Durso pipes inconsistant speed !?

[yeffre kix]

I've had my tank running with water for a couple of months just to make sure the plumbing was balanced and quiet. About six weeks ago I put in 400 lbs of and and 500 lbs of live rock. After the cycle I purchased a cleaner package to clean the algae. I thought everything was settled in but the water level in the tank will rise occasionally about 1-2 inches. Thats like 12-24 gallons of water out of my sump. Of course the water level drops in the sump and the pump starts pulling in air.
Why would the downflows be suddenly slower? ( and not all the time) The main sump line runs through a filter sock and the secondary hits a sponge filter to keep it quiet before entering the refuium, other than that there is nothing to slow the flow down. By blocking the hole in the top of the standpipe I get a faster drop but the problem is intermitant so I can't adjust the hole size.
:help:
any thoughts on a problem or potential fix?

 

[thegrog]

why cant you adjust the hole size?
Sounds like the standpipe is slowly building a vaccum and then when the water gets to a certain level, it breaks. Probably not an accurate assessment, but similiar to what is going on.
Try putting in a larger hole. Better yet, a large hole with a barbed fitting and a peice of tubing with a simple airline valve. Adjust it to where you want the levels to be.

 

[dogstar]

Yep I made mine with the adjustable hole. If I close it too small the water level will do the same thing, slowly bounce up and down. Open the hole just a tiny bit bigger. Or as TheGrog said, make it adjustable.

 

[squidd]

I'd have to agree, sounds like it needs more air to flow consistantly...

 

[thegrog]

Also, make sure that nothing is blocking up the hole (salt creep, algae, ect). Take a toothpick or something and make sure it is open before getting the drill out.

 

[luke g]

damn u put 500lbs live rock in your tank at once ,it b iight if it was cycling still but u shoul dbe wating about 1-2 weeks for every pice of rock,or fish

 

[annanymous]

WHY WAS HE SUPPOSED TO WAIT IF IT WAS A NEW SET-UP. HE JUST PUT ALL THE ROCK IN AT ONCE SO IT CAN ALL CYCLE TOGETHER. THERE...NO HEADACHES

oops sorry for caps [no screaming intended, didnt see i had them on]

 

[creative]

If you drill a hole large enough to put an airline through snuggly and push it down about 3/4 of the way down to the bulk head it should stop it from siphoning and the flow should be much more consistent. Todd

 

[yeffre kix]

I got it figured out... A few days before these problems I turned up the flow to the fuge which caused the main line to actually slow down its flow. It somehow caused a chaotic flow or suction in the main line. When I turned off the fuge to work on it the flow really picked up speed. I don't really understand it but with the secondary drain closed slightly I get better flow to the main.
By the way about half the live rock and sand came out of my old 125 reef so it was already cycled and good to go. I've had it running in my garage just to keep it alive for the last six months.

 

[adamc1303]

I had the vacuum noise sound it was driving me nuts, it sounded like there was a toilet flushing all the time. What I did was, buy the end of the tube that actually comes from your overflow to the sump which is the end of the standpipe I guess, I put that piece of glass that the tube connects to on a slant. Between the glass piece that the hose gets mounted into and the tray put a piece of a sponge creating a 1 to 2 inches of a tilt that will let that air out. I do not know what your setup looks like but that it what helped me. If it will quiet it down it will probably even out the flow to so it will not fluctuate anymore. Another thing I did was since I do not have PVC then the tube was nosier because it does not fall straight like hard tubing, so I tried to make it as straight as possible by putting things under it as well.