Sump Design Question

[plutoniumJoe]

Hi There,

I am in the process of building my sump. I have a 50gallon 36X18X18. I got my sump a few weeks ago and it is much larger than I thought.
http://i635.photobucket.com/albums/uu72/jgalat/Tank%20Build/sump.jpg

Two questions for debate: Do I need to separate an in sump skimmer from the larger compartment. My skimmer empties out the bottom of the tube so it wont spill out over a baffle just back into its own water. I thought that it might not be worth having a baffle in this situation. Also to save main compartment space how large do I need the compartment after the final bubble trap. My return pump is an external one, and I will have an auto top-off so is the size of the final compartment important?

Any ideas/help is appreciated.

Joe.

[hillegom]

you need baffles to keep the microbubbles from the skimmer getting into your DT
Read here
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
Lots of designs on the left.

[plutoniumJoe]

I understand the baffles for the micro bubbles but I was wondering about isolating the skimmer and for what reason as well as the size for the return compartment. I want to keep the main compartment as large as possible for a variety of reasons.

[ksalt]

Where the skimmer is concerned, it placed into a compartment with a consistent water level. Most skimmers have a manufacturer suggested depth. That said, evaporation comes from the other (return section) compartment that the skimmer (drain) feeds. Then you can add refugiums, etc., etc..

[ZachAttack]

For the skimmer, as long as you have a baffle for separating the micro bubbles between the skimmer and the return section, you don't need anything else