Sump Baffles

[Johnny Reefer]

I've decided to go ahead with installing a sump/auto top off system.

Anyone have any tricks up their sleeve re: the installing and siliconing of baffles in a sump tank?

Thanx much,

[Skimmerking]

John first of get your main baffle in first. THat would be the second baffle after the over flow that will determine the height of your sump and glue it on both side's.

and then have your baffles about 1" to 2" away from each other the tigher the baffles to each other the faster the water will go thur. in otherwords its going to push it faster what i'm trying to say.

And that is it glue the baffle if ya want too half and half its hard to get your hand down there with a cocking gun.

mike

[StirCrazy]

make sure the water goes under your last baffle.

Steve

[Skimmerking]

Thanks Steve I forgot to mention that ,... Pretty important step .

[Johnny Reefer]

NaCl H2O Reefer: I'm not sure which baffle you mean to be the "main" baffle.

I am planning on going with two baffles. I'll refer to them as the"standing" baffle,...that would be the one that goes from the bottom up to 2" from the top,...and the "floating" baffle,...that would be the one that goes from the top down to 2" off the bottom.

I was planning on putting the "floating" one in first because I could get a bead of silicone on both sides of it that way. Then, I was planning on putting the "standing baffle in second because I could then get silicone on at least one side, but also along the bottom, too. (Probably both sides along the bottom, given the 2" clearance). If I put the "floating" one in after the "standing" one I'm concerned that I would get a bead of silicone on only the one side. In other words...I think I could secure the "floating" one better if I did it first. Any advice to the contrary would be appreciated.

Any advice on the following would also be greatly appreciated...

1). Any trick to getting a silicone bead on the inside of the second baffle placed?
2). Any trick to holding the baffles in place while the silicone sets?

Thanx much,

BTW, Johnny is just a psuedonym. Maybe I shouldn't have chosen that handle. :smile:

[Aquattro]

Mark, remember, these don't need to hold any weight, and therefore don't need a bead down both sides. I only seal one side, and BTW, I have 4 baffles, which I believe is the most common way to set this up. 2 sets of standing/floating, as you put it.

[StirCrazy]

here is how I did mine

http://members.shaw.ca/s.l.s/diy/sump/index.html

Steve

[Johnny Reefer]

Brad: Thanx for the tip re: silicone worries.

Steve: Thanx for the pics. Is the corner box where you put your return pump?

The reason I am going with just one set of baffles, and thus two chambers, is that I do not want to have to rely on the auto top off to replenish more than one chamber while I am out of town. If I went with 3 chambers and the top off water didn't replenish high enough to flow over into the 3rd chamber (for whatever reason) I'd be screwed. If my return pump is in the same chamber that the top off feed comes in then that is one less thing to worry about.
I don't want to get too involved with this. It's basically a result of overheating I had two weeks ago, which constituted the need to remove my glass tops, which in turn created the need for an auto top off due the the expected increase in evaporation, which in turn created the decision to go with a sump to accept the top off water.
I want to go with just live rock in the second (return) chamber and I'll run a canister filter off to the side for Chemi-Pure, carbon and such.

Thanx again,

[StirCrazy]

Steve: Thanx for the pics. Is the corner box where you put your return pump?

Thanx again,

nope thats where all my water returns enter the sump, kinda a pre baffle befor the real ones. my return pump is external and such from the oposite end, my skimmer pump is external and sucks from the middle, my 25 gal tank supply pump is in the sump in the middle and my UV/Chiller pump is in the middle section.

Steve

[vanreefer]

Hey,

My 3' sump (36x18x18)will house a g4x with a footprint of 13x14 at one end

LR with macro in the middle

and the return at the oposite end
My question is should I (ideally) make 2 sets of baffles at each end (isolating the skimmer where the overflow drains to, and the return pump) or would it be just as effective to only have it at the return end.

This will be a Reef_rafesque sump (Low flow) ~ 600 GPH and will run ~10" of water

Thanks for your advice

[Johnny Reefer]

Sump complete! :biggrin:
Thanx to all who provided input.
It was actually way easier than I thought it would be. I had visions of hell keeping the baffles from falling over. Amazing what a little scotch tape can do. :lol:
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1815Sump-thumb.JPGhttp://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1815Float_Valve-thumb.JPG

[Johnny Reefer]

Larger photo attempt...
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1815Sump-med.JPG

[Johnny Reefer]

Trying larger image again... :rolleyes:
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1815Sump-med.JPG
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1815Float_Valve-med.JPG

[Johnny Reefer]

Trying to get this picture thing right one more time!!! :mad:
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1815Sump-med.JPG
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1815Float_Valve-med.JPG

[Aquattro]

Mark, what size is that sump?

[Johnny Reefer]

It's a 33g tank.

[Aquattro]

It's a 33g tank.

Really?? It looks much bigger inthe pic!

[Johnny Reefer]

Maybe cuz I have only the one set of baffles...? :neutral:

[aquariumgirl]

hey mark, looks like everything is coming along nicely!! Very nice work :smile: Do you have any pictures of your reef?

[Johnny Reefer]

No pictures yet. They will be coming soon. I'm still busy with the new sump. The light fixture isn't even on the tank right now. Sittin' on the coffee table. Had to take it off to work in the back where the overflows are. Still have to move powerheads and install the wavemakers so I'm just going to leave it off overnight. No moonglows tonight :sad: but I'll leave the stove hood light on to sorta simulate that.
Anyhoo, I'll probably be ready for some live rock for the new sump tomorrow (Tuesday). I should have it finished tomorrow. Then I'll start snappin' shots. :smile:

[totalpackage181]

looks great , am i wrong in thinking that another baffle should be used ..either that or they are in opposite order? The way that it is now makes it so the water must pass over the final baffle ..thus going into a lower water level region. When it comes over wont it make microbubbles?

[Johnny Reefer]

Hey TP 181,

Sorry for the delay. I've been outa town.

The water level in the second chamber is even with the bottom of the float valve bobber, (when the bobber is up, thus closing the valve). This is also close to even with the top of the baffle, (water level is about a 1/8" lower than baffle top).
So the water just kinda flows over from one water "body" into the next, without actually cascading, like a waterfall, down the baffle side. Thus, no micro bubbles.

Cheers,

[Skimmerking]

i take it that your skimmer will be going on the right on the picture right. isnt is a little high for the main baffle. Its a 33 gal and how much back flow will you get when the skimmer and the return pump stop... :exclaim:


or mah be i'm reading it the wrong way..

[Johnny Reefer]

I left the skimmer on the main tank. It's a HOB Prizm Pro Deluxe.

And, ya, I shoulda made the baffles shorter. There is enough room to hold a power failure back flow, but... in all honesty...I shut my sump down and went back to running two canisters, for now. Here's why...

Started reefing in Feb. with two canisters.
Tank overheated in May to 86/87F. (Hot day/Glass top).
Removed glass top and changed lighting setup.
Then increased evaporation, due to no glass top, had to be dealt with.
Set up a 45g auto top-off and the sump, to receive the top-off water.
Went with 2 external overflows cuz I didn't get the tank drilled, in Feb., when I started (mistake).
One U-Tube to each overflow.
So I do a test to see what would happen if one overflow stopped.
The other overflow was not enough to keep up and the main tank water level began to rise.
So to help prevent this I increase to 4 U-Tubes. (2 in each overflow).
So I'm dusting (housework :mad: ), one day, and I noticed salt creep at some of my overflow plumbing connections, even though I used PVC primer and cement.
So I shut it down and monitored the backflow for a few minutes. No problem.
Began working on silicone sealing the plumbing connections and, later, noticed the sump water level had continued to rise and was like a 1/4" from spilling over. What up with this!!!!
After a bit of headscratching I realized that the water was siphoning through the airline tubing that was set up in the overflow U-Tubes. (You know. The tubing that removes air from the U-Tubes by way of a powerhead sucking it out).
This is not good.
So to solve this I connected one way valves to the airline tubing.
Then, a few days later, it hit me.
I was about to go away to work, (I go for 4 weeks), and decided that relying on this external overflow crap was nuts and that there was way too much potential for something to go wrong.
So, I shut the sump and auto top-off system down, went back to two canisters, and had some one come in to top off the evaporation once a week, while I was away.
The plan now is to get the tank drilled, one day, and I plan to coincide that with a move to a concrete building.
The 45 top-off tank wasn't enough to last 4 weeks, (I ran a test), so I plan to set up a 90g for that and then I'll use the 45g for the sump.
I'll make the baffles in the 45g sump a little shorter this time.

Cheers,