sump help

[jake65]

need help on this...I have a 90g tank and 29g that I will be using for a sump. Trying to figure out how tall to make the baffles. I have a AquaC EV 180w/mag7 and a mag9 for the return. 1-1/4 line feeds the sump, 3/4 line return to tank. The bottom edge of gate valve on the skimmer is 7-8" from bottom, should I raise the skimmer up? The directions for the skimmer are a little confusing at one point it says "If the sump level is above the output of the gate valve the skimmer will perform inconsistantly" and also says "The skimmers best performance is usually obtained when the water is level eqaul to the top of the dark gray box" in that case it would be about 2" above the gate valve. So basically my question is how tall should my baffles be and do I need to raise the skimmer up so its more than 7-8"?

tia
jake

 

[akunochi]

Ok after staring at pictures this is what we came up with.....

The skimmer can sit externally from the sump I am guessing. Either way it doesn't matter see if you can follow along.


The water INSIDE the box should be at the top of the box where the air pulls it into the skimmer body. This is so there isn't a gap from the water box to the skimmer body.

The water outlet needs to be above the water level so that it can flow freely from the skimmer. That way it doesn't cause back pressure.

To adjust this I imagine you use the gate valve to control the speed the water leaves the box to keep it at the top of the box.

Soooo yes the skimmer gate valve needs to be ABOVE your water level. Eggcrate make a great skimmer stand as does some quick acrylic welded together.

 

[trido]

Sump baffles (water level) typically should only be about a third of the total sump heights to allow for back flow from the tank during power outages.

 

[jake65]

Ok after staring at pictures this is what we came up with.....

The skimmer can sit externally from the sump I am guessing. Either way it doesn't matter see if you can follow along.


The water INSIDE the box should be at the top of the box where the air pulls it into the skimmer body. This is so there isn't a gap from the water box to the skimmer body.

The water outlet needs to be above the water level so that it can flow freely from the skimmer. That way it doesn't cause back pressure.

To adjust this I imagine you use the gate valve to control the speed the water leaves the box to keep it at the top of the box.

Soooo yes the skimmer gate valve needs to be ABOVE your water level. Eggcrate make a great skimmer stand as does some quick acrylic welded together.

ahh I get it, I misunderstood I thought it meant the water outside of the box was to be level with the top of the box....I'm dumb...
Thanx

Sump baffles (water level) typically should only be about a third of the total sump heights to allow for back flow from the tank during power outages.

That would mean my baffles would only be 6" tall, that seems to small. Or do you mean I should have a third left to allow for backflow, then the baffles would be about 12"?

 

[nwinverts]

The EV Series skimmers are designed to run in sumps WITHOUT BEING RAISED. The output gate valve has been increased to a height of 10" (EV-120/180 models), which means that as long as your sump level is 9" or lower you will not need to worry about fluctuations having an impact on skimming consistency.

 

[jake65]

my skimmer is at least 2-3 yrs old, the bottom of the gate valve outlet is 7-1/2"

 

[trido]

Alot of premade sumps (that Ive seen) have baffles roughly six inches tall. Unless your trying to incorporate a fuge into it. Six inches sounds perfect for your skimmer/sump water level. YOu can build them as tall as you want as long as you take into account the back flow from the return line and DT during a power outage and then are willing to build a stand for your skimmer. I definately would not go higher than 12 inches.

On my first tank, I built tall baffles in my 25G sump, by the time water backflowed from my remote fuge and DT the water was always within and inch of the rim. It stressed me out every time I saw it that way.

 

[jake65]

I had made a 2" stand for the skimmer and was thinking on making the baffles around 10"

 

[akunochi]

Making your Sump- Melevs Reef