So I'm filling the new tank tonight, and this is the first one I've had with an overflow and wet dry underneath. I see a marker on the wet/dry with 'water level'. Do I just fill the DT up to the overflow and then fill the wet/dry to its water line tape and turn everything on? Can it be that simple? Thanks in advance!
Noon overflow question ALERT
- Thread starter kmcmurtry
- Start date
Noon overflow question ALERT
I recommend testing it to see if the line is actually where you want the water level to be for your setup. Let it run with enough water so the return pump is fully submerged. Then turn off everything, like you had a power loss and watch how much the water level rises in the sump. One it settles, add water up to the highest level you are comfortable with it being. Turn everything back on and then compare the water level to the taped line. If you never exceed the level it goes to at this point, you won't have to worry about flooding your floor if the power goes out.
I recommend testing it to see if the line is actually where you want the water level to be for your setup. Let it run with enough water so the return pump is fully submerged. Then turn off everything, like you had a power loss and watch how much the water level rises in the sump. One it settles, add water up to the highest level you are comfortable with it being. Turn everything back on and then compare the water level to the taped line. If you never exceed the level it goes to at this point, you won't have to worry about flooding your floor if the power goes out.
Thanks for the help everybody! I did manage to get everything going great by about 1 in the morning, lol - it was so loud last night, I got up a couple times sure that it was gushing out onto the floor, but this morning all was well. Must have been a bunch of air in the lines. I did test a power outage and the level is still have the wet/dry when it empties the overflow. Now though, I wish I would have used a 20 gallon tank for my fuge so I could squeeze in a bunch of rock later, but I guess that can be done anytime. The wet/dry has no room for anything with the pump and skimmer in it.
I think it's some type of durso or durso-like standpipe. It's got a U-shaped head with a small short tube sticking up on the top for air and the intake head part has a strainer that sits about 2 inches lower than the DT's surface level. I made sure the air tube hole wasn't clogged. It's still a bit noisy and more so now that I have the eshopps de-balled/converted into a fuge with the drainage running straight down to the eshopps (about a 1-2 inch drop before it hits the surface of the water I think). I plan on seeing if I can squeeze a 20 gallon or so under there at some point instead for more room (chaeto, more live rock etc) so not too worried about it right now. Husband just shuts the bedroom door at night, lol. BTW, if anyone wants all the bio balls I took out (enough for the eshopps for a 75g tank), I'm happy to give them away to whomever needs them.
gotcha. so if you still have noise after changing the sump and dropping the drainage below the sump's surface level (maybe just cut a piece of PVC and add it to do this), you may have too much or not enough return pump flow. trial and error. post more after you change the sump and eliminate the 1-2 inch drop, and people can help you troubleshoot to get the plumbing silent.
I'm afraid to drop the end below the surface level in the sump because I had it that way, sort of laying in the rock, but not blocking flow - it was quieter but then the end that connects to the drain bulkhead on the bottom of the tank developed a little crack at the seam and started dripping down into the stand. Thankfully, the eshopps hose had the same connector at both ends, so I just switched it around and the cracked end is now in the sump, but I was reading that it's recommended to keep the drain into the sump above the surface of the water or it can create back pressure which maybe helped that original seam crack develop on the drain hose. I'm afraid I will cause that again if I stick the hose back under the surface. Thoughts?
Interesting, never heard that on back pressure, but makes sense. I have mine PVC hard plumbed from bottom of tank into sump, so maybe the back pressure is only an issue on flexible tubing.
You could hard plumb it with PVC (not hard at all, could talk you through if you post a pic of your bulkhead)...or if you don't want to do that...you could let the return flow hit something that dissipates the water before it drops into the sump water level (filter sock, angled piece of plastic, etc).
If you hard plumb it, there is much much much lower risk of any leaks, hosing sliding off (yikes), etc.
Maybe someone else has better suggestion (or idea regarding the back pressure)...
You could hard plumb it with PVC (not hard at all, could talk you through if you post a pic of your bulkhead)...or if you don't want to do that...you could let the return flow hit something that dissipates the water before it drops into the sump water level (filter sock, angled piece of plastic, etc).
If you hard plumb it, there is much much much lower risk of any leaks, hosing sliding off (yikes), etc.
Maybe someone else has better suggestion (or idea regarding the back pressure)...
How much water is flowing through the tubing going from the overflow to the sump (in other words, how "full of water" is that tube)? I kinda get the backpressure theory...but the only issue with that is that any pressure should be relieved by the hole at the top of the durso pipe. I'm definitely new to running a sump...but my overflow has a pair of 1" vinyl tubes running from the bottom of the overflow box into the tank with the ends submerged. I even stuck a media bag with carbon on the end of one of the tubes as a temporary solution til I get my carbon reactor running, and the flow isn't restricted in the tube from what I can tell, and it's whisper quiet (thanks to someone else's plumbing skills 
)
Both of my vinyl tubes going into the sump have a "stream" of water running down them, but neither are completely filled with water running through them. If the latter was true, then I could see backpressure being an issue...but if you have air in the tube and a large enough hole in the top of the durso, then I can't see that being the problem. Is it possible that the size of your tubing can't keep up with the flow? That would definitely cause some noise and backpressure...and if the tubing is too small then it's possible the vent at the top can't keep up enough to relieve the pressure and kill the noise.
)Both of my vinyl tubes going into the sump have a "stream" of water running down them, but neither are completely filled with water running through them. If the latter was true, then I could see backpressure being an issue...but if you have air in the tube and a large enough hole in the top of the durso, then I can't see that being the problem. Is it possible that the size of your tubing can't keep up with the flow? That would definitely cause some noise and backpressure...and if the tubing is too small then it's possible the vent at the top can't keep up enough to relieve the pressure and kill the noise.