Need Help

carhockeyguy · 01/30/2009, 08:30 AM

I have a quietflo 600 overflow and a Mag Drive 7 return pump started the siphon last night and it seemed like the overflow was flowing more water then the mag drive was returning back to the tank. Can that be possible? the only thing i dont have on the overflow is the prefilter sponge. Does that matter? does it slow the flow at all? I could watch the water level rise in the sump ever so slowly should i just take some of the water out of the sump and try it again?

IslandCrow · 01/30/2009, 08:49 AM

That's exactly the way it should work. You always want your overflow to have a greater flow rate than your return pump. I'm not familiar with that exact overflow, but basically, when the water in the display tank gets down to a certain level, it will stop overflowing. At that point, you're only going to overflow at the rate the return pump is moving the water back into the tank. If the water level in the sump is getting too high, then yes, you will want to remove some water from the system. Basically, you want the sump to be able to hold as much water as the overflow would drain even if the return pump is not running. This will make sure you don't end up with a flood if you lose power.

I hope that made sense. As for the prefilter sponge, you can leave that off. I think most people agree that they just tend to cause problems, especially if they start getting clogged up.

carhockeyguy · 01/30/2009, 08:58 AM

That makes sense now i got it. I just need to take some water out and let it run. It will then even out correct? thanks for the help that makes sense.

01/30/2009, 08:30 AM	#1
carhockeyguy Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: USA Posts: 134	Need Help I have a quietflo 600 overflow and a Mag Drive 7 return pump started the siphon last night and it seemed like the overflow was flowing more water then the mag drive was returning back to the tank. Can that be possible? the only thing i dont have on the overflow is the prefilter sponge. Does that matter? does it slow the flow at all? I could watch the water level rise in the sump ever so slowly should i just take some of the water out of the sump and try it again?

01/30/2009, 08:49 AM	#2
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	That's exactly the way it should work. You always want your overflow to have a greater flow rate than your return pump. I'm not familiar with that exact overflow, but basically, when the water in the display tank gets down to a certain level, it will stop overflowing. At that point, you're only going to overflow at the rate the return pump is moving the water back into the tank. If the water level in the sump is getting too high, then yes, you will want to remove some water from the system. Basically, you want the sump to be able to hold as much water as the overflow would drain even if the return pump is not running. This will make sure you don't end up with a flood if you lose power. I hope that made sense. As for the prefilter sponge, you can leave that off. I think most people agree that they just tend to cause problems, especially if they start getting clogged up. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?

01/30/2009, 08:58 AM	#3
carhockeyguy Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: USA Posts: 134	That makes sense now i got it. I just need to take some water out and let it run. It will then even out correct? thanks for the help that makes sense.