setting up a new sump

james · #1 11-04-2005, 06:23 AM

i have just set up a sump and i have been trying to get the water level to stay in the right spot . it has been three days and it still up and down i keep adjusting the the valves on both the drain and the pump. it just will not level out . any ideas .somthing i am missing

jws444 · #2 11-04-2005, 08:14 AM

Sounds like your overflow or bulkhead (whichever method you're using) is perhpas too small. As you know, its function is to 'put back' whatever water is pumped up from the sump. As long as the overflow/bulkhead is rated slightly higher (higher being better) than the pump's rating, you should never have to fiddle around with ball valves(?) to control your pump. (not too healthy for the pump either)

Even if you get lucky and level it out for the time being, murphy's law will provide you with a change in variables (a stupid snail clog!) when you're at work and you might come home to a wet floor!

As long as your overflow/bulkhead is bigger than your pump's ability, you'll never run into any balancing headaches like this. You would just run your pump at full throttle and that's it. The drain will 'take' whatever your pump dishes out.

james · #3 11-04-2005, 08:51 PM

Thanks George. It seems I was trying too hard to balance the valves. I opened everything up fully and the level seems to have stablized. It makes a bit of noise but I can live with that. Jeez! I've been trying for three days.
Since you knew about that, any ideas on why I'm getting thousands of tiny air bubbles through my pump into the tank?
Thanks again, James

BCWolfen · #4 11-07-2005, 06:47 AM

Give it a few weeks and then take another look. My new sump produced TONS of micro bubbles even with all my baffles. I went and added extra temporary ones and was freaking out. Turns out it just needed some time to build up slime coating everywhere and now all the bubbles are gone.