# Sump Setup



## cheseboy

Hi, I am setting up my sump\refugium and I am wondering where should I position my baffles in the tank. My tank that I have to work with is a 10 gallon. So I want to aim for a sump/refugium probably having the refugium smaller than the sump part. Right now I have a baffle that is 3 inches from the top of the tank (9" tall) and it over on one side. That was gonna be my only baffle and the smaller part was gonna be my refugium. But then the water would have to come up 9" just for it to be able to go over to my refugium and that isn't very good. How do people usually setup their refugiums?


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## TheOldSalt

Why is coming up 9 inches bad for you?

Most sumps have two baffles, one to catch the incoming water, and one to separate the pump on the other end, in order to keep stuff out of the pump.

Most people set up their fuge to have the water come in on one end, flow up & over the first baffle evenly into the 2nd chamber, and then flow up & over a second baffle into the pump chamber.
Most folks do not combine a sump & a fuge in the same unit, because it causes headaches aplenty and results in both sides being too small. A 20 gallon long tank would work better than a 10.


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## FishermanRob

Does anyone have some schematics or pictures of a setup like this? I think I can picture it in my head, but something to look at would be cool.


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## leveldrummer

TheOldSalt said:


> Why is coming up 9 inches bad for you?
> 
> Most sumps have two baffles, one to catch the incoming water, and one to separate the pump on the other end, in order to keep stuff out of the pump.
> 
> Most people set up their fuge to have the water come in on one end, flow up & over the first baffle evenly into the 2nd chamber, and then flow up & over a second baffle into the pump chamber.
> Most folks do not combine a sump & a fuge in the same unit, because it causes headaches aplenty and results in both sides being too small. A 20 gallon long tank would work better than a 10.


im not sure i understand salt... what would be the problems with a sump and fuge in the same? the plan i was talking about was a 20l with a 3 baffle bubble trap, the fuge area, the skimmer area, then the return pump, is this just a fuge? or a sump/fuge?


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## TheOldSalt

It's a sump/fuge.

Cheseboy's plan involves only one baffle, which would mean his pump would have to wind up somewhere awfully inconvenient. If the return pump isn't kept in it's own chamber, then it will be constantly getting clogged with everything from sand to algae to hermit crabs. 
The water coming in from the tank should also ideally go into it's own receiving chamber, in order to prevent dead spots and keep critters sucked down the drain from getting into the main fuge area, but this is optional.

FishermanRob, all you need to envision is a tank with a few pieces of glass mounted in it to serve as partial dividers, not fully blocking the tank from bottom to top. The water flows up over them into the separate chambers the dividing baffles of glass make. I don't have any pics handy, but Cheseboy ( I think ) had been using a pic of his as a signature pic lately.


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## leveldrummer

whoops i got ya now salt, thats exactly what i was gonna do, you were talking about everything in one large tank with no dividers... i thought you meant everything should be in its own tank (seperate) sorry, ill butt out now.


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