HELP - Serious Overflow problems

[gsmXwsm]

I have an oceanic 65g, with overflow into 20g sump. My overflow is not removing the water fast enough, /something is wrong with the vacuum. I placed a hose at the hole at the top of the overflow tube (to act as a snorkel if water rose to high), but water is getting into it somehow. I have tried to completely drain the hose which goes to my sump, but it seems to be just trickling slowly. pleeeease help, the tank has been like this for about 5 hours, and I dont know how much my livestock can take.

[patsfan1130]

what are you using for a return pump?

[gsmXwsm]

my return pump is 1200 gph

[mike_cmu04]

did a snail or something get into the line?

[gsmXwsm]

everything was running fine until I got to low on water in my sump, added water, now it is just not overflowing fast enough, and my pump is pushing all my water out of the sump into main tank

[izzy123]

everything was running fine until I got to low on water in my sump, added water, now it is just not overflowing fast enough, and my pump is pushing all my water out of the sump into main tank

hmm, the only thing i can think about is that the overflow is pulling air along with the water, are you sure your snorkle doesn't leak air into the overflow?

also, check if there are any obstructions in your pipes, use a electrical wire and try to push it trough the line.

hope this helps

[patsfan1130]

Ok, this is an external U tube style overflow? if so, what brand? It sounds like your return is not powerful enough but 1200 gph should be plenty. how much head is it pushing? do you have a ball valve on it?

[gsmXwsm]

This is a built in overflow. 2 1.5 inch pipes, connected to hoses which 1 leads to pump in sump, the other to sock filter in sump. It has a nipple type hole on the top of the adjustable overflow/intake pipe. I was told not to let this hole get filled with water, so I put a small hose to act as snorkel JIC. Now, when I turn on my pump, it will just keep filling up the overflow box, and it is obvious water is in the tube. I Connected an airator to the hose but it did nothing. It seems I have lost the siphon effect in my overflow pipe/tubes.

[Newreeflady]

I have an oceanic 65g, with overflow into 20g sump. My overflow is not removing the water fast enough, /something is wrong with the vacuum. I placed a hose at the hole at the top of the overflow tube (to act as a snorkel if water rose to high), but water is getting into it somehow. I have tried to completely drain the hose which goes to my sump, but it seems to be just trickling slowly. pleeeease help, the tank has been like this for about 5 hours, and I dont know how much my livestock can take.

So your main tank is not draining fast enough and your pump is pumping water up too fast- yes? If so, then check the calculator for what gph your pump is doing with all your fittings, and the gph the overflow can handle (a 1" overflow can only handle 600gph I think, for instance.) You potentially need to dial back your pump a bit with a ball valve.

-A

[jdthomas24]

if it worked before then you have something in your overflow pipes back to your sump, if there ae two and they are separated then check the flow on each one of them. if they match on flow rate then there is a separate issue. There is a snail in one of those pipes though.