Baffle-less sump for freshwater

[Damascus]

I need some ideas for a sump set up for a freshwater ray tank with no baffles. I cannot wait on my glass shop to cut baffles for the 55g I plan on using, and was wondering if anyone had run something similar before. Media is a submerged mix of lava rock and pot scrubbies.

Please advise!

I was thinking about using silicone to make partitions with egg crate to divide the media? And then filling it with media to the top so it has to flow through the media to the return?

 

[tlindsey]

make partitions with egg crate to divide the media?

You could just make egg crate basket with plastic ties and place media in mesh bags for easy removal.

 

[Damascus]

It may be really "Jerry rigged" but I have tiles that happen to very close to my needed dimensions... and a tile wheel in my garage... What if I used tiles?

The tiles are left over from tiling another tank, and are completely inert.

 

[deeda]

I don't do sumps but some members here and elsewhere use Poret foam for baffles to both divide the sump into sections and as bio/mech media.

 

[David R]

Have the intakes feeding into filter socks, ceramic noodles in laundry bags stacked up across the width of the tank so the water flows through them not around, heaters and return pump at the end. Job done.

 

[celebrist]

I use poret foam and lingerie bags

 

[duanes]

I basically never use baffles (especially glass) I find them physically confining for maintenance (especially when permanently attached), and creatively confining for adding other types of filtration, and advancement in filtration ideas and evolution.
I place a piece of Porret foam across the width and height of the sump ( in my case as 125 gal tank), some bags of media and a porous block, and the pump behind it.
Most of the sump is heavily planted to act as a nitrate sponge, and is a refugium for shrimp that help break down debris such as plant matter, leaf litter, and food that might overflow into the sump.



When the Porret Foam gets saturated with gunk, I pull it out and hose it down over the garden.
Below a long view of the 6 ft sump, to show how much space is the dedicated refugium for pants and shrimp (and anything else I might want fo add (protein skimmer, fluidized bed,) The space for media, pump, and Porret is only about 1ft on the left end.
.
One might consider the media bag space small, but all the plants, sand substrate, log and rocks are colonized with beneficial bacteria.

I also allow algae to grow on the back, and small side panels to aid in nutrient reduction, only scraping the front panel.

In the system ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, and even nitrate is undetectable.