Chamberless sumps
 

In reading up about sumps on a few forums and articles on the net that chamberless sumps are starting to become popular due to improvements in both skimmer and filter designs and everything is fed into one tank with baffles at the very ends to maintain a lvl

What are your feelings on this and is this a design improvement or an option or the new generation of sump designs?

Once you have a baffle, doesn't that make it a 2 chamber sump? :mrgreen:

you don't baffles at all.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1.../Oct2009_2.jpg

It all comes down to what you want, not sure it's a new trend but yes most new skimmers don't release bubbles so bubble traps serve less of a purpose now depending on what skimmer model you use. However the rest is really personal choice, baffles can still be used to direct flow through filter media or socks and chambers still serve a purpose to separate equipment and serve and boundaries for refugiums and such.

I am considering cutting bubble trap out of sump. Just have to use ato to keep water level up for skimmer

I am running a two chamber sump (one chamber contains the skimmer and the refugium) and the other for return pump with bubble trap. My skimmer is quite sensitive (I dont know why) to the level so I was afraid that it might go crazy even if 1/4" of water level goes down before ATO detects it. Works well and saves space too. Skimmers are becoming compact so no waste of space if I get a compact skimmer in the future.

My sump is chamberless (at least for a little while longer) because of the small area I have to work with, size of the pumps, skimmer, etc. Works fine for me. I only wish I had a bubble trap to reduce the number of bubbles from the skimmer that make it into the display and that it was easier to vacuum the sump out (I have a killer clean up crew in the sump to handle the detritus).

It depends on the amount of bubbles escaping the skimmer and created by the type of overflow you are using.

Baffles do help to add a little O2 back into the water column with fall of the water from one chamber to the next.

Dean I would'nt use that little tank as a sump. It's too small and the hole is drilled in the top corner and you'll have to plug that hole. You might have to take the back wall off of that stand to put in a bigger sump. You'll need it for more equipment and a skimmer will take up alot of room in that little space. Did Shaun throw in the pump?

Chamberless since 1998 :biggrin: