Sump overflowing after installing UV (with my drawing)

[Miami Reef]

I can really use some help here.

I drew a picture that explains everything I’m dealing with.

First, a little anatomy of my tank: I have a sump, then the tank is above the sump, then I have the top of the canopy which is above the tank - kind of like a “roof”.

Original tank setup:
One return pump. No UV nor UV plumbing.

Today I plumbed a UV sterilizer. I put the separate UV pump in the sump and I make the water flow through the top of the canopy and then into the Display Tank, like how the people nowadays run 2 returns.

I turned on the pump for the UV for the first time and my sump did not run dry. It had the same amount of water the entire time. This whole thread was in the span on 10 minutes, so it’s impossible my tank filled with extra water…

Anyway, when I closed both of the pumps (Return & UV) the sump level slowly and slowly rose until it started overflowing. It wasn’t drastic because I was watching and closed it right away, but I don’t know how much more the sump would have overflowed if I didn’t turn the units back on.

Right now my tank is just running with only the return pump, and it’s working as it used to be, but I want to plumb my UV and use it because I’m dealing with a big bacterial bloom and I have lots of fish.

PS: I made a hole below the water line of the UV outlet (to prevent back siphon). Although that stopped the future siphon, I STILL had extra water trickling from the UV tubing presumably from the top of the canopy that holds all the water. It’s a pretty tall distance from the sump to the top of the tank (250 gallon tank) so there can definitely be water stored in the tubings.


So what’s the cause of this? My UV must remain above the canopy because it’s the only place it fits (trust me, I’ve tried EVERYWHERE else.) So they only thing I can do is manipulate where the inlet and outlets of the UV are.

Please help!

 

[KYnewbee42103]

I run one really strong pump ecotech vectra V 4 or 5 or something we plumbed an adjustable blow by in plumbing to send additional pressure not going through the UV back to the DT which allows me to tune my UV for parasites or algae without a back flow check valve etc.

I run a bean animal overflow mine goes up over 6’ into a 180+ DT with a 40 Gallon sump no check valve! obviously I don’t want more than one pump or any overflows with that small of a sump lol.

The two red arrows in the photo are where the UV output and blow bye meet back up after separation from the return pump and go up to the return to the DT same pipe it came off of leaving the return pump( pay no attention to the flow meter) just apex BS that never works lol

. My GPH and turnover never change only the GPH I allow through the UV with an adjustable ball valve because the blow by sucks it right back into the DT no mater how fast or slow I adjust it. no additional pump needed.

it can’t go backwards this way unless it’s turned off of course but the bean animal overflow plumbing stops DT overflow with triple redundancy anyway. I think it was the most efficient way to not run 2 pumps ( in my system) that is not to say it’s a recipe for disaster for your system if your running a fully automated system apex etc.

so pentair has some cool plumbing ideas and diagrams not sure which UV your running. I would need a more detailed idea of plumbing pipe sizes sump and GPH flow etc etc etc. I’ll send you a pic of my uv plumbing. I will see if I can find a few ideas from my owners manual also.

Good luck Buddy plumbing wires and water aren’t supposed to mix and they are a #%\£^!{!!!! To do and get right!

if your gonna plumb it separate and add a second pump my idea would be to do a closed loop in your sump. Or drill a hole in the side of your stand UV sterilization works best mounted vertically not horizontally.

 

[Miami Reef]

Morning update. I put the outlet of the UV above the water and there was no overflowing to the sump.

BUT! This morning I noticed when the UV was running that sump ATO valve was producing more water. That means that the water is slightly pushing out more than it can get from the overflows. If that’s true, then the sump will definitely overflow, right?

I’m going to put the UV inlet pump inside the DT.

 

[Miami Reef]

Another option is connecting the UV to the return line. I’m going to try this first!

 

[Miami Reef]

Actually, before I do anything, let me wait for your advice.

Should I put UV pump in main tank?
Or should I connect the return line to the UV? Doing the second option will probably need a pump upgrade. And doing the first will allow everything to run independently from each other.

 

[Miami Reef]

Hi guys. I plumbed the UV from DT to DT. Can someone help me figure out why there is microbubbles shooting from the outlet? I used PVC cement on every connection. I’m confused.

 

[jmichaelh7]

OP i am just wondering the reason you installed a UV?

I know i read your thread about ich eradication, QT Process. Did the process fail for you or are you using UV for algae?

 

[Miami Reef]

OP i am just wondering the reason you installed a UV?

I know i read your thread about ich eradication, QT Process. Did the process fail for you or are you using UV for algae?

I’m using UV for water clarity.