Goodwin9
04/15/2007, 05:35 AM
I am wondering if anyone can help me figure out my return flow problem I am having.
I have been running my 470 tank with a Blue Line 100 drawing from the sump, running through 3 Life Guard canister filters, then through a chiller back up to the tank in a 1" line that splits at the top of the tank to the 4 returns in the tank.
Yesterday, I added a Blue Line 70 pump drawing from the sump, and ran it through the chiller then back up to the tank, where I split the returns so that 2 were from the BL 70 & 2 were from the BL 100. I cut the chiller out of the BL 100 loop so that it was just going through the canisters before returning to the tank.
I did this for two reasons, to increase the flow to the tank, and to have a second pump feeding the tank incase the original BL 100 failed. (This was the only pump feeding the tank).
The problem I now face is the erratic return flow I am getting back to the sump. There are two 1 1/2" return lines from the tank into the sump. There is what I would call a "surge" in the return flow coming into the sump. I had hoped to use one of these return lines to feed the new skimmer I am planning on installing. I don't think that this type of return flow would work for the new skimmer.
Here is a video of the two 1 1/2" return lines entering the sump.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/goodwin9/470%20Return/th_100_2146.jpg (http://s102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/goodwin9/470%20Return/?action=view¤t=100_2146.flv)
Can anyone offer any suggestions on why this happening, or how I can correct it to stop this type of flow. If I shut off either one of the pumps, the flow seems to become steady, but with both of them running I run into this problem.
I have been running my 470 tank with a Blue Line 100 drawing from the sump, running through 3 Life Guard canister filters, then through a chiller back up to the tank in a 1" line that splits at the top of the tank to the 4 returns in the tank.
Yesterday, I added a Blue Line 70 pump drawing from the sump, and ran it through the chiller then back up to the tank, where I split the returns so that 2 were from the BL 70 & 2 were from the BL 100. I cut the chiller out of the BL 100 loop so that it was just going through the canisters before returning to the tank.
I did this for two reasons, to increase the flow to the tank, and to have a second pump feeding the tank incase the original BL 100 failed. (This was the only pump feeding the tank).
The problem I now face is the erratic return flow I am getting back to the sump. There are two 1 1/2" return lines from the tank into the sump. There is what I would call a "surge" in the return flow coming into the sump. I had hoped to use one of these return lines to feed the new skimmer I am planning on installing. I don't think that this type of return flow would work for the new skimmer.
Here is a video of the two 1 1/2" return lines entering the sump.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/goodwin9/470%20Return/th_100_2146.jpg (http://s102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/goodwin9/470%20Return/?action=view¤t=100_2146.flv)
Can anyone offer any suggestions on why this happening, or how I can correct it to stop this type of flow. If I shut off either one of the pumps, the flow seems to become steady, but with both of them running I run into this problem.