Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ballardboi http:///t/393689/wet-dry-or-fuge-sump/20#post_3503667
I have 3 inches under the middle baffle. I was wondering about the first baffle if it really needed to be that high, I could shrink it down, but I might just raise the skimmer now as I have some acrylic sitting around I could make a stand out of it, as I wouldn't have to raise it too high, but then again, I am worried about the noise I will get from the tank. I am going to fill the tank with water tomorrow and see how it all works and listen to the noise.
What are you thinking on disadvantages of the 1st baffle being so much higher then the 3rd one?
That first baffle in your sump will set your water height in the skimmer area......Meaning that the water will have to be exactly that high and slightly higher to flow over into the next area.....9"-11" tops IMHO......being that the sump height is roughly 18"......I might be wrong on the height, but all your doing by having it that high is making the height the skimmer has to sit to function properly.....Again if you run 16" of water in that chamber you'd have to raise the skimmer 10" off the bottom of the sump which in turns could affect how much room you have to remove the collection cup for cleaning.....Again keep this in mind as you'll have to remove the cup and 1 reason I chose to run an external skimmer because of height issues inside my stand.....******The pump must sit at the prescribed water level not the skimmer body markings.....********Again consider careful how much you can raise the skimmer and still get the cup off the skimmer.....
Raising the skimmer will not cause any more noise than if sitting all the way in the sump......
The 3rd highlighted section I kinda touched on in the first paragraph......you have to remember that the water line inside the sump will theoretically be as high as the 3rd baffle after the skimmer chamber.....With that said you have to look at the distance the water will drop from that first baffle to the water surface....That my friend is where you will create and pick up lots of noise......That's why I'm again suggesting dropping the height of the first baffle......The shorter the distance the water falls, the less noise.....
A very good website that might explain things a little clearer than I could or can would be melevsreef dot com and he goes through measurements and such and very good explanations.....Trust me water dropping at the beginning might not seem to bad, but over time it's nerve racking....I run a large system and quietness is of upmost importance to me and I've toyed quite a bit silencing things, and this is an area.....Seth and Corey can both attest to the conversations we've had about my sump and the noise issues and areas I've worked on...........
