Pump Help!!Going Crazy!!

[sdascher]

I think I screwed up!! I have all of my animals & soft corals in a 55g tank and a 45g tub w/good equitment, and they are OK but they want to go home, and I've been screwing around with this set-up for 4 weeks!!I got some great information and advice from members here at SWF - Thanks! I made a pvc spray bar (because I think its cool) to circulate water evenly in the 125 - works great! I have a hang on 800gph overflow with a large fitted flex tube flowing down into a 36g plastic tub. A RIO 2500 pump with adjustable water flow in approx. 8" of water leaving plenty of room for overflowing water from the tank. On this pump I have 1/2" tubing going from the "sump" up to a 55g tank. From the 55g. tank ( I think this may be my problem) I have another 2500 (adjustable flow) with 1/2" tubing going to the center of my spraybar. The problem is regulating this so that the water level stays unchaged in all areas!! I have been playing around with this for weeks and just when I think that I've got it - the water levels stays the same for an hour or so - then all of a sudden I need to adjust on of the pumps!! Where did I go wrong??? What can I do to make this easier for me? The reason that I purchased these 2500's is because I knew that I was going to have appox. 4' of hose and they have the adjustable gadget! Thanks for any help!

 

[jagermeister]

The problem is that you'll never adjust the two pumps perfectly enough so that they balance each other.
If I read this right you're pumping from your sump to a 55g. Then you pump from the 55g to the 125g. There's an overflow on the 125g back to the sump?
You're going to need to get an overflow for the 55g. Then, one fix would be to keep both pumps in the sump. Each pump would pump to each tank. Both tanks would overflow back into the sump.
Or if you can elevate the 55 higher than the 125 you can continue to pump to the 55 and have the 55 overflow into the 125 which in turn overflows back into the sump.
One things for sure though, as you've found out you'll never get two pumps to balance each other.
Hope this helps!

 

[jumpfrog]

I don't think you'll ever get the balance you're looking for. Too many variables to have the overflow rate perfectly match the input rate from your 55. I get what you're trying to do but it doesn't work that way. The only way to achieve balance is to have your tank recieving water from your overflow return the water back to the tank with the overflow.
An alternative would be to have the overflow feed your 55, create another overflow from the 55 to feed the sump and then push water back to the original overflow. Your return from the sump determines the overflow flow rate(s). Make sense?

 

[sdascher]

In response to jumpfrog..... so in my (little) mind I am picturing a clock like cycle is what I now have, from the 125 down to the sump, up to the 55 refugium and back into the 125 - so if I understand you correctly, all I need to do is to reverse this set up and add another overflow on the 55 taking away one of the pumps?? I am wondering if there will be a problem getting the water to "flow" into the 55g. tank sitting beside it as they are the same height and the overflow would have to go down & back up to the 55g. That is why I have it dropping straight into a sump below.....................
Maybe the better way would be like you said, to overflow the 125 & the 55 down into the sump with 2 pumps pumping it back up into each tank. I would think that it also would take a bit of regulating there also.

 

[sdascher]

OK - because I am not a pro.....yet - How about I just use the 800gph overflow down to the sump - pump it back up into the spraybar! I should be able to get this under control. Then when I get that under control I can work on a way to go over the side maybe to tie the 2 tanks water together... this is going to take me some thought! I've got materials, or ways to go get them, I'm just too dumb to use them!!javascript:smilie('')

 

[jumpfrog]

You make a good point in getting the overflow from the 55 into your sump. If the water levels are equal the overflow will lose siphon. It would take much to change the equation though. Is there any way you can raise the 55 up a few inches with some sort of platform? In the alternative, is it possible to have the level within the sump low enough to allow the siphon to continue and still have enough water in the sump to allow the pump to work?
Here's a drawing, kinda. HTH

 

[sdascher]

Yes, I now get it, but I think that I will go with the first suggestion from you and have the overflow in the 125 down to the sump and get another overflow (300gph) for the 55g down to the same sump each with its own pump to pump back up into the tanks. The water is "joined" at the sump, so thats OK. Its a 36g tub so I believe that the water in it is low enough that if both pumps would shut down, the tub would hold the overflow from both tanks. Someone suggested to me to throw in some bio balls...... I have to think they meant in a box with holes drilled in it or a divider of sorts as I wouldn't want to have bio balls possibly clogging up the pumps!!
Thanks for your help, I really needed it!!!!

 

[jagermeister]

Instead of bio balls I'd throw some dry base rock into the sump. No worries about bio balls getting stuck in pumps.

 

[sdascher]

Thanks jagermeister!! I was just reading about the pros & cons of the bio balls here in the chatroom so I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't use them!! After all, there is LR in the main tank and a small amount in the refugium. I certainly can just drop a few pcs. in the sump!!
Thanks for all of the help guys!!