overflow question

[mikeyj28]

I have a question for anyone. I have my drain pipe going directly into my sump and when its open full till i get a TON of bubbles in my sump that tend to get into my display tank. So tonight i decided to turn the flow down a little bit from the drain and my return pump too. It was nice because the entire system was very quite. However when I got home from work tonight there was this nasty film on top of the water. So the only way i could get rid of it was to open the drain and return pump back open all the way.

So my question is there anything i can put on the bottom or my drain or something i can have it empty into so i dont get a ton of bubbles in the sump

[greech]

I would not recommend resticting the drain line. Are you using a filter sock? Do you have any baffles or bubble traps in your sump? Is the end of your drain submerged in the sump? I had a similar issue as well as noise and I added a reverse durso as well as a 90 elbow on the submereged end of my drain which really helped with both issues.

[shifty51008]

1st off you only want to reduce the flow with a ball valve on the output of the return pump. never adjust the flow with a ball valve on the drain. that is an overflow waiting to happen.

bubble taps in the sump will remove the microbubbles from getting back to your return pump.

if you have a film on the surface of the tank try pointing a powerhead tward the top to get better flow on the surface.

what size tank is this on and what pump are you using as a return? also is this a homade sump or prebuilt and if prebuilt what type?

pics will help alot.

[mikeyj28]

I would not recommend resticting the drain line. Are you using a filter sock? Do you have any baffles or bubble traps in your sump? Is the end of your drain submerged in the sump? I had a similar issue as well as noise and I added a reverse durso as well as a 90 elbow on the submereged end of my drain which really helped with both issues.

I did open it back up to flow at 100% and turned down the return pump. Yes i have baffles in my sump which seem to help. Yes the pump is submerged into the water which is why it makes so many bubble. But i do not have a filter sock yet. Im planning on getting one today to see how that works for me. My stand pipe has a 90 degree elbow on as well.

Thank you so much for your response

[greech]

Sure thing.

Did you mean to say the end (output) of the drain is submerged when you said the pump is submerged? I also don't know if you thought I was aksing if you had a 90 on the op (inlet) of your drain but I was saying that I added a 90 at the end of my drain which is submerged in my sump (after the reverse durso).

The filter sock should help. I would by a few of them so you can swap them out as needed.

[mikeyj28]

Sure thing.

Did you mean to say the end (output) of the drain is submerged when you said the pump is submerged? I also don't know if you thought I was aksing if you had a 90 on the op (inlet) of your drain but I was saying that I added a 90 at the end of my drain which is submerged in my sump (after the reverse durso).

The filter sock should help. I would by a few of them so you can swap them out as needed.

Oops yeah sorry yes i meant the end (output) is submerged and i did have a 90 degree on the end of it and that seemed to make it worse so i removed that last night.

I hope the filter socks help. Thank you once again

[mikeyj28]

1st off you only want to reduce the flow with a ball valve on the output of the return pump. never adjust the flow with a ball valve on the drain. that is an overflow waiting to happen.

bubble taps in the sump will remove the microbubbles from getting back to your return pump.

if you have a film on the surface of the tank try pointing a powerhead tward the top to get better flow on the surface.

what size tank is this on and what pump are you using as a return? also is this a homade sump or prebuilt and if prebuilt what type?

pics will help alot.


Yeah i have a valve on the output of the return and the drain both just in case.

It is a homemade sump that i picked up from another reefer. I have a 65 gallon RR and a 30 gallon sump. I have a lot of pictures on here ill post the link below

[mikeyj28]

here is the link http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1939218

[shifty51008]

the pump being submerged will not cause the microbubbles. can you see micro bubbles going to the return section or are the bubbles just comming out of the return pipe?

if out of the return pipe but don't see any micro bubbles going into the pump then you have a place where air is getting into your return line and one of your connections is not completly snug.

if you see the bubbles going to the pump then slow down the flow of the return pump.

also looking at your skimmer setup it looks like the output of the skimmer sits lower than the baffles and will be submerged I don't think that will work. you prob. have it changed though and dissreguard that. lol

BTW nice setup so far

[Boostindoo]

if u would like a nice quiet bubble free drain, i would suggest u searching the herbie method....hth..

[mikeyj28]

the pump being submerged will not cause the microbubbles. can you see micro bubbles going to the return section or are the bubbles just comming out of the return pipe?

if out of the return pipe but don't see any micro bubbles going into the pump then you have a place where air is getting into your return line and one of your connections is not completly snug.

if you see the bubbles going to the pump then slow down the flow of the return pump.

also looking at your skimmer setup it looks like the output of the skimmer sits lower than the baffles and will be submerged I don't think that will work. you prob. have it changed though and dissreguard that. lol

BTW nice setup so far

Thank you! i have been planning this for a few months and its coming together pretty nicely. No im not seeing any bubbles from the return pump at all. The thing was that all the water that was rushing in from the drain was causing a ton of bubbles in the sump which were making there way into the return pump. The baffles were not keeping up with the flow of the water that was draining. So i put on the filter sock and BAM its was a million times better.

[greech]

Glad the sock helped. Just remeber to keep it changed out as needed. Your tank being new may also be part of the problem. Once your pipes slime over you may see a further reduction.

Posted on your build thread the other day but you're doing a great job with it.

[mikeyj28]

Thank you very much. How often should i change the filter socks? and How do i clean them?

[floydie83]

I clean mine every week. Keep a few around.

[streak]

Vinegar bath and rinse.. its about the only safe chem you can use on anything reef related.. that i know of... STAY away from soap.. bleach(dono about this) mybe if dont have nothing but just plaine bleach.. no perfumes dyes... and rinse dry rinse maybe even soak in sodium trifusufate..

[mikeyj28]

I clean mine every week. Keep a few around.

Thanks Floydie and GO BLUE!