ball valve help!!!!!

jobob

jobob

Member
well im ready to kill myself. lol i cant take this anymore. its been about 8hrs now. i cant get the flow to the fuge right?? i have one overflow and im Ting the flow to a sump and a fuge. and i have 2 different size pumps. and i have a ball valve on the return from the fuge(smaller pump). and one after the T to the fuge. ive been trying to get the flow to each of them right but i just cant get it right?? any ideas? im thinkin about getting a overflow for the fuge, do u think that will help??? or just keep messing with the ball valves?
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
I doubt you'll ever be able to "time" pumps so they'll work together. Its always best in my opinion to pump to the fuge and allow the fuge to gravity return to the sump......matching flow rates from two pumps can be a nightmare.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
It is near impossible to match two pump flows like that. I agree with NM... save yourself a lot of headaches and get a gravity feed from the refuge back to the tank.
 
jobob

jobob

Member
the only way that will work is if i have the fuge above the sump or the main tank. and i have metal halides so the top of the canopy gets a little warm. so i cant put it up there. i think i got it. its been running for about 6hrs. and i think its working. lol i know most pumps lose some flow after a while. but i took the fuge pump from my sea horse tank and put the new one on there. so i think its already "lost its flow". hopefully it will work. so u guys dont think a seperate overflow for the fuge would make a diference??? im thinking it would only take as much water as it pumps into the tank. i think i got an idea. since i cant drill the sump or fuge. (well i could but i dont wanna take the whole thing apart).lol i was thinkin about useing a overflow box and push the sump and fuge together. so i one side of the overflow is in each tank. kinda like this. or should i just drain all the water to the fuge?? and have one pump in the sump???
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
There's a few different ways you can do it. One, place the refuge a little higher than the sump and have it gravity feed to the sump. You could also put the refuge beside the tank and gravity feed to the sump. You REALLY need the output of the refuge to be gravity feed...
If you save the drawing as a jpeg file you can post it!!
Here's how I have mine setup... the pic of the tank is over 3-years old but it shows the refuge sitting next to the tank.

 
latino277

latino277

Member
???? just a thought... if you have the fuge and sump close enough... and you keep the water level high enough in the fuge.... you can just siphon it back to the sump???
 
jobob

jobob

Member
that would work reefnut, but i have a 55gal, and only 10in wide in the stand. so im kinda stuck on useing 2x 10gal. one for sump one for fuge.
latino277 i was thinkin about doin that. but since takiing them both out and drilling them is to much trouble i think im goin to try to use a overflow box and "hook them together". heres a pic.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Originally Posted by jobob
i think im goin to try to use a overflow box and "hook them together". heres a pic.
That would work. The refuge will need to be a few inches higher than the sump. I started with a similar setup on my 110g. It ran ok but then I decided to get a larger refuge.
Originally Posted by jobob
or i could just have one drain to the fuge??? and move the live rock to the fuge.
The refuge will need a slower flow than the sump.
fwiw, a 20g will fit under a 55g tank as long as the back opening is wide enough... my 20g refuge/sump sticks out a couple inches out the back of the stand but it is sturdy.
 
golfish

golfish

Active Member
forget the overflow box from the fuge to the sump and just connect then using a 1.5" bulkhead.
 
jobob

jobob

Member
golfish, i was thinking that. but i would have to drain the sump and fuge, remove them. drill, and replace. (to much trouble) so i did the overflow box connecting them. its workin great.
ReefNut, i wish i could use a 20gal. but the tank is next to the wall. so i cant fit it. so im stuck with 2 10gal. the overflow box is working good. i got the fuge up about 4-5in higher than the sump. and now i took out the wet dry box from the sump. so i got alot more room in the sump. well thanks again everyone. heres a pic of how i did it.
 
palmer

palmer

Member
I just helped a friend set up a 100gal with two seperate ref's with a pump in each ref to send back to the tank. The two returns (from the refs to the tank) were joined at a 1" piece of PVC with 1" ball valve and then sent back to the returns, to the tank. That essentially made the flow rate the same since both pumps are joined and the one ball valve controls the flow from both pumps back to the tank so the drain back to the ref's from the overflow is the same. Additionally, you may be able to add a piece of clear tubing, at least one inch in diameter, and join the sump and the ref. Clear so you can see any air bubbles that need to be removed from the line and put the ends of the tube towards the bottom of the sump and ref. Assuming that the ref and sump are level with each other. Gravity should keep the water level equal.
 
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