Sump and patience experts!

Well the attachment says all my questions and everything, so please help me out here. Thanks so much and karma to anyone who helps out!

If you need to know this which you probably do to give me right measurments, the overflow is 600 gph so there would be approximately 600 gph running through this. I include this because im guessing you need to know that so you can tell me the proper baffle widths and how high they should be from the bottom of the sump (the ones raised). BTW, im either ordering this from CADlights or glasscages.com

 

don't know anything about sumps, but i'll give ya a bump

 

Thanks pufferchick ;D To all reading, i know this question actually takes time and patience to answer, but help would be so, so, so, so appreciated. So please, the time put into answer would be greatly appreciated and rewarded.

 

From coralvues website.....***All Skimmers perform best in 8” to 10” of water***
check this out it. I hope this helps.

YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgNe_OYgoL8&feature=related

 

Not to get off topic but coralvue is full of it. I had my skimmer running in 8.5 inches of water and it was performing horribly, the bubbles wouldnt even make it up the neck of the skimmer let alone the neck of the collection cup. When the water level rose (didnt measure), the bubbles went all the way up the neck and produced brown ugly crud in the collection cup. So im going for maybe 12"???? Idk but i want more opinions. From what i hear, the higher the sump level the less work the pump has to do to get the bubbles up the skimmer so in conclusion, the higher sump level the better?

 

Then I would say to do what works for you

 

I think you need to slow down a bit. It takes a while for a skimmer to break in and get coated to work right. Coral vue is not full of it. They know exactly where the water needs to be. 8 will give you dry, 10 will give you wet. Which means you set the water level in the sump at 10". That way you can put it on a stand to go dry or put it on the bottom for wet.

 

Exactly.

 

Amen, I think that the manufacturer is going to know how their product works best. Every skimmer is different, but every/most skimmers have a break-in period.


Luna

 

I don't know the specifics of your skimmer but I do know that my skimmer manufacturer was dead on with their recommended depth. I will echo what the three learned folks before me have said. You do want to have your baffles allow for the max recommended depth in your skimmer section or maybe even a few inches deeper. You can always raise your skimmer but it's a royal pain to try to raise the baffle height in an existing sump. Another thing to bear in mind is the possibility that you might go with a different skimmer at some point in the future and if that skimmer needs a bit more depth, it would be nice to have that flexibility.

Regarding how high your baffles should be off of the bottom, I would say about an inch. You could go less if you want as long as you don't go so low that you decrease the flow through the sump.

One very important point to remember is that the height of your sump needs to be determined by the working depth of water in the sump PLUS enough room on top of that to contain all of the water that will flow into the sump from the overflows and return lines when power is lost to the tank. As long as you remember this step, you should never have a problem with your tank causing a flood.