Setting up my new 120 Gallon Pic heavy......

[Egon]

question how loud is this setup i am looking at copying your bottom overflow design on my 120 rebuild. also do you have to restric the bottom overflowes to get the skimmer overflow to work?

It's loud I guess. It's hard to say. I can hear the quiet one pump in the background, so the splashing isn't as loud as the pump. I did pack some filter floss between the 1 inch line and the two inch line. I will take a picture tonight. That alone dropped the noise level by 90%. I'm using the pump as an external so it's louder than the "waterfall" noise.

Overflows: I have the overflows at exactly the same height. The bottom overflow are maxed out (they don't flow much) and the rest spilled over the skimmer overflow. I would estimate the bottom overflows drain about 20% of the water and the skimmer overflow does the rest (60%)

 

[rotccapt]

so do you think that an 1.5 inch bottom overflow would run better?

 

[Egon]

so do you think that an 1.5 inch bottom overflow would run better?

No, I went with the 2" bottom overflow just for the capacity and I'm glad I did. I have three 1" lines dropping into that 2" manifold, it's almost maxxed out. A 1.5" line wouldn't of been large enough.

Below is the muffler I installed around the 1" line going into the 2" line. It works great!

 

[rotccapt]

what i was trying to say was instead of the 1 inch overflow pipes use a 1.5 inch pipe for the overflows at the bottom of the tank. my plan is 2 bottom overflows and one surface skimmer overflow.

another idea that i think would work well is 1" to 2" reducers instead of the filter floss for your manifold. i do like that idea though

 

[Egon]

what i was trying to say was instead of the 1 inch overflow pipes use a 1.5 inch pipe for the overflows at the bottom of the tank. my plan is 2 bottom overflows and one surface skimmer overflow.

another idea that i think would work well is 1" to 2" reducers instead of the filter floss for your manifold. i do like that idea though

Ahhh, okay, I understand. Yes 1.5 lower overflows would of been better. I did 1.5" with my 360. Of course the 360 needs more flow and I wish I went with 2" lol.

I thought about the reducers and I still might go that route. I was concerned with creating a syphon, the system already has a slight syphon and creates a rush of water going into the sump every once in a while causing the sump to slightly overflow then this extra water drains to the yard. After this cycle the sump level is dropped as much as 1". I figured if I added the reducers I would get a larger cycle that may starve my pump. Causing my pump to run dry until the trickle system could catch up........

Anyway the system is not perfect. I need a bigger manifold (2" drain needs to be larger) but this is working so I will stick with it for now.

 

[Sarmo]

I thought about the reducers and I still might go that route. I was concerned with creating a syphon, the system already has a slight syphon and creates a rush of water going into the sump every once in a while causing the sump to slightly overflow then this extra water drains to the yard. After this cycle the sump level is dropped as much as 1". I figured if I added the reducers I would get a larger cycle that may starve my pump. Causing my pump to run dry until the trickle system could catch up........

.

i bet your siphon is at the tank level and not down below. you can add a siphon break where the pipe goes into the tank water by drilling a hole in your overflow pipe and pressing in a piece of tubing, either 1/4" or i used 3/8" on my reef overflow, just make sure the tube is above you water level and it shoud stop all siphoning.
do you hear "slurpping" sounds? that would be the pipe you have trouble with.

at the top of my 1.5" dual overflow pipes you can see where i glued in 3/4" lines to act as a siphon breaks when i was setting my tank this time. sorry i don't know how to "draw on a pic" or i would have added arrows or something

 

[Egon]

I set my overflows up like this but not all the way from the bottom, My overflows are starting from the lower side of the tank. I just don't want to draw another pic.

My siphon break is the 1" line going up above the water level then T'ing back down to the sump. Where would I put the 1/4" line?

 

[Sarmo]

i'm sorry Egon, i thought you had other overflows. i forgot that they were all from lower part. that "T" is the best i can think of for a siphon break.
That "down going" verticle pipe after the "T" nevers gets full of water does it? if so, that might be a source of your surge? if that is happening, is the 1" pipe getting to close to the bottom of the 2" and causing restriction to the flow? that "down going pipe should never be full of water only partially full. up sizing the pipe after the vent T might also help??? then you could use a reducer and glue the connection with your manifold and maybe reduce noise.
the only other source of a surge i can think of is the manifold. it looks like it has a good slope in the pictures but is it at leat an 1/8" per foot? the final piece is the pipe coming into your sump, does it also have a slope? if all that is good then i would remove the downgoing 90 (above the sump) and put in a T above you filter socks (or if it's glued and you don't want to do that you could just drill a 1/2" hole on the top of the 90)

sorry i got so long..... i really like plumbing, it's fun but can be frustrating

 

[Egon]

i'm sorry Egon, i thought you had other overflows. i forgot that they were all from lower part. that "T" is the best i can think of for a siphon break.
That "down going" verticle pipe after the "T" nevers gets full of water does it? if so, that might be a source of your surge? if that is happening, is the 1" pipe getting to close to the bottom of the 2" and causing restriction to the flow? that "down going pipe should never be full of water only partially full. up sizing the pipe after the vent T might also help??? then you could use a reducer and glue the connection with your manifold and maybe reduce noise.
the only other source of a surge i can think of is the manifold. it looks like it has a good slope in the pictures but is it at leat an 1/8" per foot? the final piece is the pipe coming into your sump, does it also have a slope? if all that is good then i would remove the downgoing 90 (above the sump) and put in a T above you filter socks (or if it's glued and you don't want to do that you could just drill a 1/2" hole on the top of the 90)

sorry i got so long..... i really like plumbing, it's fun but can be frustrating

The 1" pipe is never full of water. I think my issue is in the manifold. It slops in the back but does not slop when it goes into the sump. I like your "T" fitting idea going into the filter sock. I think that will work and I did not glue that fitting so it will be easy to change. I will buy a 2" T fitting on my way home from work today and give it a shot. I think this is a great idea, thanks!

I love plumbing too

 

[cschilly]

What's the light you're using on that 120?