Will this work as a sump?

One fish · 05/28/2015, 03:41 PM

Where should i place the two baffles I have? I have zero experience with sumps and do not understand why water will be higher and lower and the same in different areas. If you can see the picture clearly I have two baffles and large and small and was thinking about having the water flow under the large one and over the small one. Any ideas?image.jpg

FishyFishy69 · 05/28/2015, 03:50 PM

Do you have any way of having more baffles? It would be beneficial to have at least one smaller one so that you can make a bubble trap.

What are you looking to put in the sump? Running a fuge? Skimmer? Filter sock? Etc.

One fish · 05/29/2015, 08:17 AM

Thanks for the reply. I do not have any more baffles available right now. I want to keep this sump as simple as possible so I will only have my pump and some live rock in it.

FishyFishy69 · 05/29/2015, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by One fish

Thanks for the reply. I do not have any more baffles available right now. I want to keep this sump as simple as possible so I will only have my pump and some live rock in it.

In all honesty, that large baffle is pretty much useless.

If I were you, I would buy a glass score (super cheap) and break that first baffle in half. It's super easy and takes 2 seconds. that way you could have a real set of baffles like this:

If you are dead set against it, your best bet is like this:

I would put some coarse foam in between the baffles in this case.

If you're just running live rock and a return pump, the best utilization of the baffles would be to stop micro bubbles from entering the return pump. No other baffles are required unless you wanted a seperate skimmer, fuge or filter sock sections.

ryeguyy84 · 05/29/2015, 08:35 AM

Fist off if you made that i'm impressed. looks very professional.

but I agree with fishy, that first baffle is way high and would be more of a noisemaker than anything.

JammyBirch · 05/29/2015, 08:37 AM

Sump 101...

First of all that sump is a great starter, much nicer than 80% of what others have on here right now.

The baffle heights, very important. The tall baffle is for your skimmer, you will drain into that chamber and that baffle sets the skimmer water level for max effeciency. Since this is already glued in you may need to jack up your skimmer to the correct level using egg crate or something.

The center section is going to be a refugium or rubble section.

The last section, you guessed it, return pump, that baffle sets the return chamber height. you want it to be as shallow as possible. The thought here is if you have a plugged drain all of that volume will be pumped to the DT whether you like it or not. You son't want to pump more than the head space of the DT will hold or it overflows.

Bubble traps...very important as well... You really want a three baffle system, under-over-under...that way bubbles stay up stream. It also eliminates noise.

For example that sump right now will be loud as hell...the water will fall from the skimmer baffle to the refugium water level, set by the last baffle. that distance is way to far. My sump was like this originally and it made me want to go to the bathroom all of the time from listening to water falling all day.

Look for a local glass shop you can get baffles cut for under $10 and get a tube of marine grade silicone...done deal.

Xxero · 05/29/2015, 08:53 AM

Melev's link is a great educational reference IMO:

http://www.melevsreef.com/search/node/DIY%20sump

CStrickland · 05/29/2015, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xxero

Melev's link is a great educational reference IMO:

http://www.melevsreef.com/search/node/DIY%20sump

+1
Beat me to it

Also, I'm a little confused why you built a whole sump just to put rock in. Do you not have rock in your display?

JammyBirch · 05/29/2015, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CStrickland

+1
Beat me to it

Also, I'm a little confused why you built a whole sump just to put rock in. Do you not have rock in your display?

Adds to bio-load capability without having to put all of it in the DT rock scape.

ghatter · 05/29/2015, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JammyBirch

Since this is already glued in you may need to jack up your skimmer to the correct level using egg crate or something.

I don't believe the baffles are glued in. If you look at the picture closely you can see what looks like tape on each side of both baffles holding it upright. I'm thinking that OP just taped them there to show where he was going to put them to get opinions on here first.

And definitely look at the Melev site that was linked to above. Marc knows a thing or two about sumps.

CStrickland · 05/29/2015, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JammyBirch

Adds to bio-load capability without having to put all of it in the DT rock scape.

nah, it's pretty hard to get bio-load capability on a 15g with a single clown and an hob skimmer to be rock-limited. OTOH, its pretty easy for new reefers to think they need a sump cause everybody else has one and have unrealistic expectations about what it will deliver. Sumps are great for the reasons Melev explains, but one should understand their limitations too.

That's why I'm curious what one fish is trying to accomplish.

Shawn O · 05/29/2015, 12:29 PM

Couldn't his tall baffles be siliconed in a bit of an angle to make the water flow down it instead of drop over it?

davocean · 05/29/2015, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FishyFishy69

In all honesty, that large baffle is pretty much useless.

If I were you, I would buy a glass score (super cheap) and break that first baffle in half. It's super easy and takes 2 seconds. that way you could have a real set of baffles like this:

I basically do this, the first baffle being an over to control height of water level in skimmer area.
I do that about 3/4 the height of my sump to allow for PF back siphon.
I do a last baffle at return like your pic, but I prefer that to be an under for two reasons, micros bubbles are usually at surface if there are any, and don't flow under, and also this keeps your return area wet longer in the event your sump ever drops in level.
Lately everyone seems to be doing ATO's but in the event you don't have one or it fails it seems to be a nice safety IMO.
A glass shop will cut that tall baffle for you cheap or sometimes a cool shop will do it free(Last shop I went to did)

Isaacs55 · 05/29/2015, 10:31 PM

Anything in my opinion can be used as a sump. You can have one baffle in your sump and have a successful tank. Even with one baffle will prevent micro bubbles from returning to your tank. It's all just up to you on how you want to have it set up for your needs.

Here's a video of how I originally did my sump but ended up changing to my needs.
https://youtu.be/HY2plOZeN1U

https://youtu.be/QghuZbHAK2U

Hope this helps

05/28/2015, 03:41 PM	#1
One fish Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Springfield Va Posts: 297	Will this work as a sump? Where should i place the two baffles I have? I have zero experience with sumps and do not understand why water will be higher and lower and the same in different areas. If you can see the picture clearly I have two baffles and large and small and was thinking about having the water flow under the large one and over the small one. Any ideas?image.jpg

05/28/2015, 03:50 PM	#2
FishyFishy69 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Calgary, AB Canada Posts: 209	Do you have any way of having more baffles? It would be beneficial to have at least one smaller one so that you can make a bubble trap. What are you looking to put in the sump? Running a fuge? Skimmer? Filter sock? Etc. __________________ 210 Gallon Reef - 84"X24"X24" + 2 X 60 gallon sumps, 90 gallon Cheato Fuge and 60 gallon Frag Tank 210 Gallon FOWLR - 72"X24"X28" - 40 Gallon Cheato Fuge and 60 Gallon sump

05/29/2015, 08:37 AM	#6
JammyBirch Aquaria Engineering Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Elkland, PA Posts: 1,182	Sump 101... First of all that sump is a great starter, much nicer than 80% of what others have on here right now. The baffle heights, very important. The tall baffle is for your skimmer, you will drain into that chamber and that baffle sets the skimmer water level for max effeciency. Since this is already glued in you may need to jack up your skimmer to the correct level using egg crate or something. The center section is going to be a refugium or rubble section. The last section, you guessed it, return pump, that baffle sets the return chamber height. you want it to be as shallow as possible. The thought here is if you have a plugged drain all of that volume will be pumped to the DT whether you like it or not. You son't want to pump more than the head space of the DT will hold or it overflows. Bubble traps...very important as well... You really want a three baffle system, under-over-under...that way bubbles stay up stream. It also eliminates noise. For example that sump right now will be loud as hell...the water will fall from the skimmer baffle to the refugium water level, set by the last baffle. that distance is way to far. My sump was like this originally and it made me want to go to the bathroom all of the time from listening to water falling all day. Look for a local glass shop you can get baffles cut for under $10 and get a tube of marine grade silicone...done deal. __________________ 25g cube, split 10g sump with refugium, Jebao RW4, reefbreeder value Livestock adds: Osc Clowns, Royal Gramma, Pygmy Cherub Angel, Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Serpent Brittle Star Current Tank Info: 25 gallon cube

05/29/2015, 08:53 AM	#7
Xxero Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 1,054	Melev's link is a great educational reference IMO: http://www.melevsreef.com/search/node/DIY%20sump __________________ "You Can Lead A Gift Horse To Water... But You Can't Make Him Look In Your Mouth." Current Tank Info: 65g Mixed Reef Display - 15g Macro Algae/Refugium - 40b Sump

05/29/2015, 08:17 AM	#3
One fish Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Springfield Va Posts: 297	Thanks for the reply. I do not have any more baffles available right now. I want to keep this sump as simple as possible so I will only have my pump and some live rock in it.

05/29/2015, 08:35 AM	#5
ryeguyy84 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,753	Fist off if you made that i'm impressed. looks very professional. but I agree with fishy, that first baffle is way high and would be more of a noisemaker than anything.

05/29/2015, 12:29 PM	#12
Shawn O Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts Posts: 1,474	Couldn't his tall baffles be siliconed in a bit of an angle to make the water flow down it instead of drop over it?

05/29/2015, 10:31 PM	#14
Isaacs55 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Riverbank CA Posts: 906	Anything in my opinion can be used as a sump. You can have one baffle in your sump and have a successful tank. Even with one baffle will prevent micro bubbles from returning to your tank. It's all just up to you on how you want to have it set up for your needs. Here's a video of how I originally did my sump but ended up changing to my needs. https://youtu.be/HY2plOZeN1U https://youtu.be/QghuZbHAK2U Hope this helps