Sump Issues

All,

I'm having some sump issues and it's getting really frustrating. I orginally had the sump hard plumbing and in the drain line I had 2- 90's and 2-45's. When I got home last night I noticed the water backing up. Ended up cutting the pipes off and there was a snail stuck in the first 90.

Ended up using the barbed bulkhead that came with the tank (deep blue reef ready) and hooked a piece of 1-1/4" flex hose to it.

I went home for lunch today and wanted to rise the DT water level to my canopy. The teeth in the corner there is a piece of plastic that you can raise and lower. However, when I raised it not much water came into the corner overflow. When I lowered it it seemed as if too much water is was coming into the overflow (see pic #1). All of a sudden the water level would drop to the red line then it would fill back up. This was really noisy.

Also the water level in the overflow corner seems to stay about 3" lower then the DT water level creating a waterfall of noise. Do I need to make my stand pipe taller to raise the water level in this area? I've attached pictures of this and what it looks like.

Also, the flex hose going into the sump. Does that need to be under water. Before I had it under and thought maybe that's what was causing the water level to drop all of a sudden then go back up. So I cut it shorter and it sounds like Niagara Falls now.

Also, does loc-line suck in air? I'm getting really tiny micro bubbles in my tank looks like dust. There are no bubbles in the sump so the only thing I can think of is maybe the loc-line is sucking in some air.

This is getting frustrating now :-/

Hope someone can help me out....

 

Your standpipe isn't properly vented, which is causing the "flushing" cycle. You'll likely need to add one or more vent holes in the cap. Some peeps turn the elbow that's on the standpipe so the opening is on top, so if you are able to do so, you can try that.

Yes, you should have the drain line end just under the water level of your sump, OR have it dump into a filter sock to mitigate the splashing from the sump.

HTH

 

Drill the hole out in the cap of your standpipe large enough so a piece of clear airline tubing will fit through it snugly. Cut a piece of airline tube a foot or so long and slowly insert one end into the hole so it is about even with the water surface then experiment up and down util the flushing action and the noise go away. You wil be amazed at the difference.
Make sure the other end of the tube is over the back of the tank or somewhere it does not drop into the water or the air flow gets cut off.

 

Alright, I'll try this and go get another piece of pipe to put it under the water level.

I was hoping you would comment. You are a huge help! Any experience with loc-line? Have you experienced it seeping air?

 

If it's exposed to the air, or a joint is exposed, it can suck air, but not just the loc-line fittings. For instance, I know when I've missed top up on one of our setups because the threaded fitting on the bulkhead in the sump leaks a bit of air when it is exposed.

 

If the Loc Line nozzle is submerged and you are still getting air I would look at your return pump plumbing arrangement. Do you have a filter sponge on the suction of the pump or is it restricted in any way? Are all of your PVC or tubing fittings drip tight or air tight? How is the pump plumbed and what line size(s) are you using? What about bends, valves and other fittings? How old is the system? Have you tried wiggling the pump around to purge any air out of the volute or pump housing? I sometimes findafter cleaning a pump, trapped air remains inside for days before dissipating or sticking a filter on the suction changes the entrance velocity to the pump since it is restricting flow and causes a venturi effect and vortexing inside the pump volute. Or using too small of plumbing or sharp bends etc. causes water to speed up through the fitting then slow down in the tubing due to a venturi effect again and cause microbubbles. Lots of possibilities.