Herbie Overflow Question

[BizTodd]

Hi everyone,

This is my first large aquarium, and first with a sump. It has been an experience to say the least. The tank was drilled with (2) 1" holes in an upside down weir.



My understanding is this is to allow detritus to get blown in the bottom, and then pulled out with the standpipe.

So I thought a Herbie design was the way to go. My main drain is 3" below the emergency drain, which is 1/4" from the top (But I think it needs to be cut down).

I first tried to put 2 90s in a U, but the syphon would cause enough back fill in the sump when I turned the pump off, that I needed to leave so much room for I couldn't get the water to reach the emergency before the return chamber ran dry.

Next I tried the second 90 parallel to the water, and while this worked, it would still suck air every once in a while. If I laid something on the surface of the water, the whirlpool never formed and it maintained the syphon. Obviously I didn't think using something to cover the main drain was a practical solution.

So I tried turning the second 90 more upwards, and needless to say that was LOUD.



Here is my question, can I make the I shape with the 2 90s, but drill a small hole in the front or rear of the U, so in a power outage, it will break the syphon? Would I be a better candidate for a Durso, perhaps with a long intake pipe to reach closer to the bottom?

Thanks in Advance

Todd

 

[TheWolfman]

Drill a 1/4" hole at the top of the first 90. Then point the second one down. It won't suck the air anymore.

 

[BizTodd]

Thanks, it worked like a charm.

 

[BizTodd]

I just want to say that this forum and you all have been tremendously helpful. I knew almost nothing about large aquariums and sumps before coming here. I have had many struggles as I bought a project tank, and someone has always had a good answer for me. With that said, the aquarium is in the house, on the stand, sump is setup and plumbed. The real lights (2) 36" Fluval Plant 3.0 and some plants arrive Wednesday. Now to setup my CO2 ( Any bubble count suggestions for a 180 Gallon appreciated)



This tank has an underflow, so in lieu of a deep bed substrate, I have clear containers filled with MTS and capped with Black Blasting Sand. I still need to buy a power head to move the water along the bottom and push waste towards the back corner.

I took some ideas from Cory at Aquarium Coop and designed a settling chamber with my 2 300W heaters and an Inkbird controller.



Then we have a horizontal mechanical filtration. The idea being the when the first fine pad is too dirty, I can remove it and the next pad inline will catch and release garbage. I can then move all the pads forward and add a new one at the end, or just replace that one where it is.



Last but not least is the biological and return pump. It currently has 15lbs of Ceramic Rings and Baked Clay Balls (Left overs from from my frog keeping days) and 48 pot scrubbers. Ignore what looks like water going through a baffle, I removed the baffle while the sump was full, and didn't get to the silicone yet.



The last small baffle is what is left of the bubble trap, not sure it pays to remove it.

Post return pump, we have a DIY CO2 reactor. It is just an 1.5 wide pipe with CO2 pumped in at the top, then the water flows down before going back up to the actual returns.



There are other threads about building the stand, and sanding and buffing the acrylic. I wouldn't have had the confidence to tackle some of this without knowing that when I struggled you'd be there.

Thanks after the fact this time!

Todd

 

[BizTodd]

Got a question too. Since my weir is an underflow as opposed to overflow, would it make sense to extend the down tube a lot closer to the bottom of the weir? I have a hole drilled at the first 90, so the syphon will break in the case of a power outage.



Thanks in Advance,

Todd

 

[DN328]

I think that could help getting detritus and it's worth trying. Just be sure to test that the siphon breaks when return pump is off.