overflow tank

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madlynb

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
54
Location
Illinois
Help! I just noticed this AM that one of my overflow tanks is not putting out water into the sump. There is like a yellowish hue appearing on my live rock and sand. I have adjusted the OT pipe up and down and nothing. What can I do?:confused:
 
What kind of overflow? HOB or Internal?

Is your return pump pumping?, anything blocked in any or the line? Siphon still full (if HOB)?
 
I have Twin Internal overflow tanks. My return pump is pumping but when I put my hand up to the return pipe in either overflow the flow is very little. It is just one overflow tank that is not outputting any water. I haven't checked for blockage yet. When I get home from work I will definitely check that. How do I determine the gph of my overflow tanks?
 
overflow tanks

I have researched and found out that my overflow tanks on my 125 gal All Glass Aquarium put out 1200 gph. What size return pump should I be using for this gph?
 
Came home from work yesterday and immediately started to work on the overflow tank that is not outputting water. Stuck a smaller PVC pipe through the flexible hose connected to the output portion of overflow, stuck my hand in OT to take out any accumulation that could be blocking it, pumped the adjustable drain pipe a few times, just a little trickle comes out. What more can I do?:uhoh:
 
Either you have a blockage or your pump is going bad. Did you buy union connections? If you cant solve this issue sticking something down the pipe, your going to have to end up makin a slight mess and cutting it. Got a ball valve or any other connectors?
 
I have a Model 7 utility pump, 115 volts A.C., 60Hz/65 watt, 1.5 amp in sump now. I have a working AquaMedics Ocean Runner OR2500, 650gph pump on hand. Should I replace my Model 7 with the OR?
 
Excuse me for being a novice, when you say union connections, what is that? Is that a connection to help take the adjustable drain pipe out so I can see if anything is blocking the drain pipe base?
 
If your tank in not level the lower overflow will take most of the flow. You could try tunning off your pump and pouring water down the overflow in question, to test the water flow. Maybe a photo would help.
 
The above suggestion seems like a good way to start troubleshooting.

The union connection mentioned above is similar to what you see on a garden hose, just a way to connect and disconnect the pipe via a threaded fitting rather than glue to connect and hacksaw to disconnect :)
 
Okay, I did what you suggested. Shut off the return pump, fed water down the OT in question. A nice steady flow of water came out. I think that my pump is not big enough to handle the return of water. I have an AquaMedic Ocean Runner 2500 that outputs 650gph. My OT's put out 1200gph, total (600gph each). Can I use the OR2500 as my return pump?
 
If 650 gph is sufficient for the tank's filtration needs, then that pump should be fine. The cause of reduced flow is almost certainly what was suggested on the previous page - one of your overflows sits slightly lower than the other, so it is receiving more flow. You could correct that by adjusting its height, or remove it since one overflow has proven capable of handling the flow from the pump, or by adding another pump to raise the total flow rate.
 
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