sump pressure

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Mghslowell

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jun 11, 2003
Messages
106
Location
Massachusetts usa
i just spent 3 hours equilizing the *BEEP* pressure for my return using a rio 2100.

3 hours up and down by the milimters for my 10g sump.

i use a 3/4 pipe with a 1/2 pvc elbow. and it was too much for the pump to even off
so i had to plumb the pipe down a pinch with a adapter

then the valve on my rio is super tight and just a millimeter at a time to adjust it mega hard.

anyways i went to the store after i equalled the pressure last night and got a adjustment valve for the intake syphon and i guess the foam in the sump moved a bit and it was off again so i spent another 40 min making sure it wasnt off for i work a 9 hour shift and didnt want a burned out motor or a flooded house.

is there any other way to perfectly and easily match ?
 
your talking about your return pump an dyour overflow?

I have never had problems with this. The key is making sure you dont buy a pump that pushes more water than your overflow can drain. If you out drive your overflow then I can see the problems you describe.

What kind of overflow do you have? Whats its GPH rating? What is the head height the RIO 2100 has to pump the water back to the main tank?
 
sump

i dont have a overflow yet .. the syphon pump is comming right from the tank

noone has a over flow in stock at the lfs and the ones they have have a bio fuilter in them for 165 $ ! ! !

anyways the hieight of the pump head which is submersed is baout 5 inches and the line going up that is 3/4 inch . is 4 feet.

i have it all set just that i want to know an easier

the intake isnt driven its just vacummed from a natural syphon directly from the main 55g tank

thanks!
 
ff now you have me worried will a pump that is rated at 1225 gph@ 3' head put drive the overflow on my 75...geez i thought i could think up enough things to worry about on my own 8O
 
What kind of overflow do you have alrmc4?

Look at www.lifereef.com for some high quality U tube overflows. I dont like the CPR style overflows but some use them with no problem. A standard U tube overflow will process 600-700GPH but lifereef also sells double overflows that process up to 1400GPH. I use the double overflow myself.

Ok. So you have 4 ft of head height on the rio 2100. Ill have to look up how many GPH that equates out to. If you have to restrict the pump to keep the tank from overflowing then your syphon line cant drain the water fast enough. Installing a second syphon line will help. BUT your problem is this. With an overflow water can not go but so low because water will stop flowing into the overflow box. But with syphon lines just placed in the tank if you do not exactly balance the syphon with the return the syphon will slowly drain the tank utnil air can get into the system. At that rate the syphon will stop and your pump will overfill the tank or the pump will run dry once it drains the sump.

I would be very uncomfortable with a setup of how you describe.
 
very uncomfortable!

but its steady now. .

ill look at the overflows. the problem is. . that there is too much water being taken out of the tank than in so i had to restrict the intake line a little,

thanks
 
Oh. ok so the syphon line is pulling more water out than the pump is returning.

See you wont have that problem with an overflow as with an overflow it can only syphon as much water as the pump is putting into the tank.
 
You might check with Champion Lighting for an overflow. I didn't find them on the website, but they list them in their newest catalog...standard U tube overflows. Their website is www.championlighting.com and their phone # is 1-800-673-7822.
 
I have a CPR overflow box with a rio 800R drawing the air outta the syphon and my return is also a rio 2100...I have my rio 2100 going full steam not restricted at all! im running about 350gph with a 58gal tank. The CPR is working PERFECT! the overflow CPR is rated at 300gph but i know its drawing more than that because i calculated my head loss on my return pump and its pushing up 350gph i would recommend getting a CPR overflow box! Working well for me :D
 
As I understand it, the problem with the CPR overflows is the pump. Rio pumps have a tendency to not restart when they get some age on them. If I went with the CPR, I'd use at least a MaxiJet 900 to evacuate the air from the siphon. In theory, even if the siphon is lost, the venturi on the PH will restart it. As long as the air line is submerged on the PH end and there are NO leaks on the other end, it should work. I've had really good luck with the U tube types though.
 
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