Help building a sump/refugium

[willist0]

I'm building a sump/refugium from a 30 gal tank, its 36" long by 15" high. I'm trying figure the height of the various baffles. My first 2 baffles will be over/ under, followed b a 4" baffle coming off the bottom (for bubble control). That will make the intake chamber. Next the refugium, followed by 3 more baffles to form the return chamber Those 3 baffles will be over/ under and then another 4 " baffle coming up from the bottom. So I need to know how tall each baffle should be. I'm planning to set the baffles which allow water to flow under them to be 1.5" off the bottom. I hope this makes sense.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Are you running a skimmer? If so, what make and model? Do you plan to put the skimmer in the intake chamber? The skimmer working water level will most likely determine the baffle height.

What are you putting in the middle....live rock and macroalgae?

Sorry for the questions, but some more details might be required.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I have a 55 gallon sump. The first chamber is 15" long with 12" baffles. The middle chamber is also around 15" long with a 9.5" baffle. The remaining 18" is space taken up by the twin baffle arrangements as well as the return pump chamber. I wanted to reserve roughly half of my sump volume for overflow protection during a power outage.

That's just what I ended up doing. I'm sure other will have differing opinions.

 

[willist0]

I do not have a protein skimmer yet. I figure I can always put the protein skimmer on a stand if water level is too high. The protein skimmer will go in the intake chamber. I'm planning on using a Eshopps sock holder for my intake..Refugium will most likely have live sand, live rock and macroalgae. Return chamber will have pump and heater. Reactors if any will probably be hang on's so they won't be in the sump. I hope additional info is helpful.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I would make the first set of baffles 9" high since most skimmers operate around that water depth. I would probably make the second set of baffles 7 or 8" high to have enough water level for the sand, rock and algae you plan to use. Since you only have 36" of length to deal with, I'd make the return sump for the pump as small as I could get away with to maximize room for the other stuff.