Keep the sump at one level?

ek

ek

Member
Hi I just set up my 150gl tank. I have two 1 in tubes siphoning water out to the sump with two valves. in the sump 2 pumps a 750gph and a 1200gph bring the water back to the tank. What is the trick to Keep the sump at one level? If both valves are open the sump fills up, if I close the valves a little it slowly empties what’s the secret?
Eli
 
jastim

jastim

Member
Can you describe your siphon/overflow setup? Did you build it or was it purchased? By the way you described it, it sounds like you just have a couple of tubes siphoning water. For your overflow to be reliable and predictable you will need to set it up as a continuous siphon that will control your water level for you. You should design your siphon for a higher flow rate than your pump(s). It sounds like your current setup has your pumps with a much higher flow rate than your overflow. If you need some info on how to design one of these I can help or can recommend some good stock overflows (CPR makes a good one).
 
ek

ek

Member
All I have is two u tubes of 1” going straight to the sump with 2 valves at the end. I have no overflow because I only have 1 ½ inches from the wall.
Eli
 
jastim

jastim

Member
That type of setup is going to be very difficult to control as you have noted. Unless you have the valves adjusted exactly right (which is really impossible to maintain) you are either going to continue raising the level in the sump or gradually drain it. Other than moving your tank out from the wall and adding a continuous siphon system (which will control the level in your tank and sump), I'm not sure how else you can control your level. I use a CPR-100 overflow with a RIO 2500 pump for my 75 gal. The overflow can drain about 800 gph while the pump does about 500gph at 4ft..
 
ek

ek

Member
how does the over flow know how much water is in the sump and how wide is the over flow
 
jastim

jastim

Member
The overflow simply "drains" the water in the tank down to a level you set. It skims the water off the surface. (Take a look at one of the CPRs). It will continue to drain until the water level is just below the water intake. As your pump sends more water back to the tank, the level in the tank rises and more water is skimmed or drained by the overflow. Therefore your overflow maintains your water level depending on low you set it in the tank. The CPR overflows are made in several different sizes. I think mine is about 12" or so. Look them up on the internet for what is available.
 
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