Herbie Drain - Struggling to maintain consistent water level

[Aquaman102]

Hi All -

I set up a Herbie drain on my 120 gallon DT into a 40 gallon breeder sump. Currently the emergency drain runs dry. I have a Tunze 3155 ATO. Just set it up. Pretty sure it dumped around 5 gallons of refresh RO/DI into the DT last night.

I checked salinity and all is ok, but I can't get this sorted out.

Should I run a trickle of water down the emergency drain and into the return section of my sump to help maintain the water level so the ATO isn't going off constantly.

The return pump is a EcoTech Vectra S1 DC pump.

 

[wesman42]

Hi All -

I set up a Herbie drain on my 120 gallon DT into a 40 gallon breeder sump. Currently the emergency drain runs dry. I have a Tunze 3155 ATO. Just set it up. Pretty sure it dumped around 5 gallons of refresh RO/DI into the DT last night.

I checked salinity and all is ok, but I can't get this sorted out.

Should I run a trickle of water down the emergency drain and into the return section of my sump to help maintain the water level so the ATO isn't going off constantly.

The return pump is a EcoTech Vectra S1 DC pump.

Your ATO should be placed into the return chamber where your pump is in the sump. It seems to me that you've got it in the overflow?

 

[Aquaman102]

Yes, sorry, it is in the return section of the sump. It seems the water level in the return fluctuates enough that the ATO goes nuts.

That's why I was thinking of having the emergency drain trickle into the return section to help maintain the water level. But that also made me wonder if the ATO would never on.

 

[Sod Buster]

If you shut off the return pump sounds like the water covers up the sensor. I think @SneakyTortuga and @NY_Caveman discussed this a while back on this ato situation. One of them should be able to describe what goes on and a solution.

 

[dantimdad]

I run a trickle down the e-drain in my Herbie.

My ATO runs a bunch. Every few minutes for about 2 seconds. I like it that way. It's very stable.

 

[Greybeard]

I set up a Herbie drain on my 120 gallon DT into a 40 gallon breeder sump. Currently the emergency drain runs dry.

Should I run a trickle of water down the emergency drain and into the return section of my sump to help maintain the water level so the ATO isn't going off constantly.

Hi

A Herbie system IS supposed to have a 'trickle' of water flowing through the 2nd drain. If it doesn't then you're counting on the valve on the main (full siphon) drain to allways match the return pump, 100%, all the time. It won't.

Close the valve on the main drain until you've got a trickle runing down the 2nd drain line. I expect you'll see more stable tank levels with this arrangement.

As to the ATO: If the tank level is bouncing, it's going to make the sump level bounce... and the ATO, seeing that the sump is low, is doing just what it's supposed to do. I might unplug the ATO until you get the tank running at a stable level, but I doubt there is anything wrong with your ATO.

 

[Sod Buster]

It was basically like the pump loses contact with the ato sensor and it keeps pumping trying to find it for some reason. Your sump should be a stable environment. Even with that large return pump. When the drain catches up on a pump start, it should stay consistent. I run my Herbie emergency dry. Only wet until the siphon pulls.

Edit: about the only way to get fluctuating conditions on a Herbie is to break the siphon, so air gets in and you get a surge of air and water. Close the main drain valve a little to prevent that. It will be a slurping sound in the overflow box.

 

[Aquaman102]

The Tunze ATO runs for 15 seconds. I don't think I can change that. I can change the output strength though. Maybe I should turn that down some?

 

[Larry L]

You might just not have enough water in your system. Turn the ATO off, and dial down the ball or gate valve on your Herbie main drain until the water level in your overflow is up to the top of the emergency drain and at least some water is flowing down the emergency drain. Then check the water level in the return section of your sump, and add more water if needed. (And then turn your ATO back on.)

 

[Sod Buster]

I found the little blurb I read about the sensor issue.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Thanks. I was just typing something like this. It is true for me. The water line must be at or below the sensor line when powering on the Tunze 3155 or the sensor will never find the water line. The unit does not “remember” your water level when powered off (seems obvious, but I did not think of it either at first). It will continue to fill looking for it until the unit times out. That said, it sounds like your issue is more with the Herbie setup.

 

[Tiatank]

Hi

A Herbie system IS supposed to have a 'trickle' of water flowing through the 2nd drain. If it doesn't then you're counting on the valve on the main (full siphon) drain to allways match the return pump, 100%, all the time. It won't.

Close the valve on the main drain until you've got a trickle runing down the 2nd drain line. I expect you'll see more stable tank levels with this arrangement.

As to the ATO: If the tank level is bouncing, it's going to make the sump level bounce... and the ATO, seeing that the sump is low, is doing just what it's supposed to do. I might unplug the ATO until you get the tank running at a stable level, but I doubt there is anything wrong with your ATO.

I’m going to try this as I’m having this exact issue. I understand that when the pumps kick on after feed mode the gph will fluctuate dramatically, it’s driving me nuts and my salinity is all over the map