anyone in Columbus, Ohio?

[ohiobart]

Is there anyone in Columbus,Ohio that would be willing to come look at my tank and give some advice to get it running right? I have a 75 gallon tank and the place I bought it wants 75 bucks an hour to do a house call. Nobody I know is into the hobby and I'm at my wits end trying to get the water to flow the right way. It seems like just when I get close I come home from work and it's all messed up again. (after my anenome got sucked into my powerhead I almost gave up)

 

[fshhub]

what problem(s) are you having, exactly?
what do you mean, about not getting your water to flow properly?

 

[ohiobart]

the return filter is about an inch beneath the water level and when i try to raise it the sump level gets too low and then bubbles fill the tank. When i put a screen inside the return to keep the shrimp from getting sucked into it seemed to change the flow again. i know it's supposed to just be skimming the water but i can't seem to make it work, and it gurgles way loud alkl the time. then sometimes water pushes right up against the bottom of the glass covers. Iy worked right when I first set it up but now I can't figure it out.

 

[broomer5]

ohiobart,
I have a 75 gallon tank too, and live in Ohio, but I don't get down to Columbus too often. Let's see if we can figure it out.
I think I'm understanding your situation, but i have a couple more questions.
Sounds like you have an external hang on the back overflow ??
When you raised the inner box up, you said the sump water level got too low and the return pump started sucking air and creating bubbles ??
That's exactly what one would expect, and it's not too hard to fix.
When you raise the inner box/teeth of the overflow, basically you raised the normal operating water level in the tank. The water level rose.
If the water level in the tank rose - that water had to come from the sump. So the sump level had to drop.
When that happens - the return pump may suck air and shoot bubbles into the display tank.
All you needed to do was add some more mixed/aerated saltwater to the sump.
You'll want to consider what happens when the pump shuts off too - and take some precautionary steps to prevent too much water siphoning back down to the sump.
Under most conditions - if you can see the tank water line when looking at the front of the tank - your tank level is too low.
If the water line is up hitting the glass - it's obviously too high.
Could be too high because your inner box is postioned too high, or it could be that there's a restriction in the overflow. If you see an air bubble in the U tube - then you probably don't have enough return pump flow - enough to force out air bubbles that can accumulate in the U tube. If the tankwater level is equal to the water level in the inner box - you've either got too much pump, or not enough drain.
Anytime we make a change to the pump or the overflow - we can expect a change in the sump level and how the system operates.
What kind of overflow do you have ? Rated flow ?
Are your using a sponge prefilter in the outer box of the overflow ? If so, do you clean it often ( weekly ) ?
What kind of return pump ? Flowrate ?
What size sump ( or is it a wet/dry ) ?
What manufacturer's display tank ?