DIY filter design for dummies (me)

[aeri]

if a ball valve is not a good idea why do all the big name companies put some kind of flow adjuster on their filters the pump stays teh same speed all the adjuster is doing iw slowing the flow back to the tank?

i'd imagine that blocking the output of a pump would cause damage eventually. kinda like driving with your handbrake on.

installing a ball valve on the sump input would make more sense as this is fed by gravity/siphon from the main tank

 

[chesterthehero]

restricting the overflow (supply to sump) will only result in flooding your tank and starving your pump...

restricting the pump for magdrive pumps is fine (or so they say) but IMO is a waste if you are going through the effort to add a valve you might as well also add a T and divert the excess water back into the sump to be refiltered..

 

[Oosh]

Bang-on with the car analogy aeri.

Same with your comment chester, it's massively inefficient, you size the pump to the task (which you need the pump curve for). But if you're past that point then you may as well re-filter via a tee and not artificially restrict your pump.

 

[dominicolas]

if a ball valve is not a good idea why do all the big name companies put some kind of flow adjuster on their filters the pump stays teh same speed all the adjuster is doing iw slowing the flow back to the tank?

The right reason is that the flow is too much for the fish.

The common reason is that people refuse to learn about how an overflow works.

If you don't understand, scower this site and read every word pertaining to overflows, don't just skim. Trust me, there was a time when I didn't understand overflows, and I just had to immerse myself and I got to the point where I understood like 90% and felt comfortable enough to make one. Now I use like 5 and I am 110% confident in my understanding.

 

[cichness]

glad i ran accross this thread, i was just haveing the same issues with trying to pick a pump for my sump..... still not sure, but if all else fails i can buy one thats a little over powered and do the tee with ballvalve thing and redirect some of it back into the trickle filter, or even more simply, just back into the holding tank lol

 

[Austin]

glad i ran accross this thread, i was just haveing the same issues with trying to pick a pump for my sump..... still not sure, but if all else fails i can buy one thats a little over powered and do the tee with ballvalve thing and redirect some of it back into the trickle filter, or even more simply, just back into the holding tank lol

bigger is better but you don't have to redirect. just put a ball valve in line and adjust it.

 

[cichness]

but most people above all said that bogging down your pump was a bad idea "like driving with your handbrake on"

 

[dominicolas]

Let me rephrase my previous comment.

THERE IS NO REASON TO SLOW YOUR PUMP. LEARN HOW AN OVERFLOW WORKS.

 

[Oosh]

Within reason, you're not going to put a 2,000GPH pump on a 50G tank, the key is sizing the pump correctly to your tank and turn-over target for the head you're pumping.

Then you need to have an appropriate diameter overflow pipe to handle that flow (plus some safety margin).

If for whatever reason your pump is out-stripping the capacity of your overflow then you need to upgrade it (as dominicolas so emphatically suggests), but if for some reason that's not possible (or desirable) then use the Tee Valve method, not a simple Valve.

 

[dominicolas]

Within reason, you're not going to put a 2,000GPH pump on a 50G tank, the key is sizing the pump correctly to your tank and turn-over target for the head you're pumping.

Then you need to have an appropriate diameter overflow pipe to handle that flow (plus some safety margin).

If for whatever reason your pump is out-stripping the capacity of your overflow then you need to upgrade it (as dominicolas so emphatically suggests), but if for some reason that's not possible (or desirable) then use the Tee Valve method, not a simple Valve.

Valves and whatnot seem like more work than making another/ a bigger overflow. Overflows are like the easiest things in the world.