Plumbing Help for a Newbie

[andiesreef]

Hello everyone. I'm drawing up a schematic for a potential 75g with a 40b sump down the road. I don't know much about plumbing at all and this is my first time trying to plan everything out. I've got questions.


1. What should I use for sump baffles? Can I just use aquamesh or something porous or does it need to be glass or acrylic?

2. How do I keep a stable water level in the sump and how do I "set" this level?

3. Is there anything I should change about the design? Again this tank may not even happen but if it does I want to make sure I've got a good foundation. I want to try and use more "natural" filtration methods with lots of macroalgae and living parts in the sump instead of chemicals like GFO or something similar.

 

[LuisPerez711]

Hello everyone. I'm drawing up a schematic for a potential 75g with a 40b sump down the road. I don't know much about plumbing at all and this is my first time trying to plan everything out. I've got questions.


1. What should I use for sump baffles? Can I just use aquamesh or something porous or does it need to be glass or acrylic?

2. How do I keep a stable water level in the sump and how do I "set" this level?

3. Is there anything I should change about the design? Again this tank may not even happen but if it does I want to make sure I've got a good foundation. I want to try and use more "natural" filtration methods with lots of macroalgae and living parts in the sump instead of chemicals like GFO or something similar.

Hey! I have plumbed my share of tanks and can offer some opinions to your questions

1. What should I use for sump baffles? Can I just use aquamesh or something porous or does it need to be glass or acrylic?

The type of baffles you would use all depend on your goal for those baffles. Baffles are usually the same material that the sump is made of (i.e. glass sump -> glass baffles). The baffles are used to regulate water level and flow. That being said, baffles are not necessarily needed. There are plenty of threads showing successful tanks with a baffle-less sump.

If you use porous style baffles, it would only be there to separate the chambers and not regulate water flow or water level. This is fine if all you want to do is set up barriers in between the different sections of your sump. Water level will stay the same throughout the whole sump.

2. How do I keep a stable water level in the sump and how do I "set" this level?

Stable water level depends on the sump type. If the sump has baffles, all chambers, except for the pump chamber, will have stable water levels (although the sump chamber usually has an adjustable baffle to regulate water height). The pump chamber keeps a stable water level by either having an automatic top off or manually topping off evaporated water. The water level is set by filling up the sump and only looking into the pump chamber and adjust the level while the pump is running.

In a baffle-less or porous baffle sump, the water level is constant throughout the complete sump. The water level is also kept stable by using an ATO or doing MTOs. The water level is set by filling up the sump to whatever level you desire while the pump is running. If you plan to have a refugium in this type of sump, then I would adjust the water height to the height that will support the refugium and then adjust the skimmer to the height that is optimal for its operation. You might need to put it on a stand.


3. Is there anything I should change about the design? Again this tank may not even happen but if it does I want to make sure I've got a good foundation. I want to try and use more "natural" filtration methods with lots of macroalgae and living parts in the sump instead of chemicals like GFO or something similar.

The sump design looks fine. It's a standard design that is used in almost all commercially available sumps.

Again, if you are planning to use a refugium, I would design the baffles to keep the refugium in place. Certain macroalgae's stay in place because they attach themselves to a solid surface (rubble rock, etc.) but others are free floating and need to be kept from getting into your other chambers, causing a clog in your return pump or skimmer. Same goes for sand or mud. If you plan to use either, you will need to make sure the water flow will not disturb the substrate, blowing it all over your sump and eventually display.

Also, some might suggest that micro bubbles from the skimmer will get into your display tank if you use a baffle-less sump, but I disagree. I have never had this issue unless you place the skimmer in the same section of the return pump.

Hope this helps.

 

[mdb_talon]

I would say that if you do not plan on using an ATO then the most important consideration for baffles and setting the height is for the skimmer chamber. Ideally this is the first chamber the water enters and is kept at a higher level than the remaining chambers. In this way as water evaporates the skimmer chamber water levels remain constant. The middle section or return pump section may fluctuate up and down between topoffs, but that is not really a concern.

I would design it this way even if you do plan to use an ATO, but it is is less important when using an ATO.

 

[andiesreef]

Hey! I have plumbed my share of tanks and can offer some opinions to your questions

1. What should I use for sump baffles? Can I just use aquamesh or something porous or does it need to be glass or acrylic?

The type of baffles you would use all depend on your goal for those baffles. Baffles are usually the same material that the sump is made of (i.e. glass sump -> glass baffles). The baffles are used to regulate water level and flow. That being said, baffles are not necessarily needed. There are plenty of threads showing successful tanks with a baffle-less sump.

If you use porous style baffles, it would only be there to separate the chambers and not regulate water flow or water level. This is fine if all you want to do is set up barriers in between the different sections of your sump. Water level will stay the same throughout the whole sump.

2. How do I keep a stable water level in the sump and how do I "set" this level?

Stable water level depends on the sump type. If the sump has baffles, all chambers, except for the pump chamber, will have stable water levels (although the sump chamber usually has an adjustable baffle to regulate water height). The pump chamber keeps a stable water level by either having an automatic top off or manually topping off evaporated water. The water level is set by filling up the sump and only looking into the pump chamber and adjust the level while the pump is running.

In a baffle-less or porous baffle sump, the water level is constant throughout the complete sump. The water level is also kept stable by using an ATO or doing MTOs. The water level is set by filling up the sump to whatever level you desire while the pump is running. If you plan to have a refugium in this type of sump, then I would adjust the water height to the height that will support the refugium and then adjust the skimmer to the height that is optimal for its operation. You might need to put it on a stand.


3. Is there anything I should change about the design? Again this tank may not even happen but if it does I want to make sure I've got a good foundation. I want to try and use more "natural" filtration methods with lots of macroalgae and living parts in the sump instead of chemicals like GFO or something similar.

The sump design looks fine. It's a standard design that is used in almost all commercially available sumps.

Again, if you are planning to use a refugium, I would design the baffles to keep the refugium in place. Certain macroalgae's stay in place because they attach themselves to a solid surface (rubble rock, etc.) but others are free floating and need to be kept from getting into your other chambers, causing a clog in your tank or skimmer. Same goes for sand or mud. If you plan to use either, you will need to make sure the water flow will not disturb the substrate, blowing it all over your sump and eventually display.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for your detailed and kind reply! So for water level, I could either regulate the height of my baffles to adjust the water level or have a stable, constant water level with an ATO and adjust the height of the components themselves?

I think I'm going to try and use porous baffles. I'm going to see if I can find finer mesh for the fuge chamber to prevent any escaping algae- I want to use chaeto which I think is free-floating. I don't plan on using sand or mud so I don't think that will be as much of an issue for me.

 

[andiesreef]

I would say that if you do not plan on using an ATO then the most important consideration for baffles and setting the height is for the skimmer chamber. Ideally this is the first chamber the water enters and is kept at a higher level than the remaining chambers. In this way as water evaporates the skimmer chamber water levels remain constant. The middle section or return pump section may fluctuate up and down between topoffs, but that is not really a concern.

I would design it this way even if you do plan to use an ATO, but it is is less important when using an ATO.

I absolutely plan to use an ATO here. I'm just a tad leery of baffles since I've never cut glass before and don't want to cause a disaster while doing so

 

[LuisPerez711]

Thank you so much for your detailed and kind reply! So for water level, I could either regulate the height of my baffles to adjust the water level or have a stable, constant water level with an ATO and adjust the height of the components themselves?

I think I'm going to try and use porous baffles. I'm going to see if I can find finer mesh for the fuge chamber to prevent any escaping algae- I want to use chaeto which I think is free-floating. I don't plan on using sand or mud so I don't think that will be as much of an issue for me.

If you are using porous baffles, they will not help adjust the water height in your sump. Porous baffles can only be used to separate the chambers. So if you plan on the porous baffles, an ATO or doing MTOs is what will keep your water level stable. I would then adjust the height of the skimmer to where it works optimally.

I would say that if you do not plan on using an ATO then the most important consideration for baffles and setting the height is for the skimmer chamber. Ideally this is the first chamber the water enters and is kept at a higher level than the remaining chambers. In this way as water evaporates the skimmer chamber water levels remain constant. The middle section or return pump section may fluctuate up and down between topoffs, but that is not really a concern.

I would design it this way even if you do plan to use an ATO, but it is is less important when using an ATO.

mdb_talon makes a good point about the skimmer. The evaporation in a baffle-less sump will affect the skimmer's operation. The ATO should alleviate this concern. If you were doing MTO, which I would not personally recommend based on my short term memory issues lol, then it would be a problem. I would just buy a used ATO in the marketplace for a good price if you don't already have one.

 

[andiesreef]

If you are using porous baffles, they will not help adjust the water height in your sump. Porous baffles can only be used to separate the chambers. So if you plan on the porous baffles, an ATO or doing MTOs is what will keep your water level stable. I would then adjust the height of the skimmer to where it works optimally.



mdb_talon makes a good point about the skimmer. The evaporation in a baffle-less sump will affect the skimmer's operation. The ATO should alleviate this concern. If you were doing MTO, which I would not personally recommend based on my short term memory issues lol, then it would be a problem. I would just buy a used ATO in the marketplace for a good price if you don't already have one.

I plan on using an ato so I think I should be covered on that front. Thanks again for the help!