Tankzombie
Community Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2009
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 19
turn over through your sump will be fine at 2-5 times your tank volume. And you just make up flow in tank with power heads
Durso experts. Desperate help needed.
- Thread starter Eder
- Start date
- Tagged users None
I tried everything. The moment I took these steps was instant gratification. Much more stable and almost completely silent. Before it always slurped and made noises. It also helped stabilized the sump which also made my skimmer more efficient.
I was going to change mine to a Herbie but really no need to do so now.
I have 1" bulkheads. The dorso standpipe is 1.25"
I should have done these mods a long time ago. I spent countless hours adjusting the top air intake and the side relief hole on the durso. Wasted my time. Lol.
Again, make sure your plumbing is angled slightly down from the bulkhead to the sump.
It's not exactly full syphon but as close as you're going to get without converting to a Herbie or Bean.
maroun.c
Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Excellence Award
Reef Of The Month
Photo of the Month
Article Contributor
My Tank Thread
do you have end caps with a small hole on the top? The hole can be made larger to slow drainage a bit (that might help you slow down the faster one.
You can also add ball valves or gate valves for better control.
if one durso is able to handle your system well you can use the second one as full drain and have it higher to use it as emergency but as its a separate overflow water in it might go bad in your case.
one other solution is to use first one as durso and second one as emergency and dial down the first one so water barely drip in the emergency one this way it maintains your level and water in that overflow doesnt go bad. having dual dursos isnt easy to tune
You can also add ball valves or gate valves for better control.
if one durso is able to handle your system well you can use the second one as full drain and have it higher to use it as emergency but as its a separate overflow water in it might go bad in your case.
one other solution is to use first one as durso and second one as emergency and dial down the first one so water barely drip in the emergency one this way it maintains your level and water in that overflow doesnt go bad. having dual dursos isnt easy to tune
I have used nothing other than DURSO style drains for the entire 30+ years I've been in the hobby. Are there quieter setups? Sure. All of them will require at least occasional fiddling to keep the "turned" What I like about dursos is that they require no tweaking, ever, once set up correctly.
I noticed a couple things from your pictures.
First, the tank is not level. I assume that is just a spot you are testing it at and not it's final place in your home, so that is easily remedied when it is in position.
Dursos work best if you insert a piece of rigid tubing down through the top. I use 1/4" ro tubing, about 12" long so that I can then adjust it's position in the standpipe to maximize water/air flow mix.
The other thing I do is use a "T" fitting where the drain goes into the sump with the leg of the "T" just above the waterline. This allows the trapped air to escape above the surface and helps quite it down as well as redce splashing/salt creep.
Those look to be 1" pvc standpipes. The ABSOLUTE max flow through each is about 300+gph, so the total return from the sump cannot be over 600gph. You can put a valve on the return to the DT without any issues, however, the Durso standpipes should have NO restriction whatsoever.
HTH!
I noticed a couple things from your pictures.
First, the tank is not level. I assume that is just a spot you are testing it at and not it's final place in your home, so that is easily remedied when it is in position.
Dursos work best if you insert a piece of rigid tubing down through the top. I use 1/4" ro tubing, about 12" long so that I can then adjust it's position in the standpipe to maximize water/air flow mix.
The other thing I do is use a "T" fitting where the drain goes into the sump with the leg of the "T" just above the waterline. This allows the trapped air to escape above the surface and helps quite it down as well as redce splashing/salt creep.
Those look to be 1" pvc standpipes. The ABSOLUTE max flow through each is about 300+gph, so the total return from the sump cannot be over 600gph. You can put a valve on the return to the DT without any issues, however, the Durso standpipes should have NO restriction whatsoever.
HTH!
I’ll try the tee trick. You’re right. It’s not level. It’s just being plumbed and tested in garage. House is a new build so floor should be level once we move it in.
Right now they have 1/16 holes. Do you suggest I cut a larger hole and insert an air valve?
Do you suspect once the tank is level that both drains will be equally efficient?
Thanks so much
Right now they have 1/16 holes. Do you suggest I cut a larger hole and insert an air valve?
Do you suspect once the tank is level that both drains will be equally efficient?
Thanks so much
Valves added. Didn’t do much.
Used a tee with a 90 elbow pointing up outside of water and gurgling was worst.
Best fix thus far is a long piece of pvc near bottom of sump with 90 elbows pointing upwards.
Looking to get a new return pump in a week or so.
Used a tee with a 90 elbow pointing up outside of water and gurgling was worst.
Best fix thus far is a long piece of pvc near bottom of sump with 90 elbows pointing upwards.
Looking to get a new return pump in a week or so.
I'm confused about the adding of valves to the durso drain. A siphon drain without backup (if that's what is being suggested) is a disaster waiting to happen.
The bubbling in the sump is from the drains sucking down air as the water falls down the edges of the drain. Too much flow through an open drain causes noise/air/splashing issues.
The bubbling in the sump is from the drains sucking down air as the water falls down the edges of the drain. Too much flow through an open drain causes noise/air/splashing issues.
Looks like I definitely need to slow down the flow then. New pump it is!
Valves are there just to even out the drains.
Yes. No emergency drain I know is taboo. But we have a 55gal sump with plenty of room in it even when pumps are off and our weirs on the overflows are low enough to take at least 30 gal. We only fill a 5g bucket for ato and maybe 3 gal in return pump chamber.
No emergency is most likely fine for a Durso system. But if you valve down the drain to create a siphon, it is really unsafe to do that without a backup.
ReefGeezer
Valuable Member
I use a dual 1.25" Dursos on my 90 w/ only about 450 GPH total flow to the sump. I designed it that way to keep the tank as quiet as possible. The original Durso design uses a "Tee" fitting at the inlet rather than an "elbow". I always assumed there was a reason for using the "Tee" rather than an elbow.
I don't think the Durso works on suction although it does create one. It is still an overflow. The hole determines how much air is allowed to be sucked down the tube as water flows down it. This increases or decreases the flow capacity of the tube as well as reducing the "sucking" noise. Other things decrease the flow capacity: 90 degree bends; length of horizontal runs, tube diameter; and the size of the bulkhead for the Durso. If one Durso feeds plumbing that has more bends, overall plumbing length, or other things that restrict flow, it will never balance out with the one that has a greater flow capacity. It's not required that they balance though. They just need to handle the flow rate of your return pump without making too much noise.
I don't think the Durso works on suction although it does create one. It is still an overflow. The hole determines how much air is allowed to be sucked down the tube as water flows down it. This increases or decreases the flow capacity of the tube as well as reducing the "sucking" noise. Other things decrease the flow capacity: 90 degree bends; length of horizontal runs, tube diameter; and the size of the bulkhead for the Durso. If one Durso feeds plumbing that has more bends, overall plumbing length, or other things that restrict flow, it will never balance out with the one that has a greater flow capacity. It's not required that they balance though. They just need to handle the flow rate of your return pump without making too much noise.
ReefGeezer
Valuable Member
Use the largest diameter PVC you can to build your Dursos. This reduces the speed at which the water is moving in the area where air is introduced and reduces vortexing. This is where the noise happens. Add small valves to the holes at the top of the Dursos so I could adjust how much air is being sucked in more precisely. I used tape for a while to close off part of the hole to adjust level & noise. Use Tees instead of elbows. Don't glue the Tee so you can raise and lower the level. I'm definitely going to try Billdogg's rigid tubing idea.
If you have 90 degree bends in the return plumbing, replace them with two 45 degree bends or better yet use flexible tubing.
