DIY Sump Help

zantho

Member
So I'm making a DIY sump (my first sump) with a 10g for my 33g long. I've got a Mag 3 pump as a return about two feet under the bottom of the tank. The sump currently has no partitions, I'm not that far yet, it's just a tank now.
The overflow is basically a 1" hole drilled near the top of the tank to which a 1" pipe is attached. The return is 3/4" I believe.
At first, I had the overflow pipe beneath the water level in the sump. This worked well but I was getting an annoying slurping air sound near the drilled hole. So, I thought to myself, I'll shorten the pipe so that it's above the water level in the sump, if it needs air it can pull from the bottom. Well, now the return pump fills the tank to overflowing. Suction was a factor I didn't consider I suppose.
I imagine this may be hard to picture, but I'm trying to come up with the solution. Looking at melevs designs, I see the overflow pipe is beneath the water level...
So... I guess the pipe from the overflow will go back under the water level in the sump, but how do I keep it from making a slurping noise at the top for air? I imagine there should be no air in the overflow pipe, just a solid stream of water. Should I restrict the overflow pipe to 3/4"? I guess, at 1" it's got a lot of air and water in it that just falls down instead of being solid water.
Just trying to get some thoughts before I keep hacking at this and buying plumbing.
 
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