LOUD Sump! Please Help

kevin34

Active Member
Does anyone know why the water level in that overflow is so high? It is the overflow closest to the return pump but the pump isnt even pumping water directly into the overflow. Its puming the water back into the tank. Also when I put my finger over the small hole at the top of the intake tube the water level goes down. Would it be safe to partially cover that hole to keep the water level and noise down?
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
is the sump located on one side or the other of the stand? Do both lines have the same similar slack in them? i believe its setting on the right side. You have 2 hoses of the same length, right? One has more slack in it than the other, this is the one with the higher water level and faster drain correct? IMO it is because the way the lines are looped, if you balance that out with even slack in each line it will balance out. Try moving the sump to the center of the stand. Or shortening them both so they drain directly into the sump, as opposed to mucho slack.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Kevin,its hard for me to tell from the pic, It looks to me like you have a store bought sump,not a custom built. Do you have a better pic than that? It looks to me like the water is draining onto a baffle??or something that is causing it to splash. I have a custom built sump and my overflow drains directlly into the sump BUT the end of the hose is just below the water line...so you dont have any splashing. Is that something you can do with yours or is it not possible? Like I said,its hard for me to tell from the pic.EDIT...After some research I see you have a Megaflow sump where the water drains onto filterpads and down thru bio balls,So obviously my idea wont work...Sorry.
 

kevin34

Active Member
My sump is pretty much centered under the stand but since the water drains into the left side of the sump the overflow on the left is closer.
Here is a full shot of the sump.

Here is the tubing coming out of the left overflow. This is the one that is working perfectly. Water level is right and no gurgling. However this tube is the one with mroe slack. Its just a big U shape.

These pics are of the tube thats causing the noise. It has to run from the right side of the tank to the left side of the sump. Follow the red line.

 

kevin34

Active Member
My sump is pretty much centered under the stand but since the water drains into the left side of the sump the overflow on the left is closer.
Here is a full shot of the sump.

Here is the tubing coming out of the left overflow. This is the one that is working perfectly. Water level is right and no gurgling. However this tube is the one with more slack. Its just a big U shape.

These pics are of the tube thats causing the noise. It has to run from the right side of the tank to the left side of the sump. Follow the red line.


Any thoughts?
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Kevin, is the grey flex hose connected to the white pvc pipe or is there a gap?? It seems to me it should be connected TO the white pvc pipe that goes down below the water line. And if it is not connected to the pvc...what is the thinking behind that.
 

kevin34

Active Member
Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/2471704
Kevin, is the grey flex hose connected to the white pvc pipe or is there a gap?? It seems to me it should be connected TO the white pvc pipe that goes down below the water line. And if it is not connected to the pvc...what is the thinking behind that.
If you are talking about the white PVC on the sump them yes the gray tubing is connected and clamped on. I just had a thought. Could this problem be caused by an unlevel tank? I measured the tanks level and the overflow with the high water level is slightly lower than the other side (fraction of an inch). Since its lower then it makes sense that more water will be on that side because of the slant its at. Could this be the problem?
 

ifirefight

Active Member
No, being a little uneven will not matter. OK bear with me.... The flex tube is connected to the white pvc. YES 2. SO does the water comes out at the bottom of the white pvc tube near the bottom of the sump (come out the slits?)....It looks like it dump out at the TOP of the sump...splashing all over. IF it is coming out the slits....I think I know what the problem is..Let me know where the water comes out of.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Originally Posted by michael76lll
http:///forum/post/2466555
once you cut the top 4 inches from the pvc... cut it right at that first cut out where i circled then slide the pvc up from the sump and attach the flex tube..
Thats what Im saying...the pvc needs to be connected directlly to the flex...So the water comes out AT THE BOTTOM of the white pvc at the bottom of the sump.
 

kevin34

Active Member
Yes water is coming out of the bottom slits of the PVC at the bottom of the sump and also out the slit at the top right below where the tube is connected.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
OK, I would connect the flex to the pvc,and DO AWAY with the slit at the top so the water only comes out the slits under the water....Im sure that will work. ALSO a problem I see is the "slack" LOOP in the flex hose. You probably have a TON of air in the lines. Try to make the flex hose run downhill the whole way to the sump. You have it coming down and then pushing water uphill...at the very least,try and burp the lines...but in the longrun you would be better just taking out the slack in the tube.
 

kevin34

Active Member
Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/2471858
OK, I would connect the flex to the pvc,and DO AWAY with the slit at the top so the water only comes out the slits under the water....Im sure that will work. ALSO a problem I see is the "slack" LOOP in the flex hose. You probably have a TON of air in the lines. Try to make the flex hose run downhill the whole way to the sump. You have it coming down and then pushing water uphill...at the very least,try and burp the lines...but in the longrun you would be better just taking out the slack in the tube.
How do I take the slack out? I really cant cut the tubes because the only places I can connect the tube to the sump are at the ends.
 

ifirefight

Active Member
Kevin, they make different lengths...you could just order the exact length you need. But for now,just to see if it works..take the slack out by holding it with your hands so it all drains down hill....even if you have to spiral it down like a staircase.
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
Go to Lowe's and get some of the white spa flex, it's not corrugated like the stuff you have. Connect it in place of the corrugated stuff. Cut both lengths so that they run at an angle down hill all the way as stated. You can use regular pvc slip couplings to connect the new hose with. They will glue to the flex. But you don't have to glue them in place until after you have seen it work. Also, I think you need the slot in the top of the pipe to let the back pressure vent, as well as run through the floss. However, most of the time, having the pipe extend that far down into the water column will create excess back pressure. Usually you want the drain pipes only about 2" below the surface. It's possible that you can temporarily replace these factory pipes with short pipes you cut to see if this will solve the problem .I'll bet if you do the spa flex, shorten the drain pipes and leave a small hole in it just above the water line,(like the upper slit is) your problems will be over!
 

kevin34

Active Member
Elevating the tube so it was going "downhill" made the gargling noise worse. Why would cutting the top slip off the PVC be bad? What would happen if I did this?
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
Originally Posted by Kevin34
http:///forum/post/2473047
Elevating the tube so it was going "downhill" made the gargling noise worse. Why would cutting the top slip off the PVC be bad? What would happen if I did this?
Cutting the top of the pvc might not be bad, but it wouldnt do anything to even the flow out. You know there either has to be a restriction in the line, or something backing the flow up. How long did you hold the pipe up to slant downhill? It may take a while for it to level out.I know sometimes when I mees with the balance on my 135, it can take an hour or so for it to stop gurgling. Try the spa flex as I outlined above, I do believe it will work.
 

wattsupdoc

Active Member
Looking at you pictures there. I see that the one that is draining correctly the water is able to fall a long way straight down, before it has to begin pushing ther water back up into the sump. It's u shaped, so theres a lot of energy involved in the draining there. On the other one, it dips down, then slants back up. Theres not nearly as much fall involved there, but the drain still has to push the water back up to reach the sump. Because it cant drain as fast as it should, the water level raises in the OF. Then when it does theres enough gravity to push the water down to flow fast enough. The currogated flex and the arrangement of them, as well as the fact that they have to push so far down into the sump. Is IMO, surely the cause.
 

kevin34

Active Member
So you think if I make the troubled tube more U shaped then the gurgling will stop? I moved my sump over so the draining section is right in the middle of the tank instead of on the left side. I will try to post some pics of the new position tomorrow.
 

kevin34

Active Member
Well after moving the sump and placing a plastic hose clamp (not clamping it shut. Its just wrapped around) over the loud opening the gurgling seems to pretty much gone after a full day of running. There is a bubble noise every now and then but nothing like it was before. Now does anyone know how to silence the waterfall noise? lol
 
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