Bean animal overflow for first time...please advise.

[markysgirl]

Do you have a hole in the top of the U on the backup drain?

Also, are all the drains separate down to the sump? You cannot tie these together.

Read the website I linked to above to really understand how a beananimal works. It should be basically dead silent when setup correctly.

Yes there are holes in the top of both the U pipe on the primary and the secondary.
Each drain empties independently into the sump.

 

[markysgirl]

Here is a video of the sump and drains

and one of the overflow as they are running right now.

 

[zalick]

Yes there are holes in the top of both the U pipe on the primary and the secondary.
Each drain empties independently into the sump.

You should not have a hole in the top of primary. This will make it not be a full siphon and cause noise.

If the water totally covers it, it will be a siphon. But you shouldn't have the hole. Put two new 90s or a new street elbow on there.

 

[markysgirl]

You should not have a hole in the top of primary. This will make it not be a full siphon and cause noise.

If the water totally covers it, it will be a siphon. But you shouldn't have the hole. Put two new 90s or a new street elbow on there.

This is a Reef Synergy Shadow Overflow and all of the pieces in it I ordered from Synergy Reef, so I am assuming they sent the right pieces. As I understand it, the hole on the top of the primary will allow a full siphon if it is covered, which it is.

 

[zalick]

This is a Reef Synergy Shadow Overflow and all of the pieces in it I ordered from Synergy Reef, so I am assuming they sent the right pieces. As I understand it, the hole on the top of the primary will allow a full siphon if it is covered, which it is.

That's true, but it's not necessary and will limit the adjustment range. They should not have that hole on there. It's incorrect and makes the system not work like it should. Trust me, it's wrong. They don't understand how it works. You do not want a siphon break on the primary at all.

 

[Albertan22]

You said the secondary is deeper? In the box than the full siphon? That may very well be your issue, the full siphon should be shorter/deeper than the secondary Durso. Maybe you mixed up the two when plumbing?

 

[W1ngz]

open up the primary about 1/8 of a turn and wait 5 minutes. Then check it again.
I still think you have too much flow, or there is something else restricting your primary.

 

[zalick]

The opening of the primary must be below the inner bend of the backup. Since you have a hole on the top of the primary, that's where you measure from.

The way they have it setup, you are guaranteed to have tons of water going down the backup.

I bet they accidentally sent two backup pieces.

 

[cedwards04]

I am using a gate valve. And twice now I have opened the valve all the way, closed it really slowly until the main becomes a siphon. But there is a bunch of water and bubbles flowing down the secondary drain. It sounds like it is belching under water.
The main drain is about 2 inches below the waterline in the sump and the secondary maybe a little shorter?

If there is water coming down the secondary drain then you are opening the main valve too much. I can balance mine perfectly where there is no water in the secondary drain at all. Here is mine right now. My main drain is on the far side, you can't really see it. My emergency is in the middle, and my secondary is closest to the camera. Notice the water level is just barely above the secondary. It is just a tiny little trickle into it.

 

[W1ngz]

I bet they accidentally sent two backup pieces.

Two holes is the way it's designed.

 

[zalick]

Two holes is the way it's designed.

Interesting. Totally incorrect of you are making a beananimal. This means the full siphon must cover the top hole. If the top hole is an inch above the inner bend of the backup, you will have an inch of water going down the backup.


The link I posted above to Beans website shows how to do a proper bean setup.

The primary has no siphon break. The backup has a siphon break to keep it silent when it trickles. The tube on the backup plugs when the emergency fills, creating a full siphon on the backup.

 

[markysgirl]

You said the secondary is deeper? In the box than the full siphon? That may very well be your issue, the full siphon should be shorter/deeper than the secondary Durso. Maybe you mixed up the two when plumbing?

The secondary drain is deeper(not by alot) into the sump than the main. In the overflow box the secondary is taller than the primary. Is that what you mean? Or does the drain into the sump on the primary need to be deeper than the secondary?

 

[W1ngz]

Totally incorrect of you are making a beananimal.

My primaries have always had screens instead of U fittings, have run silent, and passed hours long blocked primary tests.

 

[cedwards04]

I agree with getting rid of the hole in the primary. I'd bet money that fixes the problem. There really is no need for elbows at all to be honest. Mine works perfectly with no elbows.

 

[zalick]

My primaries have always had screens instead of U fittings, have run silent, and passed hours long blocked primary tests.

Exactly. You don't need the U. In your setup, the opening of the primary was well below the bend in the backup. So it will work correctly. Hers won't.

 

[zalick]

The secondary drain is deeper(not by alot) into the sump than the main. In the overflow box the secondary is taller than the primary. Is that what you mean? Or does the drain into the sump on the primary need to be deeper than the secondary?

In the overflow box. And it's not about the top of the secondary. It's about the height of the inner bend of the secondary. If the hole in your primary is above the bend on your secondary, the difference in height is the minimum amount of water that will flow down the secondary. Definitely not a trickle.

A proper beananimal setup doesn't even need a trickle down the backup. Mine doesn't use the backup at all. Edit: except on startup of course.

 

[Albertan22]

The secondary drain is deeper(not by alot) into the sump than the main. In the overflow box the secondary is taller than the primary. Is that what you mean? Or does the drain into the sump on the primary need to be deeper than the secondary?

I meant in the overflow box not in the sump. What everyone’s else here is saying about the hole in the primary U is good advice. If the pieces aren’t glued maybe experiment by removing the primary U and tuning it again. If it works, go out and buy a screen for it or build a new U with a couple 90 degree fittings and don’t put a hole in it.

 

[markysgirl]

I removed the U on the primary, now there is just a trickle down the secondary and a full siphon on the primary. But it is soooooo noisy.
I'm kinda frustrated and done for the night. I don't know what else to do.

 

[W1ngz]

Noise can come from a lot of places. You need to pin it down more. Is it water crashing down from the weirs inside the overflow, from the external box, from the plumbing, or from the sump?

High flow means more noise. I still stand by my thought that your return pump is oversized for your application.

 

[Kan9]

Im designing my sump bean animal style for a 225 gallon and was considering a 2000 GPH pump. From my research the hole in the primary is not correct and your pump is way too big for your tank. Ill be curious to see what happens with your lower flow pump.

Ill add...I thought the small hole in the backup was supposed to have an air line connected to it and secured at a specific depth in the overflow (not sure where/what depth yet), no?