overflow

[Bens_Reef]

is there a good way to get your overflow line to quit making the sucking sound?

i am using a 1 inch drain line with a sicce 3.0 return pump turned almost all the way down

[Southreef]

Maybe increase the size of the hole?

[CamelY0]

What type of overflow method are you using? If its the usual Durso Standpipe, I would recommend adding to your plumbing. You can try to stop the sucking sound by not letting the water free fall into the sump. Install a pipe so that the water enters the sump under the water level and see if that helps.

[Bens_Reef]

i have a 1 inch pvc thats straight into a bulkhead with a 90 degree angle at the top water level, the return pump i have is adjustable and almost at the lowest setting.

i had the plumbing going directly into the sump but it was making alot of bubbles so i shortened it

[CamelY0]

Well then I'd take Southreef's advice and drill a bigger hole into your standpipe. The water level in the overflow should be above the area where the standpipe takes the water in. If it is level with the entrance of the pipe, you will get a gargling noise. If you can cover the hole on the standpipe with your finger and the water in the overflow doesnt siphon quicker, your standpipe air hole is too small. You can always drill a hole bigger than necessary, then put a little piece of tubing threw the hole with an air valve attached to the end to regulate the speed of siphon (not to much tubing though because if for some reason the water rises higher than your standpipe, the water itself will cover the airhole, creating a quicker siphon, which will keep you from getting in trouble).

[Bens_Reef]

ok, im not sure what a standpipe is or how it works. all i have is just a 1 inch pvc and the water overflows into it. i bought it at the hardware. i saw the picture from the link in the previous post and mine does not look like that. its just a straight pipe.

do i need some kind of air breathing apparatus attached to it below the water level?

im not grasping exactly what needs to happen here

[CamelY0]

oh, haha you should probably build this then. It literally takes like 5 mins to build (and less than 10 bucks) and you do not need to use glue or anything because its in your overflow where water wont leak to unwanted areas. A quick trip to lowes or home depot and youll find everything you need. Using a lone, open pipe is why your getting so much noise. You cannot regulate the airflow in your system. You can also search the forums for "herbie" or "beananimal" for other ways to silence the overflow but I believe the standpipe is the easiest for first timers.

[Bens_Reef]

that looks pretty simple, thank you. will that still work since my tank does not have an overflow box or anything, it will be siphoning straight from my tank

[CamelY0]

the pipe is for drilled tanks

[Bens_Reef]

ok, thank you very much. that is exactly what i have. i appreciate all the help.

[Bens_Reef]

ok, i added the parts to my 1 inch drain line, it is working so far. still a little noisy so i will probably add some tubing so i can stick it behind my tank.

now my water level in my return portion of my sump and my DT are fluctuating. is this normal or is there something else i can do to get a normal flow so my float valve will work properly for my ATO

[CamelY0]

I do not understand where your problem lies. The bigger the hole the faster the siphon of water. You need to regulate the siphon into a constant flow. You said your return is adjustable, your just going to need to play around with the amount of air going into the pipe while adjusting your pump. The Durso should be silent if the water level is a little bit above where the water enters the pipe. One last thing, the Durso doesn't have a specific size pipe it needs to be but the upper 2/3s of the pipe should be thicker than than part leading to your bulkhead. If your bulkhead is 1", the body of your Durso should be an inch and a quarter or bigger. I made mine as big as I could fit which then leads into a smaller pipe that leads into the bulkhead.

[Bens_Reef]

ok, there are several poblems i have then, i am using the 1 inch all the way up so i need to change that and my water level is too high on the durso, so i will add some tubing to it to get it out of the water some more. i will try those 2 things and see how it goes.

thank you again

[Bens_Reef]

ok so, i have changed durso size to 1.5 inch and adjusted the level of it and it is quiet at the DT side but lots of bubbles in the sump that is noisy.(not enough to annoy me) still way too much fluctuation for my ATO (around an inch, sometimes up to 2) this is in my return section of my sump and maybe 1/4 inch in my DT. getting very frustrated with this setup. any suggestions on how i can fix this would be appreciated. im beginning to this that maybe this setup wont work with it siphoning directly from my DT without an overflow box in it

[CamelY0]

your just going to have to play with the regulation, youll get it. I feel like you're restricting your return pump to much. What i usually do is start with the pump at full blast. If the water siphons as fast as the pump can put water up, i would leave it like that. (as long as the flow isn't going to hurt anything - seahorses, some corals)

[Bens_Reef]

i have my return pump at full blast (714 GPH) with it pushing aprox. 6 feet to the DT. if its at full siphon (not air regulated) the pump cant keep up with the flow.

what seems to be happening is it goes into siphon untill the water level in the DT is too low to keep it siphoning and it goes into an "overflow like" flow. it slows and the pump fills the DT back to a level where the durso can prime itself to siphon again.

it take around 30 seconds to complete this fluctuation cycle.

ive made a second hole in the durso cap which has helped (maybe .5 to 1 inch of fluctuation) so i dont know if i need to continue to make it bigger until the fluctuation stops.

the water level in the DT is staying near half way up the "T" on the durso.

im still curious as to where the evaporation is going to be noticed from

[CamelY0]

Why not try to install an air valve on the durso like this guy did. look for the a valve that will allow you to make a hole much bigger than you need, then you can just dial down untill your system works correctly. Don't worry, you'll get it perfect if you keep playing with it. When you fist get into this hobby, everything can be fustrating. Once you get more experience, you'll laugh at the mistakes your making now.