new to the sump world

[elvishpants]

Hey,
i just put a 23 gallon sump on my 75 gallon tank and i am having some trouble with it
its seem the return side once set at the a line i have marked.. it slowly drains below this line within a 5-6 hrs.. i got a second line about an 1" below and it almost get to this one in 5 hrs
i think the pondmaster model 5 is returning water faster than it drains
how do i fix this?

 

[2quills]

Do you have a picture of the sump?
It's probably from evaporation and or wet skimming. It's not unheard of for set ups of this size to evaporate a gallon or two of water a day. If the return section is not very large then the obvious signs of the water level dropping will look and seem pretty significant.
If it was a drainage issue then you would see the water level in the tank continue to rise. With that being said there could be an issue with your drainage vs return water coming into the tank but we need more stats to have a better idea. Internal or external overflow? What is its flow rating? How much water does the pondmaster 5 push after head loss? But if you're not seeing any noticeable differance in the water level of the display tank rising over the course of 5-6 hours then that's probably not an issue.

 

[elvishpants]

here is my sump,
i could notice the change in about 20 mins.. if i put in more water the water lvl in my tank rises
since writing the last post, i have re-piped the return with hard piping, seem like the air bubbles are stopped for now
my over flow is 300gph and its an extrenal over flow and i think i am about 300 gph now after headlost...
i will keep you updated
also do u see anything that needs improvement

 

[2quills]

Yeah it sounds like you had just a little more flow coming into the tank than what the overflow could handle. Just a matter of dialing the pump back a little bit, I see you added a valve on the return line so that should help. Keep on eye on your overflow so that no air builds up in it as that will cause the drainage to slow down. Everything else looks pretty good. Is that sand in the return chamber?

 

[elvishpants]

yes it is sand... to keep the noise down

 

[jerth6932]

is your water marker level on the left where the return pump is? If so it looks like a small volume of water and this drop could be seen there.
In the part where u mesure your water level take the area of that portion so we can calculate gallons where mesured. So width x depth x hight of max water level.
I had to make my area of return pump larger cause I was constantly filling it.

 

[elvishpants]

ok i will have a look at that.. its only just moving the glass wont be to bad

 

[mjb1]

Your baffles look a little high in the sump also. Do you have a check valve in your pump line in case the electric goes off and the water flows back and overflows your sump? I think you would be better off if you turned your sump around and used the end with the 3 baffles for your return so it keeps the bubble trapped and you shouldn't need sand in the return part. If you have a problem with noise from the pump then cut a piece of a mouse pad out to fit under your pump and it'll take out the vibration.

 

[jerth6932]

 

[elvishpants]

i think the other side it to small for me to turn the sump around.. what if i added another piece of glass
can someone post a pick with a check vavle in it please

 

[elvishpants]

and where can u buy a 3/4 inch check valve

 

[mjb1]

Chck valve. You can check Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, or a plumbing store. The pictured one is a compression check valve which slides over the pipe and you tighten the ends and there is rubber inside the ends that compress or you can buy a glue on one and just glue it on the pipe.

 

[deejeff442]

those check valves will fail over time the saltwater will eat at the rubber.get a ball valve and put it after the pump you can adjust the flow slower untill the pump is slower than the return overflow box.
also like said before,unplug the power and make sure your sump can take the water from the dt if the power goes out.the baffles are deffinitly tall.

 

[mjb1]

This is why I said about lowering the baffles and switching the tank around but I didn't think he wanted to so I gave him the check valve idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/385443/new-to-the-sump-world#post_3380462
those check valves will fail over time the saltwater will eat at the rubber.get a ball valve and put it after the pump you can adjust the flow slower untill the pump is slower than the return overflow box.
also like said before,unplug the power and make sure your sump can take the water from the dt if the power goes out.the baffles are deffinitly tall.

 

[deejeff442]

gotcha,i have tried those one way valves .only two weeks and they failed.its always a good idea to add a ball valve to the plumbing after the pump just in case.
yea i know we want as much water in our systems as possibly but always make sure the sump will take a powerout.we just had 3 today.it is hailing outside right now.i am surprised my Internet is working.the tv satellite is out right now.crazy weather here in texas the last week.well i got to test my mp40 powerhead backup battery today and it work perfect.

 

[elvishpants]

http://www.***********.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idproduct=FT8933&idCartRow=25234073&isKit=0&child=FT8944
how about this one

 

[elvishpants]

before... i was running 2 rena xp3 on my tank... and my water was clear
now i got the sump and theres all kinds of little micro dirt floating around in the water.. (there is alot of it)
is there from setting up the sump now and i got a lot of stuff stirred up?

 

[deejeff442]

why do you have sand in the return pump chamber?that would be my guess as to the cloudy water

 

[mjb1]

That one will work and is the glue on one.
The sump will have a lot more bubbles which look like dirt because the sump is backwards and when the water falls in the return area it creates A LOT of bubbles. I think you should if possible start a new sump build and just change them out. That way just save the money on the check valve which can fail and cure your bubble problem.

 

[2quills]

I don't think that switching your baffles is going to solve the problem of cloudy water. Typically the 3 baffle bubble trap is used after a skimmer and you don't have a skimmer in there. I highly doubt that bubbles from your drain line are causing this issue with your water. Especially at a rate of 300gph. My advice would be to get the sand out of the return chamber. What type of food are you using to feed the tank and how often? Some foods will cloud up the water when you're not running any type of mechanical filtration.