My 97G Reef Build

[duncangweller]

I personally would make a less complicated sump, I find the more compartments the more detritus it traps.

[lyall12]

Got it. Working on a redesign.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I agree. I've never found the need for more than 2 baffles. One siliconed on three sides (including the bottom) to create the right water level height for the skimmer "box", and a second slightly raised to separate the middle refugium and the end return pump sections. Each baffle I get cut to the ideal skimmer water level height so if the skimmer works best in 9" of water, that's how tall I cut the baffles. The second raised baffle also acts to trap microbubbles.

[lyall12]

Talked to the guys at Concept and got them to redesign it. Have gone with a much simpler sump based on their recommendations.

Thanks for the comments, I'm positive I'll be happier with the result.

Thanks again to the guys at Concept for putting up with my rookie silliness.

[kien]

Would you mind explaining what all those chambers are for ? I suspect there's a return, skimmer, reactor, sock chamber in there somewhere ? I would also echo that the baffles seem high. At the end of the day it's all a matter of preference. If you prefer running a high water level then that's fine, but I don't think it's necessary to. In my experience I've always had issues with high level sumps (water overflow, more we walls for tube worms to grow on, cramped compartments making it difficult to get stuff in and out of, etc).

[kien]

Originally Posted by kien

Would you mind explaining what all those chambers are for ? I suspect there's a return, skimmer, reactor, sock chamber in there somewhere ? I would also echo that the baffles seem high. At the end of the day it's all a matter of preference. If you prefer running a high water level then that's fine, but I don't think it's necessary to. In my experience I've always had issues with high level sumps (water overflow, more we walls for tube worms to grow on, cramped compartments making it difficult to get stuff in and out of, etc).

NEVERMIND. Clearly I need more coffee. I didn't notice that there was a second page where you changed everything Looking good, carry on :-)

[lyall12]

Originally Posted by kien

NEVERMIND. Clearly I need more coffee. I didn't notice that there was a second page where you changed everything Looking good, carry on :-)

lol, thanks.

Ya, clearly some mistakes in first idea. But at least caught them early. Would delete/change first pics if I could.

[kien]

Originally Posted by lyall12

lol, thanks.

Ya, clearly some mistakes in first idea. But at least caught them early. Would delete/change first pics if I could.

This hobby is all about mistakes, and learning from them. Honestly, that's partly what makes in interesting I think :-). This community helped me to avoid quite a few mistakes of my own..

Having the original design there is not a bad idea, for reference and historical reasons. The tank journal is a journey, an evolution of sorts. It's good to document it all, the good, the bad and the ugly. There's lots of crap in my journal that I re-read and think, WTF was I thinking there?!