Modification to the Durso Standpipe
 

I finally built one of these for my 55g, and I think I found a way to eliminate the hassle with the air hole-- as far as drilling the right sized hole in the cap and/or using a valve. If someone has already posted my technique, my apologies; I searched but didn't find mention of this.

On my standpipe, the top cap and the short length of PVC (spacer) it sits on (items 8 and 7 respectively from Reefland's website) is not glued. I wedged the spacer pretty tight into the TEE below it, and then twisted the cap around for a while until it was worn enough to rotate with a firm hand. Then, instead of drilling trial-sized holes in the top of the cap, I drilled a 1/8" hole through the side of the cap and the spacer. Rotating the cap lets you adjust the size of the opening. I found that just a very slight turn made a huge difference in how fast the water goes down the pipe. I may try this again with a saw slice instead of a hole to allow even finer adjustment, but for now I'm very happy with how adjustable it was on the first try. And cleaning is a breeze, just lift off the cap and rinse; a Q-tip works great on the hole in the spacer.

Below is a picture of my modification. Now if can only silence the end in the sump. :rolleyes:

BTW, my "hats off" to Richard Durso's ingenious device. It has really quieted my overflow. :beachbum:

Very nice idea.

That is way cool. Great idea.

I'm getting occasional gurgling and have noticed that the water level slowly fluctuates. My single round hole may not provide a fine enough adjustment.

Do you think it would it affect the operation of this standpipe if I added a short length of PVC to the bottom of the 90 Elbow?

Instead of a single round hole... How about a bunch of very, very little holes, drilled at different heights, circling around the part your twisting the endcap on?

Just an idea... whatcha' think? Would that work better?

Pretty cool idea.

What I did was to attach a short length (3-5") of airline tubing to a hole drilled in the cap. Then I put an airline valve at the end of the tube for adjustment.

No salt creep.

mgk

OK, I PM'ed Richard Durso, and he thought the level variation and gurgling was due to the end in the sump being submerged too deep. So I temporarily added an elbow to the end and had it mostly below the water level in the sump, just a little above to stop the bubbling. And voila, no gurgling at all for the past few hours, and the level appears to remain much more steady.

One other problem I've noticed with my modification is with using a surge device. If the water level rises too rapidly and submerges the air hole, performance degrades. My overflow is built-in and has a cover plate. I will need to use a longer "spacer" so that the air hole will be above the highest possible water level.

What did you do in the sump?
Do you have a picture?
I have a noisy standpipe now that i've been trying to adjust

Thanks for any help,
jonboy

A successful mod I made to the Durso was to drill 1/4" holes in the lower part of the stand pipe...by covering or exposing them I could increase flow and still have it silient. This worked for my single overflow Tru-vu 100 gallon...It has been that way for 8 months and really allows me the same as almost 2 overflows to control water level in the tank....I used elec tape to cover any holes if I drilled too many and when the level held I then siliconed them closed...leaving the others open...HTH

;)

Johnboy....if your drain line is more than 2" deep in your sump water you will get resistance and it can create noise....I had some interaction with Mr. Durso ..so to speak when I set up my first one...it made a huge difference in the ability to adjust....also by placing a small container say 1 gallon in your sump and weighting it down with some rocks you can put the drian line in it and this helps with the bubbles....HTH

;)

I've been getting emails every few months about this modification, and Richard even posted it on his website. I suspect I'm getting the emails from there. I've emailed Richard, asking him to remove my email link. I no longer recommend my modification. I now use mgk65's method (see his post above) as it is superior to mine. Here it is in more detail, with ever so slight changes. I see a similar method on Richard's webpage.

Get yourself a few feet of the blue silicone airline tubing (it is nice and soft) and an air value like you'd typically use for controlling an air pump.

Drill a hole in the top of your end cap very slightly smaller in diameter than the tubing. Insert one end of the tubing into this hole. Turn the endcap so that "my" holes on the side are not
aligned (effectively closing them off). Make sure the tubing doesn't go too deep into the hole; maybe just a 1/8" deeper than the hole. This soft tubing will seal the hole. Use the valve on the other end to super-fine adjust the airflow until the water level
remains constant.

You'll never have to worry about the water level submerging the hole. And in my experience, I only need to remove and clean the tubing and air hole every 3-4 months when the "sucking" sound returns.

pnosko - your idea of the holes and twisting the cap...is on the Durso site, at least it was last year when I built mine - I did the same thing. Just thought I'd let you know. :)

Thanks - the standpipe worked great. I used a piece from a toasted protien skimmer.