Sump Question.. See pictures

[Budman's Corals]

Im trying to figure this new sump system i got out ,as you can see in the pic the return line is on the right with the skimmer and refugium on far left and return pump in middle, there's a 3 wall divider i assume for a bubble trap but it seems that my bubbles are in the middle compartment Is the water line i have correct .,.any help would be nice
Thanks

 

[Daimyo68]

Are the bubbles coming from the skimmer chamber or the fuge chamber?

I would raise the water level maybe a 1/4" higher so that there is no drop going into the return chamber from the skimmer chamber.

It looks like the float valve for an ATO is in the skimmer chamber also. It should be in the return chamber. This is the area that will drop water level as the water evaporates.

 

[Budman's Corals]

Are the bubbles coming from the skimmer chamber or the fuge chamber?

I would raise the water level maybe a 1/4" higher so that there is no drop going into the return chamber from the skimmer chamber.

It looks like the float valve for an ATO is in the skimmer chamber also. It should be in the return chamber. This is the area that will drop water level as the water evaporates.

well both sides really the bubbles are coming from,the water just has a far drop from the refuge.wonder if i slow down the flow from the fuge it would help maybe that side..

Okay ill move the float and also raise and see what it does.thanks

 

[Daimyo68]

My fuge drops roughly 5 inches, with no bubbles, so slowing the flow will help for sure

 

[Budman's Corals]

My fuge drops roughly 5 inches, with no bubbles, so slowing the flow will help for sure[/Q

So the fuge dont need much flow thru it i guess.

 

[Daimyo68]

My fuge drops roughly 5 inches, with no bubbles, so slowing the flow will help for sure[/Q

So the fuge dont need much flow thru it i guess.

This is going to be user determined, and is an age old arguement, fast or slow flow. I prefer a slow flow.

But if your flow is causing bubbles, then I would dial it back until it doesn't create the bubbles anymore.

 

[Singlefin]

The way your sump is setup, the Fuge is supposed to have a slow flow. Slower than the return flow speed. It's really what you prefer and what's in the fuge. The 3 baffles are the bubble trap for the tiny micro bubbled from the skimmer. Not necessarily regular bubbles, but it will help. ATO in the return pump chamber. You can raise the water level in the return pump area to 1" below the bubble trap if you don't need the space for the back flow from a power outage.

 

[Singlefin]

Looking at your pics again, the return pump water level is good. What is the recommended depth of your skimmer?

 

[rajkovich207]

Silly option I know but to Mr it seems as though the sump could have a huge return area (right) Skimmer compartment (center) and a low flow direction of left (start) to right. The low flow will also slow your Skimmer more time to process the water (having a low flow area for the Skimmer to me is like a recirc Skimmer where the feed is slower then the internal speed, but instead of reciculating through PVC its done in an open low flow chamber.)

 

[Budman's Corals]

The way your sump is setup, the Fuge is supposed to have a slow flow. Slower than the return flow speed. It's really what you prefer and what's in the fuge. The 3 baffles are the bubble trap for the tiny micro bubbled from the skimmer. Not necessarily regular bubbles, but it will help. ATO in the return pump chamber. You can raise the water level in the return pump area to 1" below the bubble trap if you don't need the space for the back flow from a power outage.

8-10 INCHES. Its right at 8

 

[Budman's Corals]

The way your sump is setup, the Fuge is supposed to have a slow flow. Slower than the return flow speed. It's really what you prefer and what's in the fuge. The 3 baffles are the bubble trap for the tiny micro bubbled from the skimmer. Not necessarily regular bubbles, but it will help. ATO in the return pump chamber. You can raise the water level in the return pump area to 1" below the bubble trap if you don't need the space for the back flow from a power outage.

okay this part of your statement..
"You can raise the water level in the return pump area to 1" below the bubble trap if you don't need the space for the back flow from a power outage."
is it 1 inch below the center baffle the tallest one

 

[Budman's Corals]

It really dont matter where the ATO is at,since the water height will be level in the center chamber and the right chamber all the time,im not sure it could be at different water levels Its just not possible or am i wrong

 

[Budman's Corals]

Silly option I know but to Mr it seems as though the sump could have a huge return area (right) Skimmer compartment (center) and a low flow direction of left (start) to right. The low flow will also slow your Skimmer more time to process the water (having a low flow area for the Skimmer to me is like a recirc Skimmer where the feed is slower then the internal speed, but instead of reciculating through PVC its done in an open low flow chamber.)

Im kinda lost on this ..your saying flow comes into the left (refuge) then falls down to (center-where i would put skimmer) then return pump far right..

 

[fragmatic]

Sorry, but I get an entirely different take on this, I think. I see that your return from the tank should be to the left on the picture. Then you skimmer should be in the middle compartment. The out flow from the skimmer should go back to the left compartment. The return pump should be in the last compartment. This means the water will flow from left to right and drop a level each time. The bubble trap at right center is to the final bubble trap before the return pump. Water level for ATO will be just barely below the last short bubble divider to the on the right.

 

[Budman's Corals]

Sorry, but I get an entirely different take on this, I think. I see that your return from the tank should be to the left on the picture. Then you skimmer should be in the middle compartment. The out flow from the skimmer should go back to the left compartment. The return pump should be in the last compartment. This means the water will flow from left to right and drop a level each time. The bubble trap at right center is to the final bubble trap before the return pump. Water level for ATO will be just barely below the last short bubble divider to the on the right.

Well i do have flow right now coming into both right and left chamber.but the flow to the left(refuge) is very little. I can see what your saying but where would the refuge go,in what chamber

 

[ReefRacer]

Not sure if anyone suggested this or not but you might consider a piece of 90 degree PVC on your return input. It helps prevent any stray snails from going in (although I see you do have a guard on there)...it also makes the pump pull water from the very bottom of the chamber and reduce bubbles. I built the same exact sump design on my 180 and that helped tremendously.

 

[fragmatic]

And you set ATO level in the right compartment with the return pump, this will be the only compartment that will vary in water depth.

 

[Budman's Corals]

Not sure if anyone suggested this or not but you might consider a piece of 90 degree PVC on your return input. It helps prevent any stray snails from going in (although I see you do have a guard on there)...it also makes the pump pull water from the very bottom of the chamber and reduce bubbles. I built the same exact sump design on my 180 and that helped tremendously.

I really wanna turn the pump on its other side where it would be laying on more surface of the mag 9.5,I did install the foam thing that came with it finally and it has helped out with catching bubbles

 

[fragmatic]

Well i do have flow right now coming into both right and left chamber.but the flow to the left(refuge) is very little. I can see what your saying but where would the refuge go,in what chamber

In your case, yes, with the skimmer.

 

[fragmatic]

I am not sure but I think you can plumb that skimmer and not have in inside the sump. That would help a lot.