So what do you do when you're burned out?

[ADAM]

Try tackling one thing at a time and dont worry about the other issues until the first is resolved. Once you remove the thought of the other issues while dealing with another the burden may feel substantially less. Many hanging systems for canopies or fixtures are fairly easy and inexpensive to DIY.
Also remeber that even the most drool worthy tank's owner can list several things they dont like about their system.
However if its not fun its not worth doing.

 

[HB AL]

It happens, maybe try downsizing and keeping it simple and then if all goes good and you got the energy back start the larger tank over again from scratch. Trust me in over 30 years of having tanks I’ve had the same thing happen on numerous occasions, but in the last 10 years or so since advances in understanding how things work in our tanks and with the advent of the internet full of information it has made things much more easier that it was 20 to 30+ years ago.

 

[GabeM]

@OP did you ever try cutting down your standpipe for your siphon?

 

[SallyWho]

Where is your gate-valve located? Is it close to the overflow box (start of drain) or close to the sump(end of drain)?

It's below the OF box, behind the tank. There wasn't a whole lot of room underneath to get the gate valve with its neighboring unions to fit.

I suggest hard liquor lol

I'm a night-shifter! I've got the booze-a-hol thing down pat, but I'll never get enough sleep until I'm dead! ;Hilarious

@OP did you ever try cutting down your standpipe for your siphon?

Yeah, so that's tricky. I bought the 1800gph Modular Marine overflow and I really do love it (my problems are likely user-error). But I forget to ask them to size down the drain bulkheads, so the bulkheads are 1.5". I was able to reduce to 1.25" inches below the box, but the standpipes on the inside of the box still need to be 1.5" PVC, which makes everything in there super tight. My primary drain is just a strainer. The emergency drain is just a straight pipe. The secondary drain is set up as a U-shaped standpipe but because of it having to be 1.5" pvc, I have it as tall as it will go while still being able to get it out. If I try to raise it even by a quarter inch, I'll never be able to remove it. So it does lurch probably only an inch or two above the strainer. I'm not sure if there's a PVC fitting I could use to reduce the 1.5" pvc down while still maintaining the u-shape and not taking up any more room. And would having a secondary drain that has a smaller aperture leading into a bigger body before draining out of the box make things noisy?

 

[zalick]

It's below the OF box, behind the tank. There wasn't a whole lot of room underneath to get the gate valve with its neighboring unions to fit.

I'm a night-shifter! I've got the booze-a-hol thing down pat, but I'll never get enough sleep until I'm dead! ;Hilarious

Yeah, so that's tricky. I bought the 1800gph Modular Marine overflow and I really do love it (my problems are likely user-error). But I forget to ask them to size down the drain bulkheads, so the bulkheads are 1.5". I was able to reduce to 1.25" inches below the box, but the standpipes on the inside of the box still need to be 1.5" PVC, which makes everything in there super tight. My primary drain is just a strainer. The emergency drain is just a straight pipe. The secondary drain is set up as a U-shaped standpipe but because of it having to be 1.5" pvc, I have it as tall as it will go while still being able to get it out. If I try to raise it even by a quarter inch, I'll never be able to remove it. So it does lurch probably only an inch or two above the strainer. I'm not sure if there's a PVC fitting I could use to reduce the 1.5" pvc down while still maintaining the u-shape and not taking up any more room. And would having a secondary drain that has a smaller aperture leading into a bigger body before draining out of the box make things noisy?

I'm not an expert with bean animal, but do consider myself very knowledgeable on the mechanics of it. I'll take a look at your thread and help you troubleshoot it. I'm pretty confident we can get it working properly!

 

[malacoda]

The first thing I would try, if possible, is to make the main (siphon) drain pipe a U. (If I understood your last post, it is currently just a vertical pipe with a strainer on the top. It is MUCH easier for a straight pipe to draw air because it can more easily form a vertex (e.g. whirlpool) than an inverted opening (e.g the downward facing opening on an upside-down U).

 

[S.Pepper]

I think u missed out what this hobby was all about. It's supposed to be a stress reliever, not one that adds to it. It's all good. I can deal with a tank crashing, a fish dying, or coral. It gets real when a family member passes. Chill, it's just a glass full of rocks and maybe a coral or fish or 2. It will all pass and we will all survive to live another day. Be well, and I hope ur able to put things in perspective.