Alright, so now that I have my 150g setup. I'm working on the sump setup now. I have all the plumbing set, getting ready to put the baffles in place. I'm going with 3 baffles at the inlet side, and 1 baffle for the return side . I've seen so many differing opinions on spacing of the three baffles, as well as the gap at the bottom. Sump is a 55 long.
Sump baffles
- Thread starter Dcrawdad
- Start date
I consider baffles a pain in the arse, and hardly ever use them.
I place filter socks on one and of the sump for mechanical (where tank water enters) , drop some mesh bags of bio-media in the middle, and the whatever else, and the pump on the other end.
I had baffles in the beginning of my sumping experiences because they seemed to be considered needed or "hip" or to serve some magical purpose , but I found them confining to work around during maintenance, confining and limit space if I want to experiment with other filtration method, and can create dead spots where detritus would build up.
To me they don't seem to do anything that can't be done without them.
I place filter socks on one and of the sump for mechanical (where tank water enters) , drop some mesh bags of bio-media in the middle, and the whatever else, and the pump on the other end.
I had baffles in the beginning of my sumping experiences because they seemed to be considered needed or "hip" or to serve some magical purpose , but I found them confining to work around during maintenance, confining and limit space if I want to experiment with other filtration method, and can create dead spots where detritus would build up.
To me they don't seem to do anything that can't be done without them.
I like baffles, They can be useful to force water to go through your media. I’m not a fan socks so in my sump the water has to go over a baffle and through my mechanical media. Then under a baffle and overflow over the next chamber. This creates alot of extra oxygen for the biological media to use. I keep the return pump and bio media in a large return chamber roughly 75 percent of the total sump volume. It’s kind of a hybrid between baffles, and no baffles.
This is old Photo and I have since moved the bio in the second chamber as well as thrown away the socks. Filter floss Is changed out twice a week and water is crystal clear.
This is old Photo and I have since moved the bio in the second chamber as well as thrown away the socks. Filter floss Is changed out twice a week and water is crystal clear.
My sump design theory is to make the sump as easy as possible to maintain. I find a lot of partitions usually just get in my way and make maintenance harder. BUT... the best sump design is what ever works best for you.