Placement of equipment?

[Shannono]

I have a 2-chamber sump underneath my aquarium. Here is my question: Is there a specific chamber that I should place my pump in, and a specific chamber where I should place my protein skimmer? Currently the return water from the aquarium runs into the left chamber, where I also have my protein skimmer. The right chamber contains the pump that pumps the water up into the aquarium. I really don't have the room to place both the protein skimmer and the pump in the same chamber, so that is why one piece of equipment is in one chamber and the other piece of equipment is in the other chamber.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[steve-s]

Ideally you want a baffled off area for each piece of water moving equipment. It will greatly reduce the chances of the return pump carrying annoying bubbles back to the main. Looks something like this:

(photo courtesy of RLG2182)

There are more in the user's <<gallery>> that may help you get a better mental picture...

Cheers
Steve

 

[RLG2182]

Look at that... Mr. Steve links to my pics. Kudos to the man.

And yes... you're doing it right. Don't place your skimmer and return pump in the same compartment if you can avoid it. You don't want the chamber that has the skimmer in it to raise and drop in depth as evaporation occurs. I would leave it as is... water draining to first chamber with skimmer, second chamber has the return pump separate. How many chambers is up to you... this is my setup (above) and I'm happy with it. No hassles or worries.