Sump Issues

[demodiki]

So...I finally got my plumbing set up. I have a 90 gallon tank with a 1 inch bulkhead mounted on the bottom. This drains into a 32 gallon sump. The problem is that the water level in the sump is the same level throughout. Shouldn't the return area be lower than the drain area?

 

[tecwzrd]

Sounds like your water level could be too high, how far from the top is the water level?

Is it a custom made sump? I assume by your question that you have baffles installed.

Typically the return area is slightly lower because it's pulling the water out and the time for water to make it through the baffles takes a little longer but if not it's really not an issue for it to be level unless you have too much water in the sump. More then likely the baffle openings are a little too large or your not pumping very much through your sump if the water level is 2/3rds full.

How much flow do you have going through the sump? Is there a separate fuge? Can you post a photo?

 

[demodiki]

Hmmm...I was told the tank will drain 600 gph through the 1 inch bulkhead. I have a Quite One 4000 return pump in the sump. There are 3 baffles in the sump as well....unfortunately in an UOU configuration. There is no separate fuge.

I drained the system because I did not glue in the PVC to the baffles and it was leaking from there a little. I didn't want to glue them in until I could see that the system was working.

TIA!

 

[Ziggy953]

If you could get a photo up that would help a lot. The return area should be lower then the rest but that is based on the amount of water you have in your system. As evaporation occurs you will see the water in that area drop. What I did with my return area is I figured how much room I needed for water to drain when the power was off and made sure there was a little room to spare above that. I then found a working level that kept the pumps under water and enough water to allow for some evap and marked the tank with a marker. Of course I have an auto top off now and it isn't as important.

 

[tecwzrd]

Your pump does closer to 700 GPH with a 4 ft head, do you have it restricted with a ball valve? If not your overflow is being pushed to the limits.

With Under Over Under, you'll have a section that is between those two outer baffles where the surface water grows stagnant and algae can build up.

With Over Under Over the only disadvantage is if the water level in the pump section is too low it creates a waterfall effect producing more bubbles but that can be avoided with an auto-top off system.

Your sump is more then large enough for a lighted fuge, have you considered it?

Checkout melevsreef.com for sump/fuge ideas.