Cheryl's 165 Gallon upgrade

[duncangweller]

If you put a gate valve on your drain then you can restrict the amount of water entering your sump and allow your return pump to run at full bore. That's what I do....my drain is a siphon and my pump runs at full speed. Barely makes a sound at all.

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[CherylMcKay]

Originally Posted by duncangweller

If you put a gate valve on your drain then you can restrict the amount of water entering your sump and allow your return pump to run at full bore. That's what I do....my drain is a siphon and my pump runs at full speed. Barely makes a sound at all.

I have a ball valve on it now, but had already decide I had to change it out for gate valves.... I will also have to raise the height of the drain pipes in the tank. When I get a full syphon, the water level is about 1-1 1/2 " lower then I want.

Thanks, I wasn't sure I wanted the pipe at full syphon, but I guess it makes sense for water turn over.

[CherylMcKay]

3rd flood in as many weeks. The one pipe caught the syphon again and dumped 20+ gallons into the sump. Unfortunately my skimmer container is lower than my sump.

So, my gate valves are here and I know that if I lower my water, I can change out the plumbing underneath.

My dilemma is inside the tank.

1. I have to raise the pipes inside or I really only have 100 ( or less) gallons inside the display. Do I have to regular the PVC or will it fit tight enough just slipped together?

2. One of the pipes has a 180 degree turn so it pulled water from under the surface and was quiet. Is that wise? I have a skim on the surface of the tank because the surface never drains. Hate it but want a quieter tank?

Opinions?

[CherylMcKay]

Anyone want to come to Whitehorse and help me fix this??? Really despising the lack of expertise up here right now.

[daplatapus]

Any chance you can post pics of what you have exactly. It might help determine what issues you might be having and how best to fix it. Pics are truly worth 1000 words.

[CherylMcKay]

So here are some pictures. If you need more or a diffrent angle, let me know.

This is the left return stand pipe. It is the one with the 180 degree angle to be underwater and is the main return to the skimmer container. There is a hole on the top as I originally thought I didn't want it to have a full syphon.


Here is the right return stand pipe. It is straight through and usually is above water.


They are a couple of feet from each other centered in the middle of the tank.


They both go down and join together to flow to the skimmer container first. Right now they both have ball valves that I want to switch out.
Left:
Right:

The sump and the skimmer container are joined together with 1 inch pvc between them.



I was thinking of raising the skimmer container up so the top was level with the sump.... but I don't think I have enough room with the pipes and the stand height.

I am going to see about getting a sump build for me, but that is going to take time and money and I need to deal with this really quickly.

I don't want to drain the tank to do this but if I have to I would then like to have an external overflow built. I figure i could do most of it myself, but I have no idea how I would lower the back of the tank to have the overflow.

Hope these help.

[CherylMcKay]

If you need to see bigger pictures, here is the link to my photobucket album.

http://i1173.photobucket.com/albums/...39CB2AD698.jpg

Thanks

[daplatapus]

Sorry that link only is to the first pic, not the album. Is this a full herbie? and the second pic is basically your safety overflow? Can't really see it in the small pic.

[CherylMcKay]

Originally Posted by daplatapus

Sorry that link only is to the first pic, not the album. Is this a full herbie? and the second pic is basically your safety overflow? Can't really see it in the small pic.

Sorry about that.

Try this: http://pbckt.com/ar.wdhyJ

[CherylMcKay]

Originally Posted by daplatapus

Sorry that link only is to the first pic, not the album. Is this a full herbie? and the second pic is basically your safety overflow? Can't really see it in the small pic.

I am not sure what you mean by a " full Herbie". I looked at several types of drains and found that the stand pipe that was under the water was quietest. So I did that on one side and, left the other upright.... Like a vent stack on plumbing and in case the other fit plugged up.

Honestly, I was guessing because I don't have an overflow and couldn't find examples of a similar setup.