Sump Design Question
 

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/u...Build/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.

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.

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.

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..

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