overflow into sump is bubbling out

K

kpatrick

Guest
Okay I just put a 60 gallon tank under my 125 display. I added two baffles. First chamber is overflow from display plus skimmer, second chamber will be chaeto, and third chamber is return pump.
My problem is that the water coming down the overflow is actually bubbling and splashing out of the sump. I cant lower the water level or else it will not flow over my baffles. Is there any way I can keep the water from splashing out? It may sound crazy but I actually considered filling the chamber with ping pong balls. They would float and keep a lot of water from splashing out. Keep in mind its not large volumes of water splashing out but after awhile the small droplets add up to one big wet spot. :help: :help:
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
You could also just enclose that area of the sump using the same material you made the baffles out of.
 
K

kpatrick

Guest
i tried to enclose it as much as possible but since my skimmer sticks up out of it and I dont have a lot of room to work with under the stand I cant get a good seal and water is still able to splash out.
I found Jebo bio balls pretty cheap but they have a different pattern to them then other bio balls so does anyone know if they float as well?
 
dgirard05

dgirard05

New Member
Hi Pat:
Maybe I Can Help, Your Over Flow Should Feed Into A 1 1/4or 1 1/2 Pipe With Slots Cut In It Half Way Through About 4 Or 5 I" Apart Whith A End Cap On The End Of The Pipe. That Should Stop The Splaching. The Water Coming Into The First Section Where The Skimmer Is Should Have 3 Baffels The First One Is The One To Set The Hight Of The Water Abouth 9 "to 10 "the Second Is 1" Off The Bottom, The Third One Is The Same As The First. That Way The Water Go's Over Under Over The Last And Into Ref. The Wall In The Ref. Should Be The Same As The Last Baffel In The First 3 Then Into The Return. I Hope This Help's You .if You Need A Pic Of My Sump. Email Me Ill Send You One.
Dave
 
K

kpatrick

Guest
IF I do decide to add some bio balls to float on top of the first section of the sump to help keep the water from splashing out, what effect will it have on my Chaeto? will the bio balls and chaeto help each other or work against each other?
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
How "deep" into the water is the drain tube in the overflow/skimer chamber?
Can you divide out (baffle) a section of the chamber to "contain" the bubbles...? (Flowing out "under" the baffles as it heads to the skimmer)
 
K

kpatrick

Guest
well the bubbles arent really bothering me, its when they get to the surface and pop shooting droplets of water over the top of my sump because they are rising to the top so fast from the pressure of the water coming out of the overflow line. So I dont think another chamber would help. I need something on the top of the water surface to catch the droplets flying out of the sump. Thats why I was thinking bio balls or ping pong balls to block the surface and keep the droplets contained.
Right now the pipes are about 4" deep in the sump. At first they were about 7 to 8" deep. I think bio balls would do the job however I am not sure if they would defeat the purpose of having Chaeto in the 2nd chamber or work in conjuction with the chaeto? any ideas?
Thanks for the input!!!!!!
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
As a "mechanical" deflection device, the bioballs should help catch and "disburse" the bubbles keeping them from popping with such force as to cause excessive salt creep and water from leaving the sump...
The thought on the extra overflow chamber (6"X6" or so open at the bottom) is to keep them "confined" over the rising air bubbles with the minimum amount of balls...
The force of the rising bubbles will "push" the balls to the far side of the chamber unless you "compleatly" cover the surface of the area to keep them in place ...As a "Biological" surface area, that many balls could then lead to an excess build up of nitrates due to deitrus building up and decomposing on/in them...negating the effect of the Macro removal...
By "confining" a lessor number of balls in a smaller area (over the rising flow) that biological effect would be minimized..
 
K

kpatrick

Guest
Thanks Squidd - I see what you're saying now. I will try it.
Bad thing is last week I through out all my left over scrap pieces of plexiglass
 
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