First medium/large size system, looking for help.

[Sharkattackmack]

So I picked up this tank, stand and sump set up for the cost of a tank of gas and biocube 16gal as a trade. I don't know much about sumps. Were running the system with basic tap water to insure there are no leaks.

My question lies with our piping, we have two return lines and one emergency overflow. The one pipe has a valve midway. Should I run this full bore? Half way? Closed?

Are the levels in the sump alright? Sorry for such newbie questions I've just only had AIO systems before.

 

[redfishreef96]

That valve is used to help match the flow rate of the return pipe to the flow rate of your return pump. If you open return valve full bore, you will have a loud gurgling sound. If you close it completely then you are just using the emergency return pipe, making another gurgling sound and defeating purpose of emergency return pipe. So in essence you need to determine what you want your return pump rate to be, then use that valve to control return pipe flow rate to sump. The water level in your return box should be slightly higher than main return pipe opening but not higher than the emergency return pipe opening. It becomes a little bit of a tricky dance, trial and error. Hope this helps.