Help with "vintage" SWC sump with integral skimmer. Flow direction? Drain/return locations?

[Richard ML]

Hello,

I've posted this in the general hardware/filtration forum, so I hope I am not breaking any rules by posting here to get more eyes on it.

I just got a great deal on this SWC acrylic sump with a bunch of chambers including a very simple built-in needlewheel skimmer.
Hoping for some help figuring out how it's supposed to be plumbed. Drains in different chambers? Same chamber? I'm not too sure. Where is the return supposed to go, etc.

Note that pics are just after I got it. Much cleaner now

Note that the chamber marked as return is walled off on the right from the skimmer pump section. Also, the skimmer pump section is connected to the "post-skimmer" section by a slot in the baffle between two sections of the bubble trap.

I'd just like to be absolutely certain how to plumb it before I remove my current sump, as I'd rather not have livestock waiting for filtration while I redo the plumbing 3 times. How would y'all set this up?

 

[BlennyTime]

I’m going to guess the bottom right chamber is where the drains go, the top right is a built in skimmer. The gray fitting into that chamber is where the skimmer pump connects. The 3 baffles together next to the skimmer are a bubble trap. The next chamber (middle on top) is for corse media that won’t fit through the slots, like bio balls. The next chamber (top left) is for reactors since it will be constant height. The bottom left chamber is for ATO, then the final bottom middle chamber is for the return pumps. But that’s just a guess, based on the heights of the different baffles.

 

[Richard ML]

I’m going to guess the bottom right chamber is where the drains go, the top right is a built in skimmer. The gray fitting into that chamber is where the skimmer pump connects. The 3 baffles together next to the skimmer are a bubble trap. The next chamber (middle on top) is for corse media that won’t fit through the slots, like bio balls. The next chamber (top left) is for reactors since it will be constant height. The bottom left chamber is for ATO, then the final bottom middle chamber is for the return pumps. But that’s just a guess, based on the heights of the different baffles.

I thought so too, but I filled it up outside and it looks like it's the other way around!

The skimmer doesn't make great bubbles on tap water. Hope it works a bit better with the nutrient rich saltwater of my tank.

The pump, an Octopus OTP-3000, which I believe is pre-Reef Octopus, is loud as a fridge. The magnet has zero wear marks on it though, so I'll probably just run it on a timer overnight if it works well enough. Budget build and what have you.

Thanks for the reply!