Sump with no baffles
- Thread starter chris.francis14
- Start date
themaddhatter
New member
I had an RDSB ony previous setup, along with a fairly large refugium, and I never had any algae issues. I set it up that way when it was a FOWLR and I wanted overstock, slightly.
uncleof6
Active member
There needs to be at least 1 baffle in the sump, to keep the water level constant for the skimmer. An ATO will NOT maintain the water level constant enough for the skimmer. Skimmers do not function properly with a varying water level. They are adjusted for a particular water level, and when the water level changes, the skimmer is no longer adjusted properly.
As with many things in this "hobby," there will always be some that want to do it their own way, not just with skimmers, and what they do is up to them; invariably the statement "no issues," follows in defense. With skimmers, there is no "hobby level" method for quantitative or qualitative analysis to determine whether there are issues or not, (It requires chromatography, everything else is anecdotal, and unverifiable,) and most just test for a bare minimum set of parameters. The chemistry/water quality of a marine system is far more complex than the rather simplistic level at which it is approached, so even stating "all my parameters are great, or 0, or fine, or within limits" is rather ambiguous.
Always fall back on the manufacturers instructions concerning skimmers. If they state the water level can be all over the place, great. If they don't, I would advise you to use a baffle to maintain a constant water level. Pretty simple.
Last edited:
themaddhatter
New member
You definitely need baffles. I was curing my rock in a 60 gallon tank for 3 months (not drilled) and I decided to stick a skimmer directly in the tank for the last month. The biggest hassle was the skimmer constantly having to be tweaked between top ups.
themaddhatter
New member
Add atleast one baffle. Even if you only make enough room for your return pump and ato, that's all you need. The main sump level will remain steady all the time and only the partition with the return pump will fluctuate with evaporation or top off. Stick your ato in the small partition to compensate for evaporation. The skimmer will be in the main sump with a steady level of water, so it doesn't go Bonkers on you every two hours as water evaporates.
uncleof6
Active member
That is the idea. The rock is only producing what the chaeto is trying to remove. A bit self defeating. If you are dealing with nitrates, you have more than enough rock, sand, and other substrates in the DT itself. If you are fighting high ammonia levels, then there would be a shortcomings in the system that need immediate intervention and mitigation. However, after the initial cycle, additional substrate is pretty useless, as the bacterial populations are not going to increase, rather vary their metabolic rate to meet the needs of the system. Even tanks with an "average" or "below average" amount of rock in the DT, there is not going to be an advantage to adding more rock in the sump. Rock produces nitrates, it does not provide denitrification. Rock in the sump is nothing more than bio-balls. The adage "the more rock the better" is not really valid. You will be hard pressed to find a system that has a shortage in the nitrate department, that does not have the more serious and lethal issue of high ammonia.
The real problem here is not the shortage of substrates for bacterial colonization. Every surface of the system (including inside pipes, glass, pumps, everything) is a substrate for bacterial population. The problem is the initial start up, and the population was not sufficiently built up (short cutting the process, the mythical 2 week or worse two day cycle, using "cycling aids" that encourage the wrong type of bacterial colonization, the list goes on and on.) The process takes from 4 - 8 weeks, (based on autotrophic bacteria reproductive rates) and it does not matter if the rock, water, or anything else has been in the ocean or another tank. It is a cold start. Period. After the initial break in period, skimming and dentrification/export of nitrate is needed, not more production of nitrate.
The concept of the "refugium" is a very solid methodology. However, a "refugium" used in an export role, is not going to perform well. The chief benefit of the refugium is bio-diversity, and although there is some export (just as there is some export in the DT) the production rates will overshadow the export rates. Hence you end up with a fully loaded in sump refugium and still need an RDSB to get your nitrates down. There are systems that don't need either, such as those running in-tank critter based DSBs, and there are some that just don't have problems, and are "gold."
I have several refugia up and running, they are not in sumps and have common export facilities, associated with DTs.
OnceTrueFalseBr
New member
I compartmentalized WITH Live ROCK. I don't have micro bubble issues.
On the drain side i have water coming in through a filter sock which i clean daily and Chaeto algae on the pump side I have a Pump, Skimmer, heater and algae scrubber. I mainly am doing this to seed the tank with the already cycled rock from my old tank to get the new tank i setup going faster. once it is cycled i will be pulling the LR out and puting in compartments with baffles, or buying a new sump already made.
Its been up for a few days like this. I will chime back in in about a week and compare water test results to see what swings or not.
I marked the tank with a paint marker indicating Pump ON Water Level and a Pump OFF water level right on the outside of the glass for me to clearly see. I am losing about a gallon a day +~-. No auto top off system.
I also don't understand and would appreciative clarification is how LR in the sump can be a nitrate factory, but not the LR in the DT?
On the drain side i have water coming in through a filter sock which i clean daily and Chaeto algae on the pump side I have a Pump, Skimmer, heater and algae scrubber. I mainly am doing this to seed the tank with the already cycled rock from my old tank to get the new tank i setup going faster. once it is cycled i will be pulling the LR out and puting in compartments with baffles, or buying a new sump already made.
Its been up for a few days like this. I will chime back in in about a week and compare water test results to see what swings or not.
I marked the tank with a paint marker indicating Pump ON Water Level and a Pump OFF water level right on the outside of the glass for me to clearly see. I am losing about a gallon a day +~-. No auto top off system.
I also don't understand and would appreciative clarification is how LR in the sump can be a nitrate factory, but not the LR in the DT?
what part of the skimmer needs to be in a baffled area? I have the pump it self in a bucket that sits in my sump, and the DT drains into that, and then spills into the main sump to be filtered thru reactors and then back up. the skimmer base/housing sits in the main area, is that proper, or should I situate the whole unit inside the bucket?
Similar threads
