Skimmer Home
- Thread starter lv-reefer
- Start date
montidanae
Member
yeah your sump will be ok, tight fit though!
montidanae
Member
looks like a good idea.
coastie55g
Member
wouldnt the air bubbles from the refugium on the right cause problems for the pump? just something i notice.. lookslikeit would work to me thou.. good idea 
lv-reefer
Member
Well, just got finished making it. How long should I wait to test it out? You think tomorrow morning will be ok? That would have given it 17 hours to cure.
Does anyone else think I will have any problems with bubbles coming from the refugium side? I can probably add in another baffle in the pump section.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Does anyone else think I will have any problems with bubbles coming from the refugium side? I can probably add in another baffle in the pump section.
Thanks for any suggestions.
coastie55g
Member
i remember reading some where in another post.. a guy was doing something similar... somebody mentioned about taking a pain of glass or what ever and have it at a angle from the lip of the ref. down to the pump and the water will go down the pain of glass... if that made anysince great... sometimes its just hard to describe things on here...
montidanae
Member
yeah, a little ramp will help with bubble control, there for the water is "falling" it rooming down the ramp.
lv-reefer
Member
I got it all hooked up, filled it all up with water, made some adjustments for the water level.
I have one problem. With the power completely off, after the water flows out of the tubes and back into the fuge, I get a very slow leak coming down from the display via the return pump plumbing. The leak is somewhere in the overflow box, I think. Water seems to be leaking into the plumbing.
Do you think after the tank runs for awhile, the leak will cure itself? After calcium and gunk build up, make a natural plug. I estimate it would probably take an hour for the sump to actually over flow onto the floor and at max it would probably over flow 5 - 10 gallons of water before the water level in the main tank got below the return pump plumbing water line.
Any thoughts on what I should do?
I have one problem. With the power completely off, after the water flows out of the tubes and back into the fuge, I get a very slow leak coming down from the display via the return pump plumbing. The leak is somewhere in the overflow box, I think. Water seems to be leaking into the plumbing.
Do you think after the tank runs for awhile, the leak will cure itself? After calcium and gunk build up, make a natural plug. I estimate it would probably take an hour for the sump to actually over flow onto the floor and at max it would probably over flow 5 - 10 gallons of water before the water level in the main tank got below the return pump plumbing water line.
Any thoughts on what I should do?
lv-reefer
Member
The tank is predrilled in one corner with 2 holes, one for drain, one for the return pump.
When all the water drains back into the sump after the power is off, the return pump hose is above the water line, so it's not a siphon issue. Somewhere along the return plumbing water is slowly leaking into the piping and continueing to drain into the sump. I'm guessing it's leaking in where the return plumbing attaches to the hole that's drilled in the bottom of the tank, because it's kind of a loose fit. The instructions for the plumbing said not to PVC glue it for cleaning purposes. Who ever drilled the hole in the top for the return plumbing drilled it below the drain water line, so I'm guessing if the leak is at the bottom, it will keep draining water until the water level reaches that level and the entire overflow chamber will drain. I'm estimating about 10 gallons of over flow onto the floor if I have a power issue. Here is a picture.
When all the water drains back into the sump after the power is off, the return pump hose is above the water line, so it's not a siphon issue. Somewhere along the return plumbing water is slowly leaking into the piping and continueing to drain into the sump. I'm guessing it's leaking in where the return plumbing attaches to the hole that's drilled in the bottom of the tank, because it's kind of a loose fit. The instructions for the plumbing said not to PVC glue it for cleaning purposes. Who ever drilled the hole in the top for the return plumbing drilled it below the drain water line, so I'm guessing if the leak is at the bottom, it will keep draining water until the water level reaches that level and the entire overflow chamber will drain. I'm estimating about 10 gallons of over flow onto the floor if I have a power issue. Here is a picture.
lv-reefer
Member
Here is a closer up drawing of how the plumbing is. The normal drain level should be where the thick blue line is. But because there was a hole drilled lower then the normal drain level for the return plumbing, the water will continue to leak into the sump until it reaches the bottom of that drilled hole and the water will drain completely out of the overflow box if the leak is at the bottom of the plumbing.
So how do I determin where my leak is??? If the leak is at the bottom where the plumbing attaches to the bottom of the tank, should I use PVC glue to attach the return plumbing???
So how do I determin where my leak is??? If the leak is at the bottom where the plumbing attaches to the bottom of the tank, should I use PVC glue to attach the return plumbing???
lv-reefer
Member
That seal is on, and it's brand new. The leak is not external, it's internal, water is leaking into the return pump plumbing from the overflow box in the display and leaking down the plumbing into the return pump chamber. I believe it's where the plumbing fits into that piece with the rubber washer.
I'm going to have to drain the tank below the level where the water overflows into the overflow box and the fuge. Then I will add some water into the overflow box and see if it starts to leak.
If I do find my leak is at the bottom where the plumbing fits into the bottom of the tank, will I be safe to use PVC glue and permanantly affix the plumbing even though the instructions say not to for cleaning purposes???
I'm going to have to drain the tank below the level where the water overflows into the overflow box and the fuge. Then I will add some water into the overflow box and see if it starts to leak.
If I do find my leak is at the bottom where the plumbing fits into the bottom of the tank, will I be safe to use PVC glue and permanantly affix the plumbing even though the instructions say not to for cleaning purposes???
E
essop3
Guest
Your using the exact same sump/fuge desing that I have. I don't have any problems with bubbles from the fuge return. Did you have any when you tested it?
lv-reefer
Member
essop3: No, I don't have any problems with bubbles, I have the flow into the fuge pretty low.
chriscobb: Currently I only have 70 lbs of live rock, just bought 60lbs of base rock, will buy another 100 lbs of live rock in a few weeks. Tank has only been up for 2 days and I don't have the skimmer in it yet. So as for pods, it hasn't been long enough for them to come out of my 70 lbs of live rock.
chriscobb: Currently I only have 70 lbs of live rock, just bought 60lbs of base rock, will buy another 100 lbs of live rock in a few weeks. Tank has only been up for 2 days and I don't have the skimmer in it yet. So as for pods, it hasn't been long enough for them to come out of my 70 lbs of live rock.