Dorso Pipe

I am setting up a new 90G and during test it ran fine. I have one of those pump where you can regulate the water flow so I don't need to use any dial at the sump. I finally finished my tank stand and water is in, aquascape is done and all of the sudden I start to hear noise the next day when it wasn't before. Basically the drain dorso chamber goes down and then up, does this on an interval of every 15 to 30 seconds. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, when I removed the cap for the noise, it is ok but obviously that defeats the purpose of the silencer. I did try to make the hole bigger on the cap thinking it was that but it wasn't, still does it

Has anyone experienced this before ? I'd really appreciate any help. Here it is an image of what I am talking about

 

anyone ?

 

I had a similar occurrence that happened to my sump at one point and discovered that the drain pipe was not draining consistently...it was intermittent - I had a slight clog in the overflow and it was affecting the drain rate (not sure why) but once it was draining at a consistent rate, it didn't go up and down in the overflow anymore.....

 

The issue is likely the mixture of air. Slow your pump down a bit more. Otherwise, I am thinking you need a bit more air for the amount of water you are flowing.

 

Drill a hole in the standpipe cap just large enough for a piece of clear vinyl airline tubing to fit through snugly. Cut a piece of tubing maybe 12 inches long and stick it down in the cap until the end is about equal to the water surface in the overflow box and the free end is hanging over the back or protected so it does not fall in the water and is sucking air only. Very slowly move the end stuck in the cal up or down a fraction of an inch at a time until all of a sudden the over flow takes off, the sound drops and the flushing action quits. Works like a charm!

 

I going to inspect the drain and see if there is anything clogged. Thought since the tank is new, there shouldn't be any debris.

I did slow down the pump a bit, it helps now the water still moves up and down but less.

The hole right now is 1/8 of an inch but I haven't tried the tubbing thing. Is the tubbing to help collect more air into the drain ?

 

It places the air so it mixes directly with the water for a smooth, laminar flow and full pipe which eliminates the gulping or air binding you are experiencing. Try it, I think you will be very happy with the results.

 

Sorry, kinda of a dumb question. How long does the tube needs to be ? I checked the drain and it is clean and I perforated a 1/4 hole on the cap for the 1/4 tubbing. I used about 15 inches tubbing and tried to move it up and down but I still have the same problem. Right now the problem sort of went away after I decreased the flow of the pump into the return.

Does the tube needs to go all the way down to the SUMP ?

 

FWIW, I wasn't able to achieve what AZ is talking about on my new 50 cube setup (uses a durso drain and reverse durso in the sump). My tubing is slightly above the water line inside the pipe, and by lowering the flow, everything is dead silent. However it does still fluctuate (rises and falls every few seconds).

 

Yup you have a cyphon going on. The air line tube should help. Also your drain & return are prob not matching. VERY annoying to get dialed in.