ok, my 200 is now setup up and I am now 2 hours into having everything running. It seems that I keep having to adjust the ball valve back and forth to not have too much going into the sump or tank. When I first started the system, I was adjusting it every 5 minutes, but now I am up to every half hour or so. The ball valve is so hard to turn I am using a hammer to lightly tap it otherwise I turn it too much when I use my hands. What is the solution, what am I missing? I know that I shouldn't have to watch it all the time, so am I just doomed to keep adjusting it until I get lucky and hit the correct position? Right now I don't trust it enough to go to bed tonight without turning the system off.
Overflow flow problems
- Thread starter MBilyeu
- Start date
If the ball valve is that hard to turn, I'd return it for another one.
I'm guessing the ball valve is on your return line from the pump to the tank?
Big mistake that most people make because they just don't know any better is to put the ball valve inline. This puts back-pressure on the pump and will cause early failure/wear.
Easy solution though. Put a T inline and put the ball valve on the leg of the T. The top of the T that you can look through is inline so that the water flows through unrestricted.
Run a hose from the ball valve to the sump. This allows you to divert water back to the sump. The more you open the ball valve, the more water is diverted which reduces the flow to the tank and takes pressure OFF of the pump.
The water going to the sump is just going in a circle from the pump, so no chance of it overfilling the sump.
If you don't understand, I'll draw a picture for you.
I'm guessing the ball valve is on your return line from the pump to the tank?
Big mistake that most people make because they just don't know any better is to put the ball valve inline. This puts back-pressure on the pump and will cause early failure/wear.
Easy solution though. Put a T inline and put the ball valve on the leg of the T. The top of the T that you can look through is inline so that the water flows through unrestricted.
Run a hose from the ball valve to the sump. This allows you to divert water back to the sump. The more you open the ball valve, the more water is diverted which reduces the flow to the tank and takes pressure OFF of the pump.
The water going to the sump is just going in a circle from the pump, so no chance of it overfilling the sump.
If you don't understand, I'll draw a picture for you.
My ball valve is on my overflow line. I had to do this because I wanted to eventually upgrade my pump, so I went with 1-1/2" PVC for my overflow. My return pump(Quiet one 4000) is completely unrestriced. I am just adjusting the amount of water going into my sump, not coming out. I didn't see any reason to put a valve on the return line, because I knew that my overflow will be able to handle any size pump that I wanted.
Well, while you may think your logic works, it doesn't. Here's why. There won't be any more flow to the sump than what the pump in pumping to the tank. You want the flow to the sump to be unrestricted.
If you restrict the flow to the sump, the tank will overflow at the point at which the pump surpasses the overflows capacity to flow into the sump.
Solution: take the ball valve off the overflow to the sump. That is absolutely incorrect placement and is not needed.
If you restrict the flow to the sump, the tank will overflow at the point at which the pump surpasses the overflows capacity to flow into the sump.
Solution: take the ball valve off the overflow to the sump. That is absolutely incorrect placement and is not needed.
I had it set up yesterday without the ball valve and the water level would stay at the lowest point the overflow would allow(about 3.5-4" below the top) while making a "gurgling" noise that you had to raise your voice quite a bit to talk over. When I installed the ball valve today, the whole system is nearly silent, and I can get the water level to stay near the top. If this is incorrect, what can I do to have a quiet system and a high water level?
I don't know how much these pics will help, but the last one was taken the day that I bought the parts, and shows roughly how the overflow is set up. Please excuse the sump, it is still not complete...
Umm, that's not an overflow, that's a siphon 
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219465 The first few posts on this sticky thread should help you out.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219465 The first few posts on this sticky thread should help you out.