confused on putting sump together

[statman]

i have a 55 gallon tank for my sump. the gear in it is a mag drive 1200 and an Octopus Needlewheel 150. i have several baffles to silicone in also. i have each baffle basically against either the skimmer or the pump, do either of these chambers need any more room than this?
also the baffles have slits in the tops (picture 3) where the water will flow into the next section. i have no clue how a skimmer works, but does the tall black tube (picture2) sticking up need to be under the water line? as is, it is slightly above where the slit is so im assuming it will stay out of the water.
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[TRe]

as far as how much room is needed in each section it looks fine, but where did u get these baffles from? IMO it doesnt look like theyll do what ther ment for which is keeping micro bubbles out of the display!

 

[di0nysus]

those baffles look like they came from ebay? my buddy just got some that look just like that from an auction off ebay

 

[Lorna]

You may want to make sure that the return section is large enough as that is where the evaporation will show up. You don't want it to run dry. Here is a good site for sumps

Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

Also, you want to ensure that you leave enough room for the back siphon into the sump if the power goes out. Marc's site will give you the calculations you need to ensure you don't have a sump overflow.

The skimmer works by pumping water into the large round section and mixing the water with fine air bubbles creating foam....the foam rises up into the collection cup where the foamy bubbles pop. Each bubble is made up from disolved organic solids and when the bubbles pop they leave this organic residue behind.....which is commonly called skimmate or the stinky sludge that you want your skimmer to produce. The black riser tube is the water return to the tank from the cylinder. This water will contain small microbubles that don't make it out of the top and that is what the foam is for, it filters out the micro bubbles......this is a very basic explanation and I am sure more in depth explanations on how different skimmers work is out there on the web, but most are basically the same.....some form of foam/bubble creation which concentrates this foam in a collection cup.....which should be cleaned frequently to ensure optimal performance. Just don't every use soap on it.....

 

[statman]

haha yeah they are ebay baffles. i posted this on another mssg board and they seem to think i need to lower the baffles (cut off about 3 inches) and also raise the skimmer by that much? any thoughts? the skimmer will not be raised because it simply cannot be, however should i cut the baffles?