New 240 and my DIY Sump issues

[nmadsen4]

thx for response. so if i get rid of the wet/dry tower then where do i put the filter sock and how does it connect to the drain hoses?

 

[nmadsen4]

Well nevermind on the filter socks. I drained about 20% of the water out of the tank and then pumped the water out of the sump as it had filled up while the pumps were off. This allowed me to get to the middle drawer and pull it out. I drilled probably 40% more holes ( i didn't realize how much more space I had for holes). I put it back in, filled everything up and it's been running for about 18 hours without filling the drawer at all. It appears that the problem is completely solved

I do not mind the noise at all actually, the stand is completely enclosed except for some drilled holes I made for ventilation and the tank has acrylic lids that fit pretty snug. All this has really cut down on noise and it just sort of sounds like small water fountain. Very soothing and not annoying at all.

 

[boldtogether]

Thanks for the help. You are correct in assuming that the 3rd drawer has the bio balls. I did fear that i would have to remove the drawer completely to add holes. My only issue with that is it's already fairly riddled with them. I had suggested a side hole to try improve the air flow and help the water pull through the filter but I'm guessing that just isn't going to work the way i want it to.

Is the filter sock over the intake of the pumps a bad idea? They are only on about 3/10 power so I could really bump it up to compensate for the restriction that the sock would cause.

What's the idea with the lava rock all about? Does it act the same as the bio balls or does it serve another purpose?

Once the filter socks get clogged...which is the intent isn't it? They will cause the pump to work too hard. Pumps, unless designed to pump a vacuum, need unrestricted intake flow...you can burn out a pump by restricting the intake...
What do you have in the top drawer? If you put somthing like Eheim effimech or some such similar for mechanical, you don't really need to open the drawer.

 

[nmadsen4]

Well due to poor design, the middle brace on the sump prevents me from opening the top drawer more than about 1.5". So I'm left with just the middle and bottom drawer. So far though everything is running much better now that I've added more holes.

 

[rodger]

I hate to say it, since I have had to bite this bullet myself......... I think it is time to start from scratch. I understand it can overwhelm a budget but it's better than a flood or burned up pump.

 

[nmadsen4]

Thanks I appreciate the advice and I did think about it. For now I'm going to leave it, the water levels are stable and there is no risk of flood as the sump is large enough to take on the water in case of a power outage. If I encounter any additional issues then I'm going to just rebuild the entire thing as you suggest.