46mpower]

Thanks for the advice dngspot. I will be using a 30 gal AGA as my sump. I have a CPR overflow that is rated at 300gph, and a Mag Drive 5 rated at 500 as a return pump. So I should not have a bubble problem with 1" spacing right? Thanks again....

 

[dngspot]

I would say, you are good to go with either pump.