[e_baer]

what is hte point of a baffel? maybe its not the correct name. the things that are like walls in a sump or fuge.

[blind1993]

this is a guess but do not use this to answer ur question

imo i think it is to keep the things in the sump out of the area of the pump so nothing clogs it or gets sucked up except water.

[cplklegg]

methinks a few of them offset are supposed to diffuse any microbubbles out of your sump/fuge.

[blind1993]

but isnt that the job of the filtersock in most sumps.

[reefdaddy725]

Both are correct but it is more for the bubbles. Bubbles float to the top so walls are built to keep them out of the return area. Without them your return would look very cloudy like white water. They are also good to compartmentize your sump into different chambers like one for a fuge one for carbon ect. But to answer your question I would have the first one come down from the top of the tank and stop about 3 to 4 inches off of the bottom. The second would be about 2 inches from that one and it would go from the bottom to the top about 4 inches you can use that 2 inch gap to put a polishing sponge into. I would also have one from bottom to top 4 inches on the return side of the sump. The rest is up to you because it really depends on if you are making it a fuge or just a sump.

[reefdaddy725]

Sorry on the return side go from the top and stop 4 inches from the bottom. Not like I stated before. The idea is to return from a lower point so your pump takes in as little bubbles as possible so naturally returning off of the bottom of the sump is best.

[e_baer]

ok, thank you for all the helpful info!

[Krazy]

Baffle are good bubble traps...

when you do baffles you want them down/up/down or up/down/up or better understood as over/under/over or under/over/under as this is how the water flows through the baffles...

sort of like this :




Edit: You should fill these baffles LIGHTLY with rubble rock or something of that nature.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I dont think the baffles will work well on there own>you need to fill them with something like live rock,bags of carbon and yes heaven forbid even bio balls lol.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Krazy can you send that drawing to me in the mail so I can out it in my stash of data?

[Krazy]

Native,

Your correct, On my sump, I have my 1'st chamber and the set up baffles filled with 10+lbs of live rubbble rock, excellent filtration and bubble breaker!!

PM me with email addy, I'll send you the picture

[e_baer]

alright, here is another question, think i should add them to my sump even though i already have a good bubble trap? and i also have plastic things seperating the different sections.

[blind1993]

it is ur preference imo

[Krazy]

you have to silicone them in, so the sump needs to be completely dry, I would do 1 set of baffles yes, and fill them with rubble rock, works awesome, and it creates the water height in your sump so keep that in mind, the last baffle is the height of the water, so keep in mind again, when you shut the tank down or power goes out, the water that comes down could flood your sump out if you make it to high...

you understand?

[e_baer]

yeah i understand, i might add then on saturday depending if i feel like it. ill just add one wall though, or would this make a splashing sound?

[Krazy]

one wall meaning one section of over/under/over ??

if thats the case then it'll be fine, I use one section and thats all I need, my friend uses two on teh same size sump and that works for him its all preference..

[e_baer]

no one section meaning over. i dont really sea a reason on why i would need it if i already have stuff that is doing the same thing. ill make a pic of how i have things set up

[Krazy]

you can do one baffle and make it higher and the water will trickle over, you may run into microbubble issues though.

[e_baer]