Drilled Overflo Gurgle

I have a 75 that I've rear drilled. One hole for the overflow and one for the return.

Plumbing wise I have a bulkhead fitting that then Ts into a 1 inch flex pvc pipe (good stuff not the cheap stuff). On the advice of the friend I left the t open to the air and placed a small pvc fitting on it so that water doesn't splash out. However here is where I'm getting the loud gurgling.

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with this type of set up and how to top the gurgling.

Would it work to cap the end of the T; then drill a small hole in the top of the cap; and finally put a small airline in the cap?

Thanks for the help.

 

Make the hole on top of the T bigger. That's where it's coming from.

 

Put a small piece of pipe in the top part with a cap. Drill a 1/4 in hole in the cap. I had to do that on both of my 1 1/2 overflows because they were really loud.

 

Agreed...you need to vent the cap. Start with one 3/16" hole...it may be fine, and you can stop there. You can also add a small piece of rigid airline (1" or so), then a small piece of flex airline and an air control valve if the venting is too much.

Finally, you may need to add additional holes (I have one setup that has three 3/16" holes in it running wide open...no valve).

 

So the only surface skimming is none ( hole underwater), or only the size of the hole? How's that working out?

 

Thanks for the information.

The cap with a hole in it solved most of the noise issue.

Now the draining into the sump needs some work. Not for noise, but it appears that it catchs up every few seconds, if the makes any sense. So rather than a continous stream of water exiting the tank and overflow line into the sump, water exits the tank and then takes a ninety degree turn into the overflow line. This setup allows water to flow out of the tank but then backs up (somewhat) when it hits the ninety degree turn in the overflow line causing the catch up problem or load gurgle. Water never rises more then an inch in the overflow line (down to the sump). So I don't have water overflowing out of my overflow line. Not sure if this is a problem or if there is a simple fix?

For those of you that asked; the over flow (1 3/4) is about a half an inch below the water line. It elbows (in the tank) prior to directly exiting the tank.

Here is another question I'm ignoring it now but not sure if I should? The top of the overflow (elbow) is below the surface of the water which then creates a water tunnel from the top of the water line to the overflow. Should I be concerned about this or just leave it alone? Should I turn the elbow so that the opening faces the bottom of the tank?

Also I'm currently running the following filtration in my sump; filter sock; filter floss (or something similar); and a skimmer. When the tank is cycled I plan on adding a refugium with live rock. Should I add anything else? Should I add charcoal to the filter sock?

Thanks for all the help.

 

So are you saying that on the backside of the tank there is a ninty after the water leaves the tank. If so you should use a forty five for a smoother flow to the sump. If you can take some pics so we can see what you have setup to better help. As far as the elbow inside the overflow that makes a tunnel that shouldnt be a problem.

 

Yes your correct.

I had a friend help me plumb it and we used T so that we would get the benefit of the open top. Couldn't find a 45 T.

I don't think it's a huge problem as the overflow is keeping up with the pump.

I'll try to take some pictures when I get back home next week.

 

I think I get what your saying. Your overflow is a little slower than your pump? If thats the case you can always put a ball valve on the out put of the pump and turn it down a little bit.

 

The rhythmic cycle you're seeing is because the cap may need additional venting or less venting (remember the air valve I mentioned in my previous post?).

As mentioned, the other alternative is to tune the flow. You can add a valve to the pump output, but IMHO, a better solution is to bleed a bit of the flow back into the sump from the pump output like this:



This way the same amount of water is being moved, and altho your return to the DT will be somewhat reduced, the water that returns to the sump will boost the supply to the pump, and you'll likely have to cut the flow back to the DT as much.

You'll also be running the pump wide open, which in a centrifugal pump doesn't matter (most pumps fall into this category), but for other pumps, it will keep them running cooler.