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05/29/2007, 10:00 AM | #1 |
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Davenport, IA
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Plumbing Drains into the skimmer...will this work??
Hi
I asked this in the equipment forum with little response so I thought I would bring it here.... I am having an issue with junk building up in my sump thus I believe feeding some hair algae problems. Please look at the cross section below and tell me if it will work.... My return pump from the sump to the tank is an Iwasaki 40 RXLT at 4' of head. The skimmer is powered by a Sequence wahoo pump. The skimmer is a single beckett Trigger systems TS300. My goal is to have all of the drain water coming to the sump be drawn into the skimmer which will reduce the build up of junk in the Sump.... I believe that by leaving the end of the manifold open the skimmer pump can get additional water so it is not starved and....if the skimmer is off the drain water can exit out that same end. Think it will work? here is my basic drawing. Thanks ein |
05/29/2007, 12:09 PM | #2 |
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Shamless bump....
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05/29/2007, 01:37 PM | #3 |
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Seems to me like it should work, you will most likely get more of the water from drain one then from drain two depending on how much the skimmer pulls.
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05/29/2007, 02:14 PM | #4 |
Moved On
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Location: Gainesville
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I am going to be doing the same thing with a recirculating skimmer. I will have two overflows; and oine of the overflows will feed the skimmer. I decided on two so that i could still have a good amount of water flowing through the sump.
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05/29/2007, 08:21 PM | #5 |
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Location: southern CT
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I did something similar. The problem I ran into was that my drain was pulling air down with it and the air got sucked into the skimmer pump reducing the efficiency. When the system is fine tuned so no air is coming in, it works like a charm. Not sure if you'd run into the same issue with that setup.
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05/29/2007, 09:30 PM | #6 |
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IMO.... it seems like it would work .
My only concern would be the suction at the overflow may be increased too much , pulling in too much air and possibly causing cavitation in the pump. ?? Another option might be, if you have enough room at the base of your pump you could add 2 bulkheads one for an input from the overflow and another for your pump to draw from ( recirculating beckett).
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MarK Current Tank Info: 36x24x24 |
05/30/2007, 09:31 AM | #7 |
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Well I put it together and it is drawing way to much air to the skimmer pump....
I need a different way to feed my overflow water to the skimmer... I am using megaflow / Durso standpipes and I dont see how I can eliminate air coming down the drains without causing a siphon. Now my system is in pieces and no solution.... Please...anyone have ideas? thanks ein |
05/30/2007, 10:57 AM | #8 |
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I'm by no means an expert on the subject but this is what I did, and I yet can't tell you how well it works, but from what I've read here I thought it made sense.
Instead of a durso I went with a Hofer which should allow me to control the flow volume down the stand pipe a little better. I also put in a tee with a ball valve to my refugium just in case of too much flow directly to the recirculating Octopus 150. With this combo I think I can adjust the flow to the skimmer, control the flow down the pipe, and still have a slow flow through the refugium. |
05/30/2007, 12:15 PM | #9 |
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My Sequence Wahoo draws more water for the skimmer than what is coming down the overflows...that's why I left the far end open, so it could draw the additional water it needed. Unfortunately that's not happening...the end opening is just letting out some of the air from the returns.
I need to think of something soon.... ein |
05/30/2007, 12:19 PM | #10 |
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Use a micron filter bag over the drain line to the sump--that will clean up the tank and sump quite nicely
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I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock |
05/30/2007, 12:45 PM | #11 |
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Thkx Capn
I was hoping to get away from the bags...but its not looking good at this point. I am wondering how others who dont use the filter socks deal with waste build-up in their sumps? ein |
05/30/2007, 03:37 PM | #12 |
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I have both my drains going into a DIY 8" skimmer in the sump. The ball valve is used to allow some water to bypass the skimmer, otherwise there will be too much flow through the skimmer.
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05/30/2007, 03:50 PM | #13 |
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Forgot to mention, the drains flow sideways into a T. The bottom of the T is connected to the unions. The top of the T extends several inches up to allow for air to escape. The air vents then come together and point down the side of the skimmer, in case there is a rush that the skimmer can't handle. Water level in the skimmer is maintained by the h pipe.
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