jw02
01/22/2007, 01:01 AM
I'm having a terrible time trying to get a sump under my 100 gal SeaClear to work right. I'm using an overflow box with 1-1/4" U-tube which drains into the sump. I have a 350 gal/hr pump and 3/4" hose to return the water from the sump to the main tank. Unfortunately, I can NEVER get the water level in the sump to stay steady. Either it takes on too much water, or it returns too much water to the SeaClear and goes dry. I have a ball valve attached to the return line, so I can at least adjust the output flow rate from the pump to match approximately (but never perfectly) the input from the overflow. Over the course of 2-3 hours the water will either get too high or too low.
Since the SeaClear already has a sump in the back, this adds another problem because if too much water drains from the tank into the external sump, then the internal sump will start gurgling due to lack of water level. On the other hand, if the under tank sump returns too much water to the SeaClear, then all this excess water ends up filling up the bioballs chamber in the back of the SeaClear.
One thing that I might be doing wrong: I'm not using the part of the overflow box that hangs in the main tank (and has notches along the top). I can't use that part because it can't fit in the back compartments of the SeaClear. Currently, the U-tube takes water directly from the pre-filter area, and the return from the sump feeds into the protein skimmer compartment in the back of the SeaClear tank.
Could the built-in sump be working against the external sump, such that a happy balance can never be achieved?
Any ideas on how to fix this?
Thanks.
Since the SeaClear already has a sump in the back, this adds another problem because if too much water drains from the tank into the external sump, then the internal sump will start gurgling due to lack of water level. On the other hand, if the under tank sump returns too much water to the SeaClear, then all this excess water ends up filling up the bioballs chamber in the back of the SeaClear.
One thing that I might be doing wrong: I'm not using the part of the overflow box that hangs in the main tank (and has notches along the top). I can't use that part because it can't fit in the back compartments of the SeaClear. Currently, the U-tube takes water directly from the pre-filter area, and the return from the sump feeds into the protein skimmer compartment in the back of the SeaClear tank.
Could the built-in sump be working against the external sump, such that a happy balance can never be achieved?
Any ideas on how to fix this?
Thanks.