Next step ...

Yeah my pump is 700gph but I have it dialed down to like a 1/4 of that with the ball valve. When it's at full capacity the return section of my refugium empties quick and the drain doesn't keep up.

That sounds like you just need more water. How full does the sump get when you turn off the power?

All three sections pretty much fill up skimmer section and refugium get full and return pump Dr tion is like 75% full or so. If I keep adding water it will pump till it overflows the tank.

what size/type of drainage do you have? sounds like you need larger drains and possibly a larger sump

1" drain should be able to handle around 1200gph give or take.

I have 1" drain bulkhead so 1" for that and 3/4 return. Tank is 72g and sump is 20g

Have you checked to make sure the drain line is free of clogs? Maybe something is obstructing the flow.
Does the drain empty into the sump above the sump water line or is the drain line submerged under the water line of the sump?

Nothing in the line it drains good and fast. It drains into the skimmer section about 3-4" above the water line of the sump tank

Does your overflow fill too much or is it just the tank. Im wondering if the overflow is designed for lower flow or if it truly is piping.

Where are you located? Perhaps one of us could come over and take a look at it

As far as your stocking list goes, the clowns can go in no problem. A hippo is completely out of the question without a 6ft long tank that's at least 2ft wide and tall. A yellow tang is also not a great idea but can sometimes work in that size (they will only survive 5-10 years vs 20 in a larger tank). The mandarin is only doable if you have a large refugium in your sump and don't add any other POD scavenging fish (like wrasses excluding fairy) and don't even think about adding a mandarin until the tank is 1.5 to 2 years old. You can add a nem, but need to wait until you have had sucess with lps coral (1-2 years tank maturity) Any of the below fish would work well if you want the focus of the tank to be the clowns and mandarin.

- fairy wrasses
- dartfish
- anthias
- basslets
- cardinalfish
- chromis
- algae blennies
- gobies
- with caution dwarf angels or squirrelfish varieties
- reef safe wrasses (if you don't get a mandarin only)




You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

Thank you for the advice on fish.

and as far as my drain issue goes I can post some pictures. Im goi g to message Nick from here tonight and see if he can help me figure out where I messed up of its on piping or what.

Shoot some pictures up. Im wondering if you need to set up a siphon instead of just a drain

Do you have some kind of filter media, (floss, some kind of bag of media?) When you have a new tank you dont really need any of that. Sometimes itll drain your return section faster then the return and fuge section because the media or sponge that goes in that spot between the sections clogs? Pic would help.

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No filter media yet just trying to get flow right. I also can't upload pictures they are to large ... there's gotta be something I'm missing I have a durso drain with some holes in the T ... and it works but doesn't keep up with the return flow ... Then I did a durso style but solid cap and no holes in the T the vacuum worked good but then made a horrible sucking sound ...

Yeah dursos do make a sucking noise most of the time. Some have had success adding an airline and adjusting bia that but I couldn't tell you how I don't run any dursos

What type of drain do you use?

I run what's called a herbie but you need 2 pipes to achieve this one drain and an emergency.

sounds like the overflow teeth might be the first place to check. if the teeth spacing is to small it will reduce the flow rate. you can also try drilling a hole in the durso cap thats a bit smaller than the outside diameter of some air line tubing. insert a section of tubing in the hole about 1 " and run the the rest up and over the tank so it can draw in air and attach a adjustable valve. this will allow you to create a siphon and control the air that is allowed in to keep the siphon from breaking and in-turn stopping the sucking noise

Yeah can't do a herbie since I only have a 1" drain and 3/4 return ...

yeah I might try that with the air line ... wish I could load pictures from my phone here.