How tall should baffles be?

[coralgazer]

Hi all,
I am setting up a 36 gallon tank with a 15 gallon sump (used an aquarium). The size seems right, but how tall should I make the baffles so I don't keep too much water in there and possibly overflow with power down?

The sump tank is 24"L x 12"D x 12" tall.

Any guidelines? Once the baffles are glued in, it would be hard to change things.

 

[Degener8]

depending on if you have a skimmer down there in the sump will determine the baffle size. The area the skimmer would be in should be atleast as tall as the minimum depth for your skimmer if applicable. If no skimmer I usually make the return area about an in less than the total height of the tank. The water that back flows will fill the return area and this is where you determine your max/min water levels and gives you the room for the excess backflow in case of a power outage.

 

[returnofsid]

Degener8 is absolutely correct. Each skimmer works best in a specific depth of water. Figure out the optimal depth of your skimmer, or the skimmer you intend to purchase, and go from there...

 

[coralgazer]

My skimmer runs in 8-9.75 inches. So I plan the first baffle to be 9" tall. Next I will have a refugium, then return/pump chamber. The tank is 12" tall. How tall would you make the sides of the refugium/entry to return chamber? I know 9" is too tall, but I want the most water I can get in there without overflowing. How tall should they be?

 

[j.p. harrington]

My skimmer runs in 8-9.75 inches. So I plan the first baffle to be 9" tall. Next I will have a refugium, then return/pump chamber. The tank is 12" tall. How tall would you make the sides of the refugium/entry to return chamber? I know 9" is too tall, but I want the most water I can get in there without overflowing. How tall should they be?

that all depends on how much water your main tank would drain if the power were to be out.
you will have to figure out how deep down into the tank your overflow is from the top and do the math

for example a standard 120 is 48"x24" and say your overflow is 2" under the waterline then figure out how many gallons 48"x24"x2" is which is 10 gallons so you would need enough space in the sump to hold 10 gallons of displaced water

but you will also have to figure out how much water your going to be running in your return pump area to be perfectly sure it can handle the water that would drain from the display

be sure to leave yourself a little playing room of about 1.5 gallons just to be safe

 

[Jgomez324]

I made mine to what the skimmer water level asked for