How to set up a stable water line

[FRANK48]

I have a HOB overflow and I’m having trouble setting up a stable water line. My return pump keeps pushing up too much water but does this little over time. I’m not sure what I can do, any ideas?

my HOB is tunze

 

[JumboShrimp]

It might not be possible to dial in an equilibrium perfectly, for instance, the evaporation rate might be greater in the summer than in winter. But you can probably come reasonably close.

 

[FRANK48]

It might not be possible to dial in an equilibrium perfectly, for instance, the evaporation rate might be greater in the summer than in winter. But you can probably come reasonably close.

How?

 

[WVNed]

I think the hardest thing to understand is equilibrium should have nothing to do with this.

Think of taking a shower. No matter how much water comes out of the shower head it goes down the drain and the tub doesn't overfill.

Your drains should always be able to carry away more water than your pump can put in the tank. Then you set a stable water level by setting the height the water has to get over to go down the drain.

With overflow boxes this is set by the water depth in the rear box usually.

In a perfect setup the water in the tank is about a 1/2 inch higher than the water level in the front box. The front box is 1/2- 3/4 inch higher than the rear box. This makes the whole thing silent.

 

[FRANK48]

I think the hardest thing to understand is equilibrium should have nothing to do with this.

Think of taking a shower. No matter how much water comes out of the shower head it goes down the drain and the tub doesn't overfill.

Your drains should always be able to carry away more water than your pump can put in the tank. Then you set a stable water level by setting the height the water has to get over to go down the drain.

With overflow boxes this is set by the water depth in the rear box usually.

In a perfect setup the water in the tank is about a 1/2 inch higher than the water level in the front box. The front box is 1/2- 3/4 inch higher than the rear box. This makes the whole thing silent.

So should I decrease my return pump?
the only problem with doing that is my DT has less water and my HOB overflow doesn’t siphon as quickly

 

[JumboShrimp]

I have a sump, and a variable pump, and valves on my down drains into the sump, so I must admit I’m not nearly as familiar with a HOB set up. It’s probably been 30 years. But as to the overflow box— the black box that sits in the tank with the weir slats— are there some sort of screws that would allow you to lift it higher, so a tiny bit less water is coming in to the HOB unit? This is assuming you don’t have a variable return pump, which you may, or a gate or ball valve on your down drain. Sorry I’m not as much help on this as others might be.

 

[FRANK48]

I have a son, and a variable pump, and valves on my down drains into the sump, so I must admit I’m not nearly as familiar with a HOB set up. It’s probably been 30 years. But as to the overflow box— the black box that sits in the tank with the weir slats— are there some sort of screws that would allow you to lift it higher, so a tiny bit less water is coming in to the HOB unit? This is assuming you don’t have a variable return pump, which you may, or a gate or ball valve on your down drain. Sorry I’m not as much help on this as others might be.

I might try placing it higher up then don’t know if it will work though

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Best way imo is to have valves on both return and drain so you can fine tune them to get it to drain and flow quietly and proper levels.

 

[FRANK48]

Best way imo is to have valves on both return and drain so you can fine tune them to get it to drain and flow quietly and proper levels.

I’m not really sure how to do that since I use flexible tubing, I’m honestly just thinking about drilling the tank.

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

I’m not really sure how to do that since I use flexible tubing, I’m honestly just thinking about drilling the tank.

If you don't have any way to adjust flow and drain it hard to get it right. I drilled my tank and used the eshopp Overflow Box and it's super quiet. Valves just makes everything better imo. Gate valves is best imo too.

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

You can get barb fittings for flex hose I'm sure too

 

[FRANK48]

You can get barb fittings for flex hose I'm sure too

I’ll check it out thanks

 

[WVNed]

If you have the single outlet Tunze overflow, it is small. Your pump could be too large.
1200-1500 l/h is the max and most overflows are not happy pushed to the max.
Is your drain passing air freely?

 

[FRANK48]

If you have the single outlet Tunze overflow, it is small. Your pump could be too large.
1200-1500 l/h is the max and most overflows are not happy pushed to the max.
Is your drain passing air freely?

I can adjust my return pump but when I do the DT water is too less

 

[Tonycass12]

Your going to be better off drilling your tank. Its way easier to tune the overflow when you have a main overflow drain with a gate valve and an emergency drain to take up the slight trickle to keep the main drain at full siphon. Added bonus will be you don't have to worry about your tank overflowing if something slows down or clogs your main drain like your current set up.

 

[FRANK48]

Your going to be better off drilling your tank. Its way easier to tune the overflow when you have a main overflow drain with a gate valve and an emergency drain to take up the slight trickle to keep the main drain at full siphon. Added bonus will be you don't have to worry about your tank overflowing if something slows down or clogs your main drain like your current set up.

Where would I put my fish in the meantime?

 

[Tonycass12]

Holding tank? Totes? I've seen people put whole systems into brute trash cans to hold them while they work on the tank.

 

[FRANK48]

Holding tank? Totes? I've seen people put whole systems into brute trash cans to hold them while they work on the tank.

Would a 25 gallon bucket work?

 

[JumboShrimp]

I agree with @Tonycass12, anything clean & non-toxic will work; the fish shouldn’t care what their water is “in” for a time.

 

[FRANK48]

I

I agree with @Tonycass12, anything clean & non-toxic will work; the fish shouldn’t care what their water is “in” for a time

not sure where to start with all the plumbing