Overflow siphon lost

zbrook1 · 05/19/2007, 05:49 AM

Okay...I have a Eshopps PF-1200 overflow with two 1 inch bulkheads and two 1 inch U-tupes on a 75 with 20 gal sump. Im runnig it through a dry run(just fresh water) to make sure everything is okay before I add expensive salt. My problem is one of the U-tubes after a while of running seems to gather bubbles at the top and slowly loses siphon leaving only one to do most of the work. Will this change with salt water do to surface tension of the water? The U-tube is air tight.(no pin holes or such) and both ends are in the water the same length as the other.

sjm817 · 05/19/2007, 06:53 AM

How much flow do you have? If one U Tube will handle all the flow, you are better off running it that way.

harrisagogetter · 05/19/2007, 07:52 AM

What size tank so you have? Maybe you could just drill it and get a reef ready. buy a mega-flow and go from there. After having one I would never use anything else.

sjm817 · 05/19/2007, 08:05 AM

You dont need to go through all that. You can run a HOB overflow perfectly reliably as long as it is set up correctly.

datablitz · 05/19/2007, 08:12 AM

it sounds like you dont have enough flow for that overflow, you should either try using a larger return pump, or taking one of the tubes out. you want to have enough flow through the tunes that air bubbles get sucked all the way through. you usually want 500-600 gph per tube. i have a mag12 running a tank with a dual tube overflow, and it works perfectly.

down and outman · 05/19/2007, 08:47 AM

Before you go drilling a tank make sure it's not tempered! LOL! I thought only the bottom was tempered on a 55 I tried drilling. BOOM. that's why I upgraded to a 90 Reef Ready.

zbrook1 · 05/20/2007, 06:54 PM

Thanks folks.....Im sorry I forgot to mention that the return pump is a Mag 9.5 but there is a ball valve in the return line that I closed slightly to reduce the flow(wide open seemed to be too much)...the 9.5 is just a little much for this tank I think(thanks to LFS advice) But I am using only one U-tube at this reduced flow and it seems to be working fine so far. Im sure that was the problem...not enough flow through the overflow.

datablitz · 05/20/2007, 07:22 PM

glad to hear you got it working better.

05/19/2007, 05:49 AM	#1
zbrook1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Bemus Point,NY Posts: 200	Overflow siphon lost Okay...I have a Eshopps PF-1200 overflow with two 1 inch bulkheads and two 1 inch U-tupes on a 75 with 20 gal sump. Im runnig it through a dry run(just fresh water) to make sure everything is okay before I add expensive salt. My problem is one of the U-tubes after a while of running seems to gather bubbles at the top and slowly loses siphon leaving only one to do most of the work. Will this change with salt water do to surface tension of the water? The U-tube is air tight.(no pin holes or such) and both ends are in the water the same length as the other.

05/19/2007, 06:53 AM	#2
sjm817 On Yer left! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 18,777	How much flow do you have? If one U Tube will handle all the flow, you are better off running it that way. __________________ - Scott

05/19/2007, 08:05 AM	#4
sjm817 On Yer left! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 18,777	You dont need to go through all that. You can run a HOB overflow perfectly reliably as long as it is set up correctly. __________________ - Scott

05/19/2007, 08:47 AM	#6
down and outman Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: LaGrange GA Posts: 480	Before you go drilling a tank make sure it's not tempered! LOL! I thought only the bottom was tempered on a 55 I tried drilling. BOOM. that's why I upgraded to a 90 Reef Ready. __________________ " There you go, Lad. Keep as cool as you can. Face piles of trials with smiles..." Moody Blues (Thanks Homegrown for keeping me straight!) Current Tank Info: 90Gal AGA, 25 g sump, Mag 7, Koralia 4's

05/19/2007, 07:52 AM	#3
harrisagogetter Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 226	What size tank so you have? Maybe you could just drill it and get a reef ready. buy a mega-flow and go from there. After having one I would never use anything else.

05/19/2007, 08:12 AM	#5
datablitz Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Blacklick, Ohio Posts: 347	it sounds like you dont have enough flow for that overflow, you should either try using a larger return pump, or taking one of the tubes out. you want to have enough flow through the tunes that air bubbles get sucked all the way through. you usually want 500-600 gph per tube. i have a mag12 running a tank with a dual tube overflow, and it works perfectly.

05/20/2007, 06:54 PM	#7
zbrook1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Bemus Point,NY Posts: 200	Thanks folks.....Im sorry I forgot to mention that the return pump is a Mag 9.5 but there is a ball valve in the return line that I closed slightly to reduce the flow(wide open seemed to be too much)...the 9.5 is just a little much for this tank I think(thanks to LFS advice) But I am using only one U-tube at this reduced flow and it seems to be working fine so far. Im sure that was the problem...not enough flow through the overflow.

05/20/2007, 07:22 PM	#8
datablitz Moved On Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Blacklick, Ohio Posts: 347	glad to hear you got it working better.