Had to organize sump. Need input

[Nonfamous]

Sorry, didn't know where I should have posted this so here it goes.

Recently I added some Cheato to my sump. No biggie until last night. It seems to have come apart. MANY 1/2" pieces getting pushed around and they got sucked up into my skimmer. Just for a quick guide, my sump is laid out, left to right:

Return pump, baffle, skimmer, baffle, return from tank/cheato/LR.

The outer two sections are the smallest and the center is quite large. That is why the skimmer was there. It was sitting on a 2" Plexiglas box so it would work correctly or, be in the correct depth of water to work correctly. Between the center and return pump sections there is foam so nothing gets sucked up in to the return pump or DT.

My problem lies in that 1. the center section of the sump is now unused. I'm not sure this a real problem, just a serious waste of space. 2. my skimmer must now occupy the same area with the return pump just to keep the cheato out of it. That section is very small and getting the correct water depth, or skimmer height, is a real PITA.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to how to keep the cheato in one area so I can return my skimmer to its previous location, or should the center section be used for something else? Should the macro algae have broken up like that?

Hope I describe this well enough to be understood. If not, let me know and I'll see if I can improve it any!

 

[Northstar24]

if chaeto getting into your skimmer is an issue, why not place it where the water drains from the DT into the sump? That should keep it out of the skimmer, because the baffle will be between the macro and your skimmer

 

[Nonfamous]

The cheap is in the section where the DT return comes in. It broke up and small pieces went under the baffle and into the skimmer section. Not sure what I'm going to do about this yet. I have a few ideas. I must get the skimmer out of the pump section though. I'm getting micro bubbles in the DT.

 

[marcah]

If it was me I would move the skimmer to the first section where the drain line comes in then put any cheato I have in the middle section you mentioned then the return pump section will be alone .. that section doesnt need to be that big just big enough for the pump..

 

[Nonfamous]

Thats a good idea, but presents problems. The drain is plumbed into a cap or lid via a bulkhead fitting. Really no room for the skimmer under it. I am thinking of buying an Eshoppes filter bag holder. The return goes into a filter bag and would eliminate the lid/cap on the return section. I would have to order it though being as they are not sold locally.

 

[wontonflip]

Can you post a picture? Sounds like the chaeto is being beat up from the intake flow thereby shaking loose some strands.

In my previous sump, I had intake w/ skimmer-> triple baffle -> return -> single baffle w/ teeth at the top -> fuge area -- I split the intake so that around 75% went into the first intake section, and 25% went directly into the fuge, which softly tumbled the chaeto. Even if there were stray chaeto strands, they wouldn't get past the baffle's teeth.

 

[Nonfamous]

You are absolutely correct. I have decided to make a drip tray for the drain side. Right now it just dumps in unimpeded. I need to break up the water flow a bit. I'm going to buy a small section of plexiglas tomorrow and drill a series of 1/4" holes to make a drip tray. I just have to do the math to figure how many holes I need and how far apart they need to be.

Does this sound about right?