Plumbing issue...gurgling in sump. Please help

sscheitel · 03/25/2006, 07:34 PM

I have an AGA drilled 90 gallon tank with a model 3 megaflow sump. A mag950 pump with 8 feet of head pressure.

the tank is my living room and the sump is in the basement.

I have soft 1 1/4" pvc going to the sump in a vertical drop with several slight curves. There does not seem to be a siphon issue....but i'm still getting a surge gurgling noise in the sump every 2 minutes or so. rumble, rumble and goooossshhhh...

I have tried several fixes...

drilling a bigger hole in the durso, nope

tee'ing off the bulkhead with a tee to a vertical pipe to vent the line, nope

adjusting the durso pipe up and down...this was the close..the further down I adjusted the worst the surge got. To the point where the level of water in the overflow would bouce up and down.

I am frustrated and do not know where to turn.

Looking to get this resolved today so any help would be gr8 !

Thanks in advance for your guidance.

Thanks

doox00 · 03/25/2006, 07:37 PM

make sure the end of the drain line in the sump is not more than an inch or so under water, else it will cause a flushing effect. Check this once.

sscheitel · 03/25/2006, 07:40 PM

do you mean the pipe inside the sump?

should I lift that an inch or so up? so that it does not touch the bottom of the sump?

thanks

doox00 · 03/25/2006, 07:43 PM

yep, the drain line from the overflow to the sump, make sure its not on the bottom of the sump, make it barely below the surface of the water in the sump, else it surges/flushes

sscheitel · 03/25/2006, 07:48 PM

I am sorry for my ignorance....
I do not fully understand.

I have the tubing from the bulkhead running to the sump via a clamp fitting on the top of my sump tank. See the link below for a picture of the sump I have.

http://www.all-glass.com/products/fe.../megaflowsump/

What do I physically lift out? The PVC tubing or the actual pipe inside the sump.

thanks again for your help.

doox00 · 03/25/2006, 07:59 PM

I just have a aga 30g aquarium that I baffled out to use as my sump, so I am not sure how the aga sump works..

you have your line coming from the 90g tank down into your sump, your drain line, this is the line I am referring to. make sure the end of that line is not under water in your sump more than an inch or so, else it will make your overflow in your tank surge/flush. I just went through this same problem a couple weeks ago, I just setup my first 90g megaflow tank.

If that line is not under water (the end/opening where the water drains from) then I am not sure what would be causing the surge, but from what I have read either the line under water will cause it or you have to much flow, meaning your return pump is pumping more than your overflow can handle. (which I also had a problem with). I had to make my return line from my mag 9.5 T off, so part of the return went back into the intake of the sump, and the rest go back to the main tank.

03/25/2006, 07:34 PM	#1
sscheitel Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 19	Plumbing issue...gurgling in sump. Please help I have an AGA drilled 90 gallon tank with a model 3 megaflow sump. A mag950 pump with 8 feet of head pressure. the tank is my living room and the sump is in the basement. I have soft 1 1/4" pvc going to the sump in a vertical drop with several slight curves. There does not seem to be a siphon issue....but i'm still getting a surge gurgling noise in the sump every 2 minutes or so. rumble, rumble and goooossshhhh... I have tried several fixes... drilling a bigger hole in the durso, nope tee'ing off the bulkhead with a tee to a vertical pipe to vent the line, nope adjusting the durso pipe up and down...this was the close..the further down I adjusted the worst the surge got. To the point where the level of water in the overflow would bouce up and down. I am frustrated and do not know where to turn. Looking to get this resolved today so any help would be gr8 ! Thanks in advance for your guidance. Thanks

03/25/2006, 07:37 PM	#2
doox00 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Michigan Posts: 928	make sure the end of the drain line in the sump is not more than an inch or so under water, else it will cause a flushing effect. Check this once.

03/25/2006, 07:40 PM	#3
sscheitel Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 19	do you mean the pipe inside the sump? should I lift that an inch or so up? so that it does not touch the bottom of the sump? thanks

03/25/2006, 07:43 PM	#4
doox00 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Michigan Posts: 928	yep, the drain line from the overflow to the sump, make sure its not on the bottom of the sump, make it barely below the surface of the water in the sump, else it surges/flushes

03/25/2006, 07:48 PM	#5
sscheitel Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 19	I am sorry for my ignorance.... I do not fully understand. I have the tubing from the bulkhead running to the sump via a clamp fitting on the top of my sump tank. See the link below for a picture of the sump I have. http://www.all-glass.com/products/fe.../megaflowsump/ What do I physically lift out? The PVC tubing or the actual pipe inside the sump. thanks again for your help.

03/25/2006, 07:59 PM	#6
doox00 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: West Michigan Posts: 928	I just have a aga 30g aquarium that I baffled out to use as my sump, so I am not sure how the aga sump works.. you have your line coming from the 90g tank down into your sump, your drain line, this is the line I am referring to. make sure the end of that line is not under water in your sump more than an inch or so, else it will make your overflow in your tank surge/flush. I just went through this same problem a couple weeks ago, I just setup my first 90g megaflow tank. If that line is not under water (the end/opening where the water drains from) then I am not sure what would be causing the surge, but from what I have read either the line under water will cause it or you have to much flow, meaning your return pump is pumping more than your overflow can handle. (which I also had a problem with). I had to make my return line from my mag 9.5 T off, so part of the return went back into the intake of the sump, and the rest go back to the main tank.