silly question regarding herbie method

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
<drum roll> and the silly question is: Does my ATO float still go down in the sump area?

I plumbed my new tank with the herbie method and just fired up the return pump for the first time tonight. Gate valve seems to be dialed in correctly and the level in my overflow is staying constant. But after the gate valve was dialed in I noticed that any additional water added to the display tank stayed there (while I'm used to it displacing the last chamber in the sump). So now I'm wondering if there's anything special I need to do with the ATO with the herbie method.

Can post pics if needed, I'm using a berlin style sump with this new tank and I'm not very familiar with it. Although there are baffles etc. they're not in the same places as my last pro-flex sump and instead of having chambers with different water levels (ATO went in the last chamber with the return pump) this new one is keeping the same water level in the entire sump. The return pump is external, plumbed to the far end of the sump.
 

redneckgearhead

Active Member
Your water evaporation should still show in the last/return chamber of your sump. The baffles will keep the water level the same in the other chambers. So the ATO float will go in the far end of the sump.
 

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
Your water evaporation should still show in the last/return chamber of your sump. The baffles will keep the water level the same in the other chambers. So the ATO float will go in the far end of the sump.

We have a winner!

........... we cut living things into pieces. sheez
 

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
Your water evaporation should still show in the last/return chamber of your sump. The baffles will keep the water level the same in the other chambers. So the ATO float will go in the far end of the sump.

That was exactly what I expected but the baffles are pretty much the opposite of my last sump. There are two movable baffles that are also intended to hold a mechanical filter sponge from the pics I've seen of them online. If I set it up the way I've seen the baffles online the water level in the sump is only about 1/4 full. I want the sump around 50% for two reasons, it quiets down the outflow from the skimmer and I want to continue doing water changes from the sump. If I fill the sump any higher than the lowest baffle at the 25% mark the sump becomes one chamber again.

Here's a pic with the lowest baffle removed and the taller baffle turned upside down so it goes to the bottom of the sump (it has tabs on the other end to raise it off the bottom of the sump)

DSCN0211.jpg


This is pretty much the level I want the middle chamber to be at but now I can't use the other (lower) baffle. I did want to use the other baffle because I intended to have a media rack holding some chemi-pure elite in the place where the mechanical filter usually goes.

In any event this is progress. I could run it like this without the media shelf but I think I'll try to modify the lower baffle. It needs one set of tabs so it doesn't sit on the bottom of the sump and another set of tabs to hold the media shelf.
 
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