Sump problem- help asap please

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
My Herbie drain system fluctuates with a bit of evaporation. The difference here is, I'm valving the drains not the returns and my sump allows for large volume fluctuations without running dry (no baffles)

I usually make a slight adjustment to the gate every few days though to allow more water into my open channel.


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I always make my overflow pipes much larger than the inflow.
If water to the tank comes from 1/2" pipe, I find I need at least 1"- 1 1/2"pipe out, I prefer 2" to avoid getting slow flow or plugged.
Also like to keep my sump levels quite high, at least 1/2 full. To me, wet/dry is highly over-rated, and find a wet sump is equally as efficient with less chance of something going wrong. (my nitrate level hovers 2-5 ppm)
Low water levels near pump intake can easily be overwhelmed by evaporation etc as pacu mom suggested in tanks that size.
 
The durso pipes are 2" and then drain into a 1" pipe and then down into a 1" hose into the sump. The returns are 1" all the way through. I do have a ball valve after the sump but before the pump and then I have a ball valve after the pump on the "t". I'm beginning to think it's just a matter of fine tuning on my end to figure out where the output # meets the input #. Would it be better to use the valve before the pump or after the pump though? And I keep my sump about 1/2 full because it will overflow with a power outage if I keep it any higher.


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So the question that comes to mind is:

Does the water level in your tank rise when this happens?

If so, then you either need to pump less water or remove any possible obstructions from the drains (a bubble perhaps?) If a bubble is the culprit then shutting the pump off for a few seconds might clear it if you have a purge hole at the top of the overflow pipe.

If not, then you are underestimating your evaporation and you just need to top-off more often.

Also, can the holes drilled for the overflow accommodate wider pipes? Because it's a little ridiculous that you can't even get 5x water turnover per hour.
 
strollo22 said:
I can make the pipes as big as I want but it's still a 1" hole which will only allow about 700 gph to pass through


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Click to expand...

I had a feeling that was the case. Even so, with head pressure your overflows should be able to handle your pump's output. What about my first question?
 
Sounds to me like a lot of little causes. Pumps slightly overwhelming the overflows, evaporation and sump water level too low. I agree with duanes about wet/dry being overrated. I keep my sump level 3/4 full whenever I do my waterchanges.

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cali~budfish said:
Sounds to me like a lot of little causes. Pumps slightly overwhelming the overflows, evaporation and sump water level too low. I agree with duanes about wet/dry being overrated. I keep my sump level 3/4 full whenever I do my waterchanges.

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Click to expand...

And what happens if you lose
Power? How large is your sump in comparison to
Your tank?




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