Sump Pump Too Strong?

[360º]

so i just bought a new sump for my tank.

it use to run perfectly on my old 30 gallon sump with 3 sections.

now that im using a 40 gallon sump with 4 sections the pump empties the last 2 sections of water out way quicker than it can be filled from the overflow of the tank.

what the heck is going on? the pump is 1900GPH on a 125 gallon tank.

 

[Just.A.Bit.Salty]

What is your overflow rated at?

 

[360º]

how am i suppose to know

 

[DaveM]

This is a common problem chief. I added a ball valve to my return line so I could even out the gph from overflow to the return line.

 

[mr_X]

a ball valve on the exhaust port of the pump is what i would do too. btw, can you return the pump for something smaller? it seems like a waste spending the extra money on a pump and not needing it.

you said the sump has 4 sections, and 2 of them are full and 2 are empty? sounds like a sump design problem to me.

 

[360º]

a ball valve on the exhaust port of the pump is what i would do too. btw, can you return the pump for something smaller? it seems like a waste spending the extra money on a pump and not needing it.

you said the sump has 4 sections, and 2 of them are full and 2 are empty? sounds like a sump design problem to me.

the pump is like 2 years old and worked perfectly in the old sump.

the sump looks like this (ignore the dots, they're just spacers)



......1.............2............3............4
|.............|..........................|..............|
|..........|..|............|.............|.............|
|______|__________|_________________|



so i put the inlet into section 1 and pump in section 4

the pump empties section 3 and 4 faster than the water is overflowing from section 2/3

should i configure this differently?

 

[DaveM]

Is there any filtering in line that could me slowing the flow down

 

[mr_X]

no. no inline filtering. you'll just overflow the sump. i think the bubble trap between 1 and 2 might be the issue?
from your diagram, it seems impossible for sections 1 and 2 to be full and 3 and 4 empty. the only thing separating them is that half-high barrier, right in the center. i don't see how that would stop water. it should just pour over it.

how much space is in between the 1st and 2nd partitions (the ones that separate sections 1 and 2)?

 

[360º]

the space between the 2 is about 1.5 - 2 inchs.

would it help if i reversed it?

have water coming into 4, skimmer in 3, refugium in 2 and return in 1

 

[melosu58]

Moved to General Hardware and equipment discussion.

 

[360º]

i just bought this to use for my overflow. ill also add some kind of strainer to it so fish dont get sucked in

will this work or will it fail?

 

[David S]

Can you draw the sump better,it looks like section 2,3 and 4 is the return pump section,and not enough water height on the other sections.How quickly does this happen,you may find that there just isn't enough water in your system,make sure with the pump off you fill the sump up too the highest point as if you've had a power cut,turn the pump on and then observe.

 

[360º]

heres a photo of the sump. (in reverse order of the way i drew it)

i had the pump on the far left. sump was full..... the pump drained the last 2 sections in less than 30 seconds and the overflow from the 2 right sections couldnt fill them fast enough

 

[Skeeter]

the way i see it and i maybe wrong is the piece in the middle should have holes so water can pass thru about 3/4 up and sealed all3 sides if not already.The piece to the right of that installed the same way.That would give you a refugium inthat section Then skimmer on rt. return on lft.
Skeeter

 

[mr_X]

the piece in the middle is fine. it's not what's stopping the water. it should flow right over that partition. if you drill holes in it, it will lower the overall water level.
i don't know what to tell you other than to choke back the pump a little. i still don't see any reason that sump should hold back water.

 

[360º]

im going to be taking out the far left partition to fit the huge skimmer i bought.

so ill have the return pump and skimmer in the far left.... i dont know if i should put refugium in the far right and have the input coming into the middle chamber or other way around

 

[mr_X]

that's a bad idea. you are going to have a lot of micro bubbles in your display. you should put the skimmer in the intake area.

 

[360º]

oh ok, thanks for the advice.

ill just move one of the partitions to give me more space for the skimmer

 

[David S]

what size overflow/pipes are being used to supply the sump?also what gph going to the tank adjusting for head?

 

[360º]

im using 1.5 inch pvc and the return pump is 1900 GPH

just realized that the black piece i was gonna use for overflow is abs pastic..... switched it out for actual pvc