Flow control... help

[markietan]

Hi, i have a 1.5 ft display tank and a 2 ft sump tank. the sump tank is just a normal tank w/o any partition.

water is drawn from the display tank, through under gravel filter, using the siphoning technique, to the sump tank. it is regulated with a tap switch.

water is then pumped back from the sump tank into the display tank using a submerged ehiem pump.

last time this used to work fine for me, i.e. the water level will remain constant and balance itself out if water is removed or added. however recently i seem to have a problem with maintaining a constant water level.

even after i've made sure the water lvl remains constant for a few hours, sometimes when i come back home, i see the top tank/bottom tank overflowing. it is really irritating coz i have to clean up everytime and mix new salt water to replace the water lost. it has occured twice this week... i suspect either the 'to sump' flow rate or the return flow rate goes crazy when one of the water level drops, creating a loss of pressure created by the water...

any idea how i can modify my system so that it won't flood my room? i'm thinking of getting a better pump and regulate the return flow rate instead of the 'to sump' flow rate, i.e. leave the siphoning pipe from display tank at full speed.

btw are there any drawbacks if the water turn over rate of main tank is too high ?

[nakazoru]

Sad to say that this siphon flow is doom for failure especially using undergravel filter as outgoing from your main tank.

Even you manage to maintain the flow initially, overtime it is sure to fail. Pump even though comes with fix flow spec, sometimes cannot maintain at a constant flow, i.e tolerance. Too high, your main tank overflow, too low, bottom tank overflow.

Juz use a overflow box instead, and it will solve ur problem.

[hammy]

Hi, i have a 1.5 ft display tank and a 2 ft sump tank. the sump tank is just a normal tank w/o any partition.

water is drawn from the display tank, through under gravel filter, using the siphoning technique, to the sump tank. it is regulated with a tap switch.

water is then pumped back from the sump tank into the display tank using a submerged ehiem pump.

last time this used to work fine for me, i.e. the water level will remain constant and balance itself out if water is removed or added. however recently i seem to have a problem with maintaining a constant water level.

even after i've made sure the water lvl remains constant for a few hours, sometimes when i come back home, i see the top tank/bottom tank overflowing. it is really irritating coz i have to clean up everytime and mix new salt water to replace the water lost. it has occured twice this week... i suspect either the 'to sump' flow rate or the return flow rate goes crazy when one of the water level drops, creating a loss of pressure created by the water...

any idea how i can modify my system so that it won't flood my room? i'm thinking of getting a better pump and regulate the return flow rate instead of the 'to sump' flow rate, i.e. leave the siphoning pipe from display tank at full speed.

btw are there any drawbacks if the water turn over rate of main tank is too high ?

yup , it will fail eventually .

some time ago , some reefer suggested using 2 same pumps to pump water from the main tank , and the other from the sump to the main . but it will fail eventually as due to wear and tear from different individual pump.

water siphon out from ur main tank is at a constant rate whereas water pump back to the tank is dependent on the pump itself . due to wear and tear , the pump will exhibit different flow rate even though at the smae setting as time passes.

suggest u get a overflow box for the faster way to solve ur prob.

[madmac]

any idea how i can modify my system so that it won't flood my room? i'm thinking of getting a better pump and regulate the return flow rate instead of the 'to sump' flow rate, i.e. leave the siphoning pipe from display tank at full speed.

btw are there any drawbacks if the water turn over rate of main tank is too high ?

For a system like this, chances are it can happen, even if you balance out level using your tap(gate) valve, its not worth the risk of it... you've very lucky its just the water overflowing tothe floor. A lot more things can happen...

You either implement :

• close loop(canister filter), ditch the sump;

• a syphon overflow box(like as in an iBox);

• use an electronic device like a float switch, such that when the water level reaches a certain level in your main tank, it will turn off the main return pump.

[Mr CRABS]

mAY i know the cost for these things because worried might experience them too.

[Alvin Tan]

i suspect there is some things that are clog up in the undergravel n tt lead to the overflowing of ur sump....

HTH..

[laona]

hi bros...

wanna ask where can i get a overflow box? hav a 3ft tank at home wif no internal overflow to sump..was quoted $100 for it to be fixed..but was wondering if it cld be cheaper..still nt earning income..so a bit hard on me..hahaha...hope someone can help me..thanks!!