Bad beginning and fuge/sump questions

inawe

inawe

Member
Upgrading to my new 75g drilled tank has been a nightmare! My first mistake was not double checking the bulkheads
. After filling the entire tank, I discovered a leak and had to drain the entire tank and clean up the mess. Fixed the problem and refilled. Turned on the pump in the fuge and the force of the water coming in splashed water hard enough that the top pushed up and water was coming out of the back. The space is so narrow, no plumbing fittings to make a downspout will fit, so to fix this problem I put in a piece of filter floss on top of the balls. Thought I had it fixed...wrong. Last night aroung midnight, after running for about 24 hours, the noise changed and upon checking, I found the floss had slipped and it was coming out the back again
. Another clean-up, taped the top down, and couldn't go back to sleep for a LONG time.
Questions...
1) Is there a better way to deflect the force of the incoming water? If it makes a difference, the fuge/sump is a Proclear for 75/90g tank. The incoming water comes in from the side and is hitting the wall which is about
1 1/2 in front. The pump is a Mag Drive 9.5.
2) The LFS said I need to put calurpa and LR rubble in the fuge. Is that it? If so, exactly what is doing the filtering? I totally understand canister filters bacause all the water going through them goes through various filter media packs. I don't fully understand the sump/fuge
. Plus, the first time I filled the tank, I placed a plate on top of the sand to act as a spash board and when I finished, the water was clear. The second time, after adding my "muddy mess" first, then the water, it was NOT clear. I let it just sit for a day or so before turning on the pump and most did settle, but since turning on the pump, there are still particles floating. And I don't understand how it will clear without any obvious filter to go through. I've not set up my skimmer yet. Will that help?
I know everyone says the drilled tank with sump/fuge is the best way to go, but right now I am not seeing it and my little 37g with its canister filter is looking pretty good
.
Thanks
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
First off do you have a digital camera? I would like to see your set up and it sure would help.
the force of the water coming in splashed water hard enough that the top pushed up and water was coming out of the back
Are you talking about the water coming into the DT? One way to slow down the flow into the tank is to put a valve on the OUTLET side of the pump. Then you can throttle down the flow. Also as far as diverting the flow, I have my pipe going over the top of my tank with a threaded 90 fitting at the top. Then I can change where the slow goes into my tank.
HTH
Scott
 
inawe

inawe

Member
I've been working most of the day to figure out how to post pics. I took some good pics, but as far as I can get with them is the place they go on the computer (not a computer wizard here). If I ever get this figured out, I'll post.
As for the force of the flow, I was talking about the water coming into my sump. Hindsight is always 20/20...most of the diagrams/pics I see on here have the waterline from the overflow in the DT going straight down into the top of the sump rather than on the side like mine. Maybe I can seal up that hole, drill a hole in the top of the cover in go straight down.
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
I would love to see those pictures. There are two things you could try. Either use whatever photo software you have (probably came with the camera) and change the photo size to 500 x 500 pixels. It is probably in the properties area for the picture. Or go to photobucket dot com and open an account there. This will ask you to load your pictures and you locate the pictures on your computer. Then there are 3 lines you can use, copy the line titled "IMG code" on to this site and you will get a picture like this.
 
inawe

inawe

Member
OMG! I think I did it!!!
Now I'll have to copy your post Scotts so I can do it again!!!
Anyway...as you can see...zillions of micro bubbles on left side. Most go away by the time they get to the right side, but when the pump gets them, they multiply and get spit back into DT. It has been suggested that one possible cause is that where the water is going into the fuge tank is actually above the water line. Because of the space, I cannot get any other fitting in there in order to get the pipe below the water level.
Note...the pic looks like the water comes in from the top, but that is a marble bookend I put there to try to keep the top from pushing up letting water escape! It didn't work! The water actually comes in from the side, about 2 inches down from the top.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
Originally Posted by Scotts
I would love to see those pictures. There are two things you could try. Either use whatever photo software you have (probably came with the camera) and change the photo size to 500 x 500 pixels. It is probably in the properties area for the picture. Or go to photobucket dot com and open an account there. This will ask you to load your pictures and you locate the pictures on your computer. Then there are 3 lines you can use, copy the line titled "IMG code" on to this site and you will get a picture like this.

only thing i can add to this is to click edit and resize it to webboard sizing so you don't overfill the screen like this photo is doing.
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
Ren, I agree with you, I did not want to go too fast because InAwe ws having troubles posting pictures to begin with, one step at a time.
InAwe, I have some thoughts on your bubble problem, but I do not feel 100% in my ability to try to explain to you what I think is going on. I would recommend you posting this problem and your pictures in the equipment/DIY section of this board. There are some people that hang out there that might be able to help you better than me.
Scott
 
weberian

weberian

Member
If your sump is letting bubbles through the bubble-trap, then you have too much flow. You could get a bigger sump, or you could cut down your flow by installing a ball valve after the pump, with a tee before the ball valve directing the excess flow back into the return pump area.
Also, you could try installing a large rectangular sponge inside the bubble trap. It would have to be completely wide enough so that no water could go around the sponge - all water would have to flow thru the sponge, thereby dissipating the bubbles.
 
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