Sump Level Went Way Up - Please Advise...

[bleublaze55]

over flow will eventually have to stop. Once the height of the water is less than the height of the vents leading into the overflow, your tank will stop draining. Thanks my understanding. Then check the connections from the back of your tank down to your sump. If you see anything leaking then you could fix and adjust.

He could also mean to turn the valve off from the overflow, which would mean that the overflow box would eventually level off with the tank level. Either case you will be able to see the leak somewhere. I like the second idea better, haha.

However i don't have a sump, but i have watched people build them.

 

['vspec']

First things first, remove some water from the sump ( a level you believe your happy with), then perform a shut down to see what happens.

 

[HULON]

Madding i did not read all the way through yet but i sounds to me like your fine mechanical is clogging quikely because of the fine grit from your sand check it out i'll bet they have alot of sediment already .If your flow was already stable for several days and now rising i would be willing to bet thats it...

 

[frnchjeep]

It's been running for about a week, so I'm not sure if it's the pump. It's a 2400 GPH pump and the return nozzles are pushing out water pretty good.



I don't mean to sound noobish, but turning off the system to me equals unplugging the pump, which equals the overflows emptying water into the sump and eventually overflowing it because the pump is not running. If I am understanding you wrong, please clarify. Sorry & thanks!

Nope... thats exactly what I'm saying...vspec, too. You might need to drain the sump a little because it is so high right now, but shut the pump off and let the overflows settle. all flow from the tank should stop. if it dosent, you have a leak somewhere. It could be in the silicone on the half moon overflows ( thats "breach into the weir"), or where the standpipe meets the bulkhead fitting, etc. What is the water level in the overflows?

 

[Madding]

[QUOTE='vspec';439624;1]First things first, remove some water from the sump ( a level you believe your happy with), then perform a shut down to see what happens.[/QUOTE]

Can do. Will report back after this. Thanks.

 

[jsodwi]

Drain water from the tank or sump until your desired water level is reached in the sump. unplug the pump afterwards and within a few minutes all water movement should stop. Nothing flowing into the sump. If water is still leaking in then you have a leak in your overflow pipes as stated above.

 

[bleublaze55]

The pump suggestion is something to checkout as well since your going to tear everything apart.

 

[vamptrev]

this isnt the prob but your overflow drain pipes i see in the pic shouldnt be going from the tank, down to the floor, then back up to the sump.

u should have the drains flowing downward all the way to the sump...

 

['vspec']

Its quite hard finding a decent example of how sumps work with limited time.

However this is the basic principle of the return side.

 

[Madding]

Okay, I drained the sump manually to a desired level and then shut off the pump. Water movement seemed to have stopped entirely after the overflows lowered to the valve levels.

I turned it back on and it drained to maybe 1/2 of an inch higher than where I had manually lowered it. So it's basically just above the eggcrate now which is ideal for me. It's now running correctly I hope.

There are a couple of things I think it could have been that I want to run by you guys:

1) The return pump seemed out of place in the sump, with the intake up against the back glass as opposed to tucked in towards the front of the sump without nothing impeding the pumps intake. It may have been moved from vibrations/me working and not realizing I moved it. It's back in place now.

2) I did a small water change this morning before work. This was my first water change of the 500 gallon and I am wondering if this could have caused it without me realizing it. If so, are there any water change tips you guys have for me? Maybe I added too much water back in than was originally there?

Seems to be fixed now, but I'd like to make sure I keep this system running as smoothly and as such try not to let it happen again. Thanks guys.

Michael