Help me understand sump water level

[gregghia]

Someone please clarify this for me... how high will my water level stay in the refuge area with the sand bed if I have baffles that are not attached to the floor of the sump? Obviously the water will be as high as the wall if it is attached to the floor but I am not sure what the level would be in this set up. I would imagine depending on the flow the water would NOT be much higher than 5" becaseu of the sump walls? I like this layout but I want my refuge to be deep. I am going to grow chaeto so I don't want it creaping over walls. At the same time I don't want to make a mistake and make walls to high to I hurt flow or restrict water to return pump...
HELP

 

[scsinet]

Yeah the baffles on each side of the fuge need to be sealed to the floor of the sump with silicon.
You can make the walls higher if you like to make it deeper.

 

[gregghia]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
Yeah the baffles on each side of the fuge need to be sealed to the floor of the sump with silicon.
You can make the walls higher if you like to make it deeper.

SCSI I know you are one of the DIY champs on here... do you have any designs you would recommend? I am making something this weekend and just trying to get a solid yet simple design.....

 

[scsinet]

Actually your design looks good....
The only thing I'd change is that your skimmer chamber does not have to be so deep, so make sure you aren't setting it too deep for what you plan to have.
I'd also significantly enlarge the return section. The chamber the pump sits in is always going to be where the water level fluctuates due to evaporation, so it should be as large as possible.

 

[renogaw]

also, if you plan on making this a fuge, you want the baffle leading to the return as high as possible to keep the macroalgae in.
just in case you want a pic of one, here's how i did mine:

 

[trainfever]

I would eliminate the last baffle on the right. there is no need for two bubble traps. I would then raise the baffles of the fuge slightly. There is no need to raise the baffle to stop macro from escaping because no matter how high you make the baffle, the macro will still float and go over the top. To contain the macro you can either use a router to cut fingers in the top edge of the baffle or drill a bunch of holes in the top one inch of the baffle. Thhis will allow the water to flow through but contain the macro.

 

[gregghia]

Originally Posted by renogaw
also, if you plan on making this a fuge, you want the baffle leading to the return as high as possible to keep the macroalgae in.
just in case you want a pic of one, here's how i did mine:

I take it the return is right most chamber....
If so if you make the wall higher don't you stand a bigger chance of not getting water to the return fast enough or if it evaps have the same problem?
Also if the walls are too high won't you have an overflow issue with power out.

 

[renogaw]

actually, there is a reason to have a baffle on the right. having a bubble trap allows the water from the fuge to cascade over, allowing more oxygenation of the water, and no bubbles. then i use the farthest right baffle (the 6" one) as a level for where to keep my water full to. when i turn off my pumps, that last chamber fills up about to the level of the other standing baffles. also, my hanging baffles don't go all the way up to the top, so there is more room for spill over if something odd happens.

 

[renogaw]

Originally Posted by trainfever
I would eliminate the last baffle on the right. there is no need for two bubble traps. I would then raise the baffles of the fuge slightly. There is no need to raise the baffle to stop macro from escaping because no matter how high you make the baffle, the macro will still float and go over the top. To contain the macro you can either use a router to cut fingers in the top edge of the baffle or drill a bunch of holes in the top one inch of the baffle. Thhis will allow the water to flow through but contain the macro.

i have no macro algae overflowing into my return area, and i do not have fingers cut into my glass. because the first baffle is 6" at the fuge the water flows through the algae, not over it, so it never gets lifted to the top of the water.

 

[gregghia]

Have you put your sump into action yet? If so how is it performing? Any changes you would make?
I am about to make mine this weekend and like your design......

 

[renogaw]

my sump is working well, i probably should have a larger pump than a mag 5 but $$ are a little tight right now. My chaeto though is doing horribly. I think i pruned it too much, or there isn't enough flow, or not enough nutrients for it. I'm thinking i am skimming out too much before the water gets to the fuge area so i'm going to do some plumbing to divert half the water to the skimmer and half to the fuge.