Cali Kid Corals

Maybe a stupid question - sump design

CaptainB

Supporting Member
What is this hole for? (other than letting pods get sucked into your skimmer)

Why woudn't you just overflow from chamber 1 into chamber 2?
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water flow... :) .

My interpretation of the slot in the middle and bottom is that it helps with noise and bubble reduction. Sumps that flow over typically have a bubble trap set up at each stage, otherwise.
 
yeah, you can see the flow from the 2nd chamber into the third is higher than the gap so flow can go through the middle as well as the top.

Overall not a big fan of that design though.
 
Water will not flow over the top of the 1st baffle in normal use. The top is higher than the bottom of the slots in the 2nd baffle. Both chambers will be at the same water level.
 
That would in fact suck, however what also would suck would be your skimmer not functioning ideally because the rate of water flow through the sump changes the height in the chamber. Return pump starting to get clogged, guess the skimmer is telling me something is wrong?
 
Height in the 2 chambers will stay pretty steady if you keep up on the chaeto pruning. The water level will be at the mercy of how clogged the grates at the top of the 2nd baffle get. So if you prune the fuge regularly and not get it over grown, it will be fine.
 
As I understand it the baffle before the third chamber controls the water level in the first two. Ok.

I suppose you could get better skimming with this design since the surface water in chamber 1 is staying longer.

Asking because I have a sump kit I've yet to put together and it's set up this way. I'm contemplating getting two pieces of acrylic cut to replace the first baffle - water flow over the first then down and under the second.
 
Well everyone is going to have different tastes to what they feel is "the way it should be done" even if there are more than one way to have it done. I'm not a fan of what is shown because that to me almost tells me I need to have a stand for my skimmer otherwise it'll be in water that too deep, and I like my refugium section to be tall so having water go over the baffle is my preference. I have seen quite a few "through" designs though, and again... just not the way I would want it done. A reason I like the adjustable baffle idea in the 2nd chamber so I can adjust water to the height I need for whatever skimmer I get.
 
I don't mind a skimmer stand.

A personal gripe with the flow through design is that I like to use my fuge as a temporary holding cell for naughty fish or critters until I can re-home them.
 
My thought was mesh and plasti-dipped magnets but eggcrate works too.

Actually I could use the baffle as is just add a second one that goes to the floor on the skimmer side. Small stuff could still get up and over if determined to do so but that's true of any trap
 
As I understand it the baffle before the third chamber controls the water level in the first two. Ok.

I suppose you could get better skimming with this design since the surface water in chamber 1 is staying longer.

Asking because I have a sump kit I've yet to put together and it's set up this way. I'm contemplating getting two pieces of acrylic cut to replace the first baffle - water flow over the first then down and under the second.

Only way that would work is if the water level in the 2nd chamber is lower than the water level in the 1st. So the over the top baffle in the 1st chamber will need to be higher than the water level in the 2nd chamber.
 
Well everyone is going to have different tastes to what they feel is "the way it should be done" even if there are more than one way to have it done. I'm not a fan of what is shown because that to me almost tells me I need to have a stand for my skimmer otherwise it'll be in water that too deep, and I like my refugium section to be tall so having water go over the baffle is my preference. I have seen quite a few "through" designs though, and again... just not the way I would want it done. A reason I like the adjustable baffle idea in the 2nd chamber so I can adjust water to the height I need for whatever skimmer I get.

You can only have fuge 1st, skimmer 2nd in that configuration.
 
That is indeed a very popular sump on the market today. With the idea of drain>fuge>skimmer>return. You can get two small pieces of acrylic, drill hole on the acrylic pieces, put them on each side of that 1st divider then screw them together, that will help raise water lever to overflow to the top from 1st to 2nd chamber with out damage to the sump. Add a skimmer stand then you be fine. That what I have right now.
 
That is indeed a very popular sump on the market today. With the idea of drain>fuge>skimmer>return. You can get two small pieces of acrylic, drill hole on the acrylic pieces, put them on each side of that 1st divider then screw them together, that will help raise water lever to overflow to the top from 1st to 2nd chamber with out damage to the sump. Add a skimmer stand then you be fine. That what I have right now.
Prove it! Where’s the tank journal?
 
Only way that would work is if the water level in the 2nd chamber is lower than the water level in the 1st. So the over the top baffle in the 1st chamber will need to be higher than the water level in the 2nd chamber.

If the first baffle was lower it'd work the same as it does without it, just a physical barrier for however tall it is in the water height.

But yes, I would probably go slightly higher.
 
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