Need help with sump.

[illbethejudge]

If you look at my rather crude drawing below of a very basic three chamber sump, which is what yours is, you can see how crucial the gap under the first baffle is. It's main function is to help direct the flow. You can see that initially water is drawn through the mech side, which is good. Then it is drawn through the bio side, which again is good.

Without that gap the whole dynamic of the flow changes detrimentally in my eyes. I still can't get my head round why it was designed that way. It may have worked for the previous guy but only at a decreased level of efficiency compared to my drawing.

That's how I see it anyway. And just raising the height and putting a filter sock there, as you propose, dosen't do anything to solve the optimum flow issue.

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I have 3 sumps which one will you use

 

[esoxlucius]

I have 3 sumps which one will you use

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The middle picture is obviously the one we're scratching our heads over, though in my eyes if you adjust that baffle it will be fine.

The other two, looking at the configuration of the baffles, look to be trickle filters. That is where the the bio balls are not submerged, the water from the display tank just flows through them. They should have drip trays above the bio balls with lots of holes in to maintain an even and steady flow over the whole area of bio balls and not just in one place. Your mech sponges/floss will sit on top of the drip trays to catch crud, in fact in the bottom picture you can see the blue layer of sponge sat on top of the drip tray.

I've never had trickle filters, i'm not against them, i've just always had submerged set ups.

 

[illbethejudge]

The middle picture is obviously the one we're scratching our heads over, though in my eyes if you adjust that baffle it will be fine.

The other two, looking at the configuration of the baffles, look to be trickle filters. That is where the the bio balls are not submerged, the water from the display tank just flows through them. They should have drip trays above the bio balls with lots of holes in to maintain an even and steady flow over the whole area of bio balls and not just in one place. Your mech sponges/floss will sit on top of the drip trays to catch crud, in fact in the bottom picture you can see the blue layer of sponge sat on top of the drip tray.

I've never had trickle filters, i'm not against them, i've just always had submerged set ups.

So sump better then trickle filter?

 

[tlindsey]

So sump better then trickle filter?

Trickle filters has positive and negative utilizing one. The negative is when a power outage your bio media will be in jeopardy of drying out. The positive is as the water trickles over the bio media it will keep the water oxygenated.

 

[TheWolfman]

It looks likes saltwater sump with a refugem and bio balls in it. It isn't really a wet dry.

 

[tlindsey]

It looks likes saltwater sump with a refugem and bio balls in it. It isn't really a wet dry.

I thought a refugium did not have baffles from what I read.

 

[celebrist]

Maybe that middle chamber is for a skimmer and that kept water moving or a slow flow refugium with macro algae?

 

[TheWolfman]

I thought a refugium did not have baffles from what I read.

They will have water coming in over a baffle, and then through the fuge and over the next baffle. They are designed to be used like celebrist mentioned with cheto or mud in them.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

I thought a refugium did not have baffles from what I read.

If you build it with baffles it will have baffles, if you don't, it won't. You can have a sump that has a refugium section, or you can have a refugium that is the entire sump. That one does look like this is the case. That middle section would be fairly calm. Good place to grow plants or macroalgae.

 

[illbethejudge]

If you build it with baffles it will have baffles, if you don't, it won't. You can have a sump that has a refugium section, or you can have a refugium that is the entire sump. That one does look like this is the case. That middle section would be fairly calm. Good place to grow plants or macroalgae.

Since is freshwater can i put lava rocks as media and grow pothos in the middle baffle?
probably use a filter sock as the only form of mechanical filtration and where the filter media is supposed to go put some bio balls?