Having problem with sump!!

9supratt4

Active Member
Originally Posted by rdhanley
i think his/her problem is with the hose from the overflow to wet dry. in the video at one section of hose is lower than the top of the wet dry.
I fixed that....see my previous post!!
Thanks,
Steve
 

rdhanley

Member
overflow should have an adjustment to regulate the flow of water into the overflow. you do this by raising the piece on the inside of the tank a little bit.
 

rdhanley

Member
i personally haven't been fond of the u-tube system as air builds up in the u-tube which slows down the amount of water going to the wet dry.
 

rdhanley

Member
as i don't use pvc from the overflow to wet dry, i have heard on this site, that the water flow is actually sped up. no restrictions in pvc. hose has restrictions( all the wringles in it).
you probably can you a ball and spindle to slow the water down a little bit.
but keep a close eye on it as not to slow it down too much and wet dry runs out of water.
 

9supratt4

Active Member
Originally Posted by rdhanley
overflow should have an adjustment to regulate the flow of water into the overflow. you do this by raising the piece on the inside of the tank a little bit.
i personally haven't been fond of the u-tube system as air builds up in the u-tube which slows down the amount of water going to the wet dry.
as i don't use pvc from the overflow to wet dry, i have heard on this site, that the water flow is actually sped up. no restrictions in pvc. hose has restrictions( all the wringles in it).
you probably can you a ball and spindle to slow the water down a little bit.
but keep a close eye on it as not to slow it down too much and wet dry runs out of water.
Thanks again for all your help!!
I have tried to raise and lower the box on the inside of the tank, but I haven't had any luck with that......The U-Tube has not had any problems with air being trapped inside either. It creates a pretty strong vaccum. What I think I am going to do is go to the store AGAIN tomorrow and buy a ball valve so that I can adjust the flow. Just as a quick test i stuck my fingers in the hole in the overflow and restricted the water flow and that seemed to work. So hopefully the valve will solve my problem.
One other question.....I am concerned with the joints on the PVC leaking because I did not use any PVC Cement. Is it ok to use the PVC Cement or will it harm the fish in the tank?
Thanks agin everyone and I will let you know how I make out with the ball valve!
 

rdhanley

Member
pvc glue is okay as long as it is dry before running threw the system.
only spot i used pvc piping on my system is for return to back to the main tank. i used the glue to seal it. i let the lines dry before running water through it.
 

ameno

Active Member
I can't watch your vidio at work so I'm trying to get an idea what's happening without pics, so I may be way off base, but have you tried adjusting the overflow box down or raising the water level up in the DT to try and fix the problem, it sound like there is not enough flow going to the sump if you raise the water level it should help the flow better. Also no problem glueing the pvc.
 

turningtim

Active Member
Couple things I see. First the inner OF box doesn't change flow, it only raises and lowers the water level in the tank. Whatever water goes in the tank the OF will try and remove. Don't restrict flow on the OF box! This will only lead to trouble. Again the OF will only try and remove as much water from the tank as it is put in the tank. If you want to restrict flow do it on the return side.
You can either add a shut-off in line with the pump or add a T w/ a shut-off that will divert some of the water back to the sump rather than the tank.
A durso wouldn't hurt. Heres a pic.
It would help to know what the pump is and how much it is flowing back to the tank. But overall it looks like you are out flowing the OF. You also have to remember that there is head pressure on the drains. Spa=flex is a great way to get around elbows and still can be used with PVC fittings.
JMO
HTH
Tim
 

freeweights

Member
I had the exact problem. first thing is you have to make sure the hose going from the main tank to the refugium is straight down if it is too long it has to be replaced with a shorter one. next thing put a piece of sponge in the overflow box where the water goes down to the sump. next walk away and leave it alone for an hour or so and see what happenes. It worked for me good luck
 

devil dog

Active Member
Originally Posted by freeweights
I had the exact problem. first thing is you have to make sure the hose going from the main tank to the refugium is straight down if it is too long it has to be replaced with a shorter one. next thing put a piece of sponge in the overflow box where the water goes down to the sump. next walk away and leave it alone for an hour or so and see what happenes. It worked for me good luck
Hey Don did you get the light?
Mike
 

ameno

Active Member
have you tried increasing the amount of water in the DT? the reason I mentioned lowering the inside overflow is if your tank gets full when all the water pumps out of the sump then by lowering the overflow box more of the DT water will run out of the box and at a faster rate, because the box will try and keep up with the amount of water the pump is supplying make into the tank. if that doesn't solve the problem then there could be something down stream of the overflow that's restricting it, but from your description, I would not think that's the case.
 

freeweights

Member
Originally Posted by Devil Dog
Hey Don did you get the light?
Mike
Mike i sure did i left you a email thanking you and i sent you a photo of the way they look and thanks for all the other goodies. keep in touch Don
 

9supratt4

Active Member
Ok so here is what I did.....
I cemented everything together and added a ball valve to the pipe that goes from the overflow to the sump:


This allows me to adjust the flow to stop the problem that I was having where the sump was filling with water faster than it was pumping it out. Now it finally works right!!!
There is no more gurgling sounds and the level in the sump is staying perfect!!!

Thanks everyone for all your help!!!!
 
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