Cube shaped sump - bought off eBay. Help needed.

[smdntn]

I’d be grateful for any advice from someone who knows about sumps. New to sump systems, bought a tank & sump setup off eBay (the seller may be on here somewhere!) and have been trying to read up and research how my system works. The tank is not yet setup, and my plan for it is to be a freshwater tank for mbuna cichlids. (I know a reef forum but thought much more sump expertise on here than elsewhere!)

The DT is a modified 350L Trigon. The stand is custom built to house a 90L cube sump. It’s a Herbie system, with an overflow box built into the DT which houses the 2 pipes, and I’m comfortable with my understanding of how the system works and the fail-safes mechanisms.

I have a question about the sump itself. All the guides I’ve read refer to the sump being a rectangular shape and building with subsequent chambers using buffers. Being a cube, the design of my sump is slightly different. From previous photos of the setup, I can see the main drain and the emergency drain enter a square section in the back corner of the sump that holds the filter media and has an “under buffer” that leads into the second section of the sump (the gap at the bottom is probably a few inches). This next section is the largest section and runs along the front side of the sump tank. The final section is then divided with a small buffer (just slightly taller than the height of the gap on the opposite side) and in the final section the return pump sits.

Please see photos of a diagram and the sump tank itself below to hopefully make the description clearer (the hatched areas are the baffles):





Can someone explain why these baffles would be the case? How will this layout affect the height levels of the water?

Also this may be a silly question but what would be the best way to fill up my system? The previous owner has marked on the sump the normal operating height, maximum and minimum water levels also which may make it easier?

Thanks very much
Sam

 

[sbash]

I can't really tell from the photos what you are asking about the baffles. But here is some generic information that might help:

The sump's water level is largely dependant on the last chamber (the return pump chamber). So, when you turn on the pump the water starts to drain from that chamber and fills up from the water flowing from the other chambers. I can't tell how tall the return chamber's baffle is, but your water level will need to be at least high enough to flow over that baffle (obvious point).

To get a feel for how the water will flow, fill the sump up from the overflow chamber.

Fill the sump up until it is about an inch from the rim, then fill up your display tank.

Once the water starts overflowing from the DT into the sump (stop filling it), and turn on your return pump.

That should fill the pipes and give you the right amount of water in your system. As the plumbing fills up, the sump level will drop. I picked an inch from the rim to give you some play, but basically you don't want to shut the pump off and have your sump overflow. Conversely, you need enough water in there so the return chamber doesn't empty when you turn the pump on.

I hope that helps!