Herbie drain overflow problem

[Reefnewb]

And that's not a leak on the bulkhead I touched it with my wet hand and forgot to dry it before taking a pic.

 

[Brew12]

Nice plumbing work!

I don't see anywhere for a bubble to form. Your piping is very clean with no long horizontal runs.

Is your emergency drain around 1" below the teeth of your overflow?

 

[Smo]

I agree. I would hate to cut into it just yet. By chance, have you checked for a partial obstruction in the gate valve, e.g., small snail shell or chunk of nori?

 

[Reefnewb]

Nice plumbing work!

I don't see anywhere for a bubble to form. Your piping is very clean with no long horizontal runs.

Is your emergency drain around 1" below the teeth of your overflow?

Thank you! The emergency and the main drain are about 3/4"-1" below the water in the sump.

I agree. I would hate to cut into it just yet. By chance, have you checked for a partial obstruction in the gate valve, e.g., small snail shell or chunk of nori?

the tank is brand new just setup no fish no snails nothing and the valve was new too. I have had this fluctuation since startup! Don't know what it could be! I don't think it's the vectra because I had it on my 50g with a herbie and it ran fine. Another thought is maybe since the return pipe runs through the other overflow box that could be an issue?

 

[Smo]

"Other overflow box?" Are they linked together? Appears the full syphon and emergency both drain from the same overflow, correct?

Suggest still pulling the valve to ensure there is no obstruction. At least eliminates this possibility.

 

[Reefnewb]

"Other overflow box?" Are they linked together? Appears the full syphon and emergency both drain from the same overflow, correct?

Suggest still pulling the valve to ensure there is no obstruction. At least eliminates this possibility.

No they're not linked together. The other overflow box just has the return and am always dry emergency. The main overflow box has both the full siphion and trickle emergency. But good news I think I figured it out!! (Fingers crossed!) I slowed the flow of the vectra down to about halfway and then recalibrated it to that speed. And for now the water level is staying consistent. My guess is that the return was overpowering the single overflow causing a surge?

 

[Smo]

Possibly. There is a formula that relates linear overflow length required for a given return flow rate. Haven't got it handy but will look.

 

[Reefnewb]

Awesome thank you!

 

[cracker]

I have the same issues. when my grye blows forward it forces more water into the overflow. the water rises and overflows the emergency drain . When it blows backward the overflow returns to normal & in goes silent. Hope that makes sense .

 

[Smo]

I cannot find the source quickly, but from my notes when I sized my return flow...I have a requirement of roughly 1 inch of linear overflow per 65 gallons of flow. So for example, if you had twenty (20) 1/4" slots in your overflow box that would equate to 5" of linear overflow. That 5" could expect to handle (5 * 65) 325 GPH.

 

[Reefnewb]

I have the same issues. when my grye blows forward it forces more water into the overflow. the water rises and overflows the emergency drain . When it blows backward the overflow returns to normal & in goes silent. Hope that makes sense .

That's my exact problem now! I got my drain fully dialed in when my vortech is off but as soon as I turn it over 40 percent it will blow to much Water away from the overflow and cause the water level to fall, and then when the vortech ramps down it will cause the water level to go back up. So annoying. Don't think there is anything I can do??

 

[Smo]

Don't think there is anything I can do??

Try repositioning it? May require some experimentation. I have two on my tank at opposite ends with a center overflow box. So the power heads are 90 degrees to the overflow.

 

[Reefnewb]

Try repositioning it? May require some experimentation. I have two on my tank at opposite ends with a center overflow box. So the power heads are 90 degrees to the overflow.

Yeah I tried moving it down now and will see if that helps. I'm glad I got it narrowed down tho. If the problem keep happening the only thing I could thing of doing is keeping the vortech on a constant speed and then setting the herbie to compensate. But I don't know if that will work.

 

[Bdog4u2]

Mine does the same thing and i have a vortech also. i figured t was because my supplies to the sump are under water to make it quieter and less splash

 

[Reefnewb]

Mine does the same thing and i have a vortech also. i figured t was because my supplies to the sump are under water to make it quieter and less splash

With your emergency under water doesn't it make a gurgling noise?

 

[Bdog4u2]

With your emergency under water doesn't it make a gurgling noise?

They're underwater in the sump in my socks

 

[Clayton Jessup]

I had the similar issue going on in my own build frag tank , and I found out one of my drain lines was leaking. As soon as I fixed that it resolved the issue with my herbie drain method. So just a food for thought I am not sure if you have closely examined your bulk heads under the tank ?

 

[Brew12]

Yeah I tried moving it down now and will see if that helps. I'm glad I got it narrowed down tho. If the problem keep happening the only thing I could thing of doing is keeping the vortech on a constant speed and then setting the herbie to compensate. But I don't know if that will work.

Sounds like you have an issue with a "standing wave" caused by your powerhead.

I would try lowering your emergency drain in 1/2" increments until the surge only changes the amount of water trickling into the drain instead of causing level fluctuations.

 

[Reefnewb]

Sounds like you have an issue with a "standing wave" caused by your powerhead.

I would try lowering your emergency drain in 1/2" increments until the surge only changes the amount of water trickling into the drain instead of causing level fluctuations.

It's already an inch below the overflow if I go any lower then wouldn't it make the overflow loud from the water dropping off?

 

[Brew12]

It's already an inch below the overflow if I go any lower then wouldn't it make the overflow loud from the water dropping off?

It could. There are things you can do to quiet it. I secured some filter floss just under the inside of my overflow to reduce the flow noise. Over time it will develop a build up that will quiet things down, also.

Just thinking about it, and I missed the obvious. You could increase the amount that trickles into the emergency drain instead of lowering it. This would be the easy answer. Set your MP40 to max flow, adjust your valve, and when your MP40 slows down it should increase the flow through the emergency drain without dropping level.