Overflow box

All,

I am new to RR tanks and just set-up my tank and filled both the tank the refugium with freshwater to test the system and do a leak check. I started the pump (mag 9.5) on a 90g with a 30-40g refugium. I am getting a lot of quick drains and gurgling sounds. When I look into the overflow compartment, it seems to drain one sec than fills up quite high and does another quick drain.

How do I get this to drain constantly instead of the quick burst?

Thanks,
John

 

The easy answer for me, is do a search regaring HOB overflows. There is probably someone who has even used your model of overflow, and how they worked it out.

Good luck

 

Might have to put a 2-3 inch piece of pvc into the bulkead of the drain. this will raise the water level a bit, and not let it draw in air. That is probably your burst and gurgling sound.

 

You will most likely need to throttle the return pump back to quiet the flushing.

 

Thanks all, I ended up finally getting it. I ended up adding a ball valve to the drain and slowing the amount being drained into the sump. After about 1.5 hrs of minor adjustments on the drain side, I have finally got all take levels constant.

 

Be very careful throttling down the drain....as algea and debris build up the return can overcome the drain and you will have a major problem. You should NEVER regulate the drain side!!!!

 

+1 to never ever placing a ball valve on the drain. The best bet is to regulate the return. That is how my system is set up and the water will only drain as fast and the tank fills. Be careful. With the ball valve. I know there are plenty of people on here who will tell you the same.
Good luck

 

Rule of thumb is that the drain should accommodate 3x the flow of the return.
That is why I told you to raise the water level in the overflow box with the pvc to keep it quiet.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I will remove the ball valve from the drain. I added the PVC before adding the ball valve, but still had the same issue.

Could my issue be the return pump? Did I get too small or too big of a pump?

 

Too small....does you overflow box have a divider wall in the middle?