Overflow issue

[Heliarc19]

Pull the stand pipes out (temporarily) this will add to the level of your sump. If this helps with the flow then your restricting it somehow. Looking at the first pick you may consider cutting one pipe off a few inches lower and running it at full siphon with a gate valve and the second would be emergency.

 

[theMeat]

Hard to tell from pic but you sure those pipes are 2"?

Somethings to consider. Common misconception in plumbing.... Bigger is better. With a bigger drain pipe the flow is slowed because it has more room. Like canoeing down the river where the current is lazy where the river is wide and deep, and stronger/faster where the river is Narrowed or shallow. So while a bigger pipe can handle more flow, it slows it down and makes debris and growth more likely to take place.

 

[Mfreddy]

Maybe you said this already .... but how long have the drains been running? It's generally a good idea to avoid horizontal runs. Hard to imagine what would clog a 2" pipe though. Missing a large tang by chance?

Drains have been running for 22 months.

 

[Mfreddy]

Hard to tell from pic but you sure those pipes are 2"?

Somethings to consider. Common misconception in plumbing.... Bigger is better. With a bigger drain pipe the flow is slowed because it has more room. Like canoeing down the river where the current is lazy where the river is wide and deep, and stronger/faster where the river is Narrowed or shallow. So while a bigger pipe can handle more flow, it slows it down and makes debris and growth more likely to take place.

2" stand pipes, and plumbing below the bulkhead is 1 1/2"

 

[Transporter]

Guys, what's a Weir?

Mfreddy, the "weir" that they are referring to, is the the piece of plastic inside the display area of the tank, that has slots or teeth cut into it that the water flows over and through, before it gets to your drain pipes. I believe what they were trying to say is that the width of the slotting or number of slots may not be capable of producing the amount of flow that the return pump is pushing, causing the overflow. Is it possible to just remove the section with the teeth ? If so, try removing that, and see if the flow improves. If it does not improve, I would say the others are right in stating that you have a blockage somewhere in the horizontal section(s) of your plumbing. With noise being set aside, (2) 2" drains should not have any problems handling that much flow.

~S~

 

[Mfreddy]

Mfreddy, the "weir" that they are referring to, is the the piece of plastic inside the display area of the tank, that has slots or teeth cut into it that the water flows over and through, before it gets to your drain pipes. I believe what they were trying to say is that the width of the slotting or number of slots may not be capable of producing the amount of flow that the return pump is pushing, causing the overflow. Is it possible to just remove the section with the teeth ? If so, try removing that, and see if the flow improves. If it does not improve, I would say the others are right in stating that you have a blockage somewhere in the horizontal section(s) of your plumbing. With noise being set aside, (2) 2" drains, there should not have any problems handling that much flow.

~S~

Thank you for the explanation. I'll check the weir tonight after work.

 

[ca1ore]

Drains have been running for 22 months.

Horizontal runs can accumulate crud over time, so perhaps you're getting the reef tank equivalent of atherosclerosis.