Water level in sump w/ pic question

Ok guys so my 75G Bow FOWLR is just about setup but a quick question...

How high should I keep the waterlevel of my sump...

Here is a pic of its current state...

 

Check to make sure you have enough water flowing through that it will not run your pump dry and also more importantly that it will not over flow when you have a power failure.

 

You should have it at a level when power goes out that it doesnot overflow. You will need to test this out by shutting down your return pump and letting the water back flow through the pump into the sump. I would drill 2 3/16" holes in your return line in the DT to work as siphon breaks. About 1/2" below the waterline should be more than enough.

Also looking at your feed line to the sump I would shorten it so it is as close to a straight line as possible so that you will have a more consistant flow into the sump.

 

With making sure you have enough space to make sure it doesn't overflow you also have to consider the water level in the center compartment. It has to be at the recommended depth of whatever skimmer you pick up so it works efficiently. Once you figure that out I'd recommend an auto top off so your water status consistent.

 

+1 on what everyone else has said. My auto top-off unit isn't set up at the moment, but when it was, I had it set up so that I had just enough water in my pump chamber to keep it from running dry or overflowing in case of power outage.

 

Well at least you'll be able to convert that to a reef sump when you turn to the darkside!! +1 to what everyone else said. Only thing youre going to have to worry about is truly water level rises when the power goes out.

I saw in a new post you mentioned you switched from tap to RO/DI. This was very smart to control algae outbreaks. I didnt see any filter socks or pads. If you are change your filter pads often on your catch tray. That is a source for nutirents that will fuel algae.

 

Don't waste you time on drilling holes in the return, they are a false sense of security and do nothing but give you a warm fuzzy feeling. They can and will fail.

Keep your return line(s) close to the surface and only a very small, very easily calculated amount of water can possibly clow back to the sump before the siphon breaks and the flow quits. We all know water cannot jump uphill so it is , the returns are 3/4" below the water surface and a max of 3.5 gallons can flow back before the returns are exposed to atmosphere and I can sleep soundly at night with no fears of a flood!

Drilled holes require cleaning, if they are not done right they are noisy due to the jet stream of water and even then nothing can prevent a snail from parking over them, a piece of algae getting stuck in them when it sucks back, on an anemone, small fish, food etc. Not worth the risk, just simply keep the returns where they belong and be safe.