I just got a 225 gallon and I am going to use a 135 gallon for a sump. Do I have to have baffles in the sump? It is going to be a freshwater tank so I don't have to keep certain levels for protein skimmers like on saltwater setups.
Sump help
- Thread starter r7man
- Start date
You should have 2 baffles imo giving you 3 "separate" compartments. First compartmentwill be your filter socks or what ever mechanical media you choose. Then you should have a baffle that forces the water down into next compartment where you have all your bio media. Then you should have a baffle that forces the water up into the final compartment where the return pump is. So the water should go down, then up, then back down then into the tank. Hope that makes sense.
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Not a sump master but baffles keep bubbles from entering the pump! And keeps h20 levels high/low enough in certain areas to contain Skimmers/heater's/scrubbers/etc.
Many topics in the DIY filter section on sumps. Check em out! Just scroll down and read!
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you don't need baffles, but they can be a nice feature. keeping media where you want it, changing water flow, even changing the flow through the media.
just because it's freshwater doesn't mean you don't need to keep water at certain levels. I'm FW and required a baffle to hold water at the right level in my final chamber, and that's on a 60G sump that runs (ideally) 85% full of water. bubbles aren't really a problem in FW though, unless you planned it wrong.
easiest sump is water in one end and pumping out from the other, with biomedia in between.
just because it's freshwater doesn't mean you don't need to keep water at certain levels. I'm FW and required a baffle to hold water at the right level in my final chamber, and that's on a 60G sump that runs (ideally) 85% full of water. bubbles aren't really a problem in FW though, unless you planned it wrong.
easiest sump is water in one end and pumping out from the other, with biomedia in between.
I've run sumps with and without baffles and IME they were both just as effective as the other (they both kept ammonia and nitrites at zero).
I think we sometimes make things more complicated than they need to be with our filtration. Keep it simple. It sounds like you would rather not deal with having to install baffles, so you can try it out and see how you like it (I'm almost sure you will find it does the job).
If you want to create a divider to separate your pumps/heaters, you can use Matala mats. These have come in handy for keeping my fry away from my return pump.
I think we sometimes make things more complicated than they need to be with our filtration. Keep it simple. It sounds like you would rather not deal with having to install baffles, so you can try it out and see how you like it (I'm almost sure you will find it does the job).
If you want to create a divider to separate your pumps/heaters, you can use Matala mats. These have come in handy for keeping my fry away from my return pump.
I have a 75 gallon sump on my 225. My sump has no baffles. Just socks, heaters, media bags and pumps. I am never going back...