Sorry my explaination then was poor, both of mine do run into the sump from the bottom of the tank, the issue being is I do have a ball valve on the one closer to the surface but I can never get the balance where it only just slightly flows in the top one, it kind of always just goes in there or if I turn the valve slightly the other way to let less in the top one, the weir level drops and it just gets sucked into the pipe midway up and the top one is out of the water by a decent margin
Sump Question
- Thread starter Lkeizm
- Start date
I would not drill any holes in the overflow box. I've seen several keepers attempt this but they usually just end up making things more difficult.
Esox modified bottom skimmer is genius, but won't apply to your tank as from what I understand you have an enclosed bottom drilled overflow with a Herbie type drain setup.
If I'm reading you correctly, you're saying that the higher drain is the one youre controlling with a valve and the lower drain is completely open? This should be the other way around. Your lower drain is your full siphon and will need to be fine tuned with the valve, and the higher drain, right at about the waterline, is your emergency drain in the case of a clog. Here's a helpful picture to show you what I mean. If your setup is much different pls post a pic.
As for the floating particles, I'm thinking you could probably eliminate 90% with reconfiguring your sump a bit and increasing your turnover rate. For instance, i would just convert the k1 chamber into a filter sock chamber. What is your flow turnover? What kind of pump are you using? Also, what size pipe are your drains?
Esox modified bottom skimmer is genius, but won't apply to your tank as from what I understand you have an enclosed bottom drilled overflow with a Herbie type drain setup.
If I'm reading you correctly, you're saying that the higher drain is the one youre controlling with a valve and the lower drain is completely open? This should be the other way around. Your lower drain is your full siphon and will need to be fine tuned with the valve, and the higher drain, right at about the waterline, is your emergency drain in the case of a clog. Here's a helpful picture to show you what I mean. If your setup is much different pls post a pic.
As for the floating particles, I'm thinking you could probably eliminate 90% with reconfiguring your sump a bit and increasing your turnover rate. For instance, i would just convert the k1 chamber into a filter sock chamber. What is your flow turnover? What kind of pump are you using? Also, what size pipe are your drains?
Yes u are doing it backwards. Which ever drain is shorter kr lower one, u put the valve in and adjust it closed untill the water rises anove it and barely flows through the highest pipe like i explained earlyier how i had mine and how the post above this says. But that still does nothing for the other issue at hand
The tank size is 5 x 2 x 2.5 and the pump I currently use is a fluval sp4, and yes you are exactly right, that picture is exactly what I have but the valve is on the lower drain, I seemed to have messed my words up lol. I just can’t seem to get the correct balance no matter what I do it’s always to much or too little, the first chamber I did try filter socks, but didn’t have any luck eliminating the particles, I believe the pipe is 2-3 inch I will measure when I’m home
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Sorry I messed by words up, yeah the valve is on the lower drain, but I can’t get it so it’s just level with the top one, it’s always over and fully siphoning or under and just going through the lower one
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What kind of valve are u using if iu dont mind me asking. The cheap ones from like home depot dont realy go down fine enough to fine tune it enough to work right.
Here is what i normaly by they are not cheap but are very precise. The screen shot is my actual ebay purchase history from when i bought it and was a good deal for them. I could not find 1. 1/2 inch any were was a chore to find a 1/2 check valve as well i had all the parts and was just waiting on them. Bulk reed aupplt is a good spot i usualy get fittings from and another but name escapes me currently. Im sure if u get a better valve u can get it tuned in right. I as well have thought lf holes lr a uni seal in the bottom of the partitiion section my bulk heads are behind it wont cause flooding on my set up because i only use the top bulk head now and is realy high to the water line. The 2 drains together in this way is realy only to make it super quit. My k1 sump is loader then any thing else ao does not matter to me
Here is what i normaly by they are not cheap but are very precise. The screen shot is my actual ebay purchase history from when i bought it and was a good deal for them. I could not find 1. 1/2 inch any were was a chore to find a 1/2 check valve as well i had all the parts and was just waiting on them. Bulk reed aupplt is a good spot i usualy get fittings from and another but name escapes me currently. Im sure if u get a better valve u can get it tuned in right. I as well have thought lf holes lr a uni seal in the bottom of the partitiion section my bulk heads are behind it wont cause flooding on my set up because i only use the top bulk head now and is realy high to the water line. The 2 drains together in this way is realy only to make it super quit. My k1 sump is loader then any thing else ao does not matter to me
This is the one I’m using, in an ideal world I should of used a gate valve, but it was my first ever tank with a sump so some stuff was confusing to start with, just got the basic stuff
Yup a gate valve is really what's needed. Try directing flow to stir up debris into the water column to be removed via the overflow. Either redirect your pump output or use power heads.
2" drain is big, plenty big for a 5x2x2.5, but an sp4 is on the wimpy side for a tank that size and plumbing that large. I use an sp4 on a 65g with a 30g sump (system less than half the size of yours).
First thing I must ask, do you have the sp4 controlled with a valve as well? In order to properly tune an overflow, you will have to set the drain valve, then adjust the pumps flow to match the drain. If you are just running the sp4 full blast and trying to adjust the drain to match, you will have problems finding that sweet spot.
As far as getting the overflow perfect, you will benefit from acquiring and installing a more powerful DC pump like a jebao dcp-15000 or similar. These pumps have digital controllers that allow much finer control over flow than your sp4 with a valve will.
As to your sump, I'd have to see how you had the socks installed. With socks and the foam in the next section, nothing but the smallest particles should be getting through. If your socks were getting fouled quickly, you can split the single main drain you have into 2 or even 3 socks if you want to mitigate this.
I don't use k1, but as far as I know there is no major benefit, especially concerning mechanical filtration, to having a "static" k1 chamber. AFAIK The only way it works well as mechanical is in a pressurized closed filter system like an ultima filter.
Well the new tank is going to be 6x2.5x2.5 what pump would you recommend for something that size?
yes the sp4 is running with valve also but I do have it running with the valve wide open
as far as the socks go, I didn’t have nothing to hold the socks, so I managed to find some that were draw strings and then tied them around the pipes entering the sump, so the water passed through them first then the foam,then through the bio chamber and into the pump but was still finding particles, maybe if I got a holder of some sort and used decent filter socks that would clear a lot up?
