overflow help

[davcheng]

hey guys, i made a diy overflow and sump, and i just had a few questions.

i know that the 1" pvc overflow would max out at 600 gph, so i got a quiet one 2200 pump that is rated for 580 gph. is that ok? the distance from the tank to the sump would be about 4 ft. at 4 ft, the pump is rated at 400 gph. do i use the 580 gph rating or the 400 gph rating for my pump to size up my overflow?

another question is that if i reduce my overflow at a certain point to 3/4" pvc, does that slow down the whole overflow? (reduce gph of overflow to below 600)

mainly i would just like to know if a 1" pvc overflow and a 2200 quiet one pump rated at 580 gph pushing 4 ft head is ok.

thanks guys

 

[Burko]

"another question is that if i reduce my overflow at a certain point to 3/4" pvc, does that slow down the whole overflow? (reduce gph of overflow to below 600)"


As I understand... the minimum restriction sets the maximum flow.

So if you use a small join you reduce the flow.

 

[dmopar74]

1" overflow and quiet one 2200 is fine. i ran a 1" overflow with a quiet one 3000 at 5' head no problem.

 

[davcheng]

my pump is pumping water faster than my overflow can supply... can i make the pump go slower? or how do i make my overflow get more water?

 

[Egon]

my pump is pumping water faster than my overflow can supply... can i make the pump go slower? or how do i make my overflow get more water?

You can throttle back the pump with a ball valve but that's the worst option. That causes less filtration and adds a little head pressure to your pump. Also same electricity. The second option is making your over flow bigger. Figure out where the restriction is:
#1)If you have a 1" pipe going into a 3/4" fitting then the overall size/flow of your pipe is 3/4". This is even more apparent in gravity fed overflows but it also occurs on the pressure (pump) side. So if you have a 1" over flow then make sure every ball valve, fitting, check valve, bulk head, ect. is at least 1" or greater.
#2) You may need larger pipe. Drill a larger hole or add another hole. Remember, a 2" line will drain more water than two 1" lines. This has to do with the friction from the walls of the pipe. It's better to go larger if possible but it may be easier to just add another 1" line.
#3) Check out the actual over flow. Mine was restricting water flow to keep fish from going in there. I have big fish so I broke some of the finger things away to allow more flow. I removed every other one so I still had a screen protecting the fish but more water spilled into the overflow.
good luck!

 

[davcheng]

1. all of my pipes are 1" and 1" fittings.
2. i hope not... cutting pvc was not my favorite activity.
3. i don't think it has any restrictions. i didn't put a grate on the opening yet.

i went back and siliconed all the parts where i had joined the pvc... hopefully that'll make it even more airtight if that was the problem before. i am using a hose connected to the pump to pump water back into my tank... i think i might try drilling a couple of holes in the hose and see if that'll help.

if i add a ball valve on to the return hose, would that burn the pump out faster?

thanks

 

[Egon]

1. all of my pipes are 1" and 1" fittings.
2. i hope not... cutting pvc was not my favorite activity.
3. i don't think it has any restrictions. i didn't put a grate on the opening yet.

i went back and siliconed all the parts where i had joined the pvc... hopefully that'll make it even more airtight if that was the problem before. i am using a hose connected to the pump to pump water back into my tank... i think i might try drilling a couple of holes in the hose and see if that'll help.

if i add a ball valve on to the return hose, would that burn the pump out faster?

thanks

The ball valve just slows the flow, it shouldn't hurt your pump. The only problem is your going to lower the maximum potential of your filter. On the other hand it's easy.

 

[Cashlaw]

Those are good ideas . . . you could also get a PVC T. What you do is aim the branch of the T to send some water back into the sump to be re-filtered. Adding a valve to the branch lets you adjust how much goes back to the sump.

The benefit, from what I've read, is that you get a little extra filtration, and the diverted water isn't being pushed back into the pump to churn around on the impeller blades, which is easier on the pump.

I did that on my sump . . . attached 100 feet of 1/4" tubing to the branch going back into the sump, for a DIY coil denitrator.

 

[davcheng]

ok thanks a lot guys. i think i'm gonna try the ball valve

 

[Danger_Chicken]

Those are good ideas . . . you could also get a PVC T. What you do is aim the branch of the T to send some water back into the sump to be re-filtered. Adding a valve to the branch lets you adjust how much goes back to the sump.

The benefit, from what I've read, is that you get a little extra filtration, and the diverted water isn't being pushed back into the pump to churn around on the impeller blades, which is easier on the pump.

That is the way to control the pump. Make the pipe going back to the sump long enough to be under water, if not if will be noisy.

Adding more drains (as suggested) usually isn't an option. Also increasing the diameter of the drains wont work if you have a tank drilled for 1" holes. Another factor in slowing down the flow is elbows and turns in the piping. These will have a significant impact on the rate of flow. If using hose, use smooth hose not corrigated hose. Those ripples slow the water flow.

Theres no need to silcone the pvc if you used pvc cement. It's either airtight or leaking water.