Help needed with Refugium

[OnyxPerc]

Hello R2R -

So I have a Red Sea Reefer 425XL that I purchased second-hand from someone. The previous owner had converted the 5 gallon ATO into a fuge, so I recently set it up with an AlgeaBarn starter kit. I bought a small Sicce Syncra 0.5 to pump water into the fuge, but now I'm thinking I may need the 1.0 instead. below is a video of the issue I am having, the problem is that the fuge drain is creating like a vortex/suction sound. I spent hours dialing in the overflow to get it silent only to set up this fuge and have it make the same noise

#reefsquad

New video · Friday, May 15, 2020 🎬

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[saltyhog]

You are on the right track. The drain size you have in the refugium is capable of handling much more water than your pump can deliver......so it drains the water level down to the point the siphon is broken and the water level rises...repeat ad ad nauseum.

I don't have any experience in this type of set up but you could put an elbow in the fuge pipe and a piece of pvc in it long enough to equal the water level you want to maintain in the fuge. If it still starts a full siphon that won't work but I don't think it will.

 

[OnyxPerc]

You are on the right track. The drain size you have in the refugium is capable of handling much more water than your pump can deliver......so it drains the water level down to the point the siphon is broken and the water level rises...repeat ad ad nauseum.

I don't have any experience in this type of set up but you could put an elbow in the fuge pipe and a piece of pvc in it long enough to equal the water level you want to maintain in the fuge. If it still starts a full siphon that won't work but I don't think it will.

Thanks for the reply. I thought about using an elbow too but didn't have any lying around. I will try this before I try swapping the pump for a larger one.

Thanks again!

 

[Gablami]

I’ve done this with my 525 (years ago). Just put a gate valve in the drain on the right and you can make it quiet. No need to get a new pump unless you want more flow. But be careful, without an emergency drain it could overflow. I drilled a second hole as an emergency. In your case it would just overflow into the sump, but might want to test it out to make sure it’s safe.

 

[NS Mike D]

Dialing it in will never work perfectly as the pump will never run an a perfect constant rate, but as @Gablami says, if you add a gate valve with the emergency/overflow pipe that will work. FWIW , HOB fuges (and HOB filters) have simple spill over lips that rest on the tank rim due to this.

 

[OnyxPerc]

I’ve done this with my 525 (years ago). Just put a gate valve in the drain on the right and you can make it quiet. No need to get a new pump unless you want more flow. But be careful, without an emergency drain it could overflow. I drilled a second hole as an emergency. In your case it would just overflow into the sump, but might want to test it out to make sure it’s safe.

This is another great idea. Thank you for the suggestion!