Water Level in Sump

[ToniYo]

Is there any way to approximate what the water level will need to be in a sump? The tank is a 180 with dual overflows, dart return and a sump that is 30X15X20 no baffles. I have an ETSS 600 xr skimmer that will be external to the sump and I need to drill a hole for the return and it needs to be at or above the water level. To assure consistancy, I think it should be above any point of fluctuation in the water level. Any input would be appreciated as am rapidly losing what little sanity I have left in this upgrade process.

[Entropy]

I would come in from the top on the return instead of through any of the sides. This will give you the full height of the sump. Basically you have to determine how much water will drain from the tank if (when :( ) the power goes off. You also need to figure how much evaporation you have to deal with (assuming no auto topoff) before the return pump starts sucking air. You want the water level higher than the pump intake at all times, but lower than how full it will get if the power goes out. If you must go through the side, I would go as high up as possible.

[ToniYo]

I wish I could go over the top but there is limited space and the skimmer specs require that the outlet be at or above the sump water level. I just didn't know if there was some way to approximate the max. I have created a stand for the skimmer that will raise it to the maximum height for the stand and will drill the hole there.

[Entropy]

That should work best. At least give you the max amount of space in your sump just in case. You can always add a baffle inside to keep the skimmer return from splashing if it is too high, or just put a elbow on the inside to direct the water down.

[ToniYo]

Thanks Rich!

[Shaun120]

You could also try using the "Sump Volume Calc" listed under the Calculators on the RC home page. Might give you an added level of security.

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/sump.php

[ShapeGSX]

You can have different water levels in your sump if you use baffles correctly.

For instance, you can lower the water level where your skimmer output is by having it be in the same area as your return pump input (separated by some lower baffles, of course).

I'm a big fan of automatic water top off systems, so that tends to eliminate the evap/return pump issue.