DIY overflow to sump

[Russelm]

hey reefers,
So this past weekend I built a DIY overflow from my 55 gallon tank to a 10 gallon sump. The main point was to have bigger water volume and grow some macro algae in the bottom to help the tank. The over flow itself is 1' pvc and the return is a 3/4 return powered by a pump rated from 250-450 GPS with a four foot hose and a 2 feet vertical jump. I knew head pressure might be an issue but the pump seems to be pushing a lot of power and that doesn't seem to be the issue. The issue is that when the overflow is operational it sounds like a toilet and is pulling a lot of air. I gut insinct is that 1' inch pvc is to big and the pump isn't providing enough water to fill the pipe hence all the air. I might go down to a half inch pvc so I can resolve this problem. I'm having fun doing it but I'm also about to loose my mind.

 

[redfishbluefish]

The one inch pipe is just fine.....it works out to approximately 375 gph for a PVC pipe overflow.

Try putting an end cap on the breather standpipe that has a small hole drilled into it.

 

[Russelm]

Thanks for the quick response. So I can put my hand over the breather pipe and it doesn't sound as bad but it's still drawing a lot of air and is not a speedy flow. I feel like I'm not meeting the minimum water requirement for 1 inch pipe or its the were restricting it. I don't think it's the were cause the holes are huge and everytime I drill an new set of holes the water drops to that new set.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I'm not sure what you're talking about with drilling holes. I though you had a piped overflow like shown in THIS video.

 

[glb]

I don't think you have to fill up the pipe for it to be effective. As long as it's keeping up with the return pump I wouldn't worry. You don't want a smaller pipe that drains slower than the return pump pumps.