morleyz
12/04/2014, 08:23 AM
I'm in the process of setting up a 90G DT with a 40B sump. I decided to go with a Herbie setup. After I finished plumbing about 3 weeks ago, I ran a freshwater test for 48 hours, no problems. Drained and filled with saltwater and again, I had no problems for the first 2 weeks. After the first week, I added a Tunze osmolator for top off, and the first week with that worked fine.
This past week has been nothing but frustration. I was woken up at about 3am on Saturday morning to the Tunze squealing with a high water alert. The DT was down about an inch from the level I set it. I closed the drain valve very slightly to bring the water level up. It stayed that way for all of Saturday, but then late Sunday I hear loud water splashing sounds and find the water is now about one inch above the emergency drain. Tiny adjustments to the valve (think 1/20 of a turn) just keep causing these massive swings in the water level.
Here's my setup. The 90G was used and was setup with a glass-holes overflow. I was hoping for a quieter setup, so I put in a deeper and wider overflow box for the herbie. In the overflow, I have one 90 pointing downward for my main drain and 1 90 pointing upward with a slight extension for the emergency drain. Both lines are 1.5". There is a single 90 in both lines out of the back of the bulkhead, which then flow straight down to unions. The main drain has a Spears gate valve before the union. On the other side of the union is ultra-flex PVC to make the slight bend into the sump. Return pump is an Eheim 1262. Return line is 1" PVC. There is a T in the return line to feed a refugium. I put gate valves in the return line and the feed for the refugium in case those needed adjustments, but I have only closed the refugium line some to put more flow into the DT.
This is my first experience with a Herbie and I do see others that have had trouble getting their in and out flow matched up, but most of these seem to be from using cheap ball valves or something blocking their flow. I'm hoping someone might have a suggestion as to what I can do to make my Herbie operate more consistently. The good news is I'm only 3 weeks into my cycle on this tank
This past week has been nothing but frustration. I was woken up at about 3am on Saturday morning to the Tunze squealing with a high water alert. The DT was down about an inch from the level I set it. I closed the drain valve very slightly to bring the water level up. It stayed that way for all of Saturday, but then late Sunday I hear loud water splashing sounds and find the water is now about one inch above the emergency drain. Tiny adjustments to the valve (think 1/20 of a turn) just keep causing these massive swings in the water level.
Here's my setup. The 90G was used and was setup with a glass-holes overflow. I was hoping for a quieter setup, so I put in a deeper and wider overflow box for the herbie. In the overflow, I have one 90 pointing downward for my main drain and 1 90 pointing upward with a slight extension for the emergency drain. Both lines are 1.5". There is a single 90 in both lines out of the back of the bulkhead, which then flow straight down to unions. The main drain has a Spears gate valve before the union. On the other side of the union is ultra-flex PVC to make the slight bend into the sump. Return pump is an Eheim 1262. Return line is 1" PVC. There is a T in the return line to feed a refugium. I put gate valves in the return line and the feed for the refugium in case those needed adjustments, but I have only closed the refugium line some to put more flow into the DT.
This is my first experience with a Herbie and I do see others that have had trouble getting their in and out flow matched up, but most of these seem to be from using cheap ball valves or something blocking their flow. I'm hoping someone might have a suggestion as to what I can do to make my Herbie operate more consistently. The good news is I'm only 3 weeks into my cycle on this tank