Trouble with water levels

[11cmortarman]

I am currently having issues with keeping the water level stable in my reef tank. I currently have a marineland 90 gallon rr with a jecod dc 6000 pump. I can already tell you that the pump is not powerful enough to handle the single overflow open all the way. So what I have had to do is try to dial the overflow back and try to match the pump but it is nearly impossible. When I finally have it leveled out I hook up my ato and it just keeps dumping water in my sump. My ato will come on about every 2 to 4 minutes. My sump level will stay the same but the water in the display keeps going up. I was looking for suggestions on how I can either set my current system up or figure out what I would need to buy to fix my problems. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[FishOfHex]

If the water in your display is going up it looks like you are dialing the overflow to much and not letting enough water out. I would say just open it up all the way and adjust the flow of the pump if you need to. I looked up your tank real quick and didnt get the answers i needed.. so does your overflow have a backup just in case it gets to high? is it a single drain pipe if not or dual? From what i seen its a single corner overflow and i dont believe you can adjust the flow coming out of that type of system. Let me know id love to help you out.

 

[AZDesertRat]

No no no!
Never restrict the overflow unless you have one of the newer dual overflow designs which utilizes one as a backup.
The overflow should always be able to outrun the return pump. Open the overflow so it has no restriction at all, wide open always.
It is the return pump that controls what the overflow sends to the sump. You are asking for a major flood when you restrict the overflow.

 

[FishOfHex]

No no no!
Never restrict the overflow unless you have one of the newer dual overflow designs which utilizes one as a backup.
The overflow should always be able to outrun the return pump. Open the overflow so it has no restriction at all, wide open always.
It is the return pump that controls what the overflow sends to the sump. You are asking for a major flood when you restrict the overflow.

agree

 

[11cmortarman]

Ok so I just opened up the overflow all the way and have the pump opened full blast. now the water in my overflow box is low and the hole that is drilled in the return pipe is shooting water out of it and its making a horrible noise. The water in the sump is now stable and staying at a constant height. If I keep my return nozzles high in the tank can I plug that hole in the return pipe. I am assuming its for an anti syphon or something.. My sump is plenty big enough for backfill of the sump during a power outage? Again thanks for the help guys.

 

[11cmortarman]

And @FishOfHex Its just a single corner overflow marineland with just one overflow pipe and one return pipe

 

[FishOfHex]

Ok so I just opened up the overflow all the way and have the pump opened full blast. now the water in my overflow box is low and the hole that is drilled in the return pipe is shooting water out of it and its making a horrible noise. The water in the sump is now stable and staying at a constant height. If I keep my return nozzles high in the tank can I plug that hole in the return pipe. I am assuming its for an anti syphon or something.. My sump is plenty big enough for backfill of the sump during a power outage? Again thanks for the help guys.

That hole on the return pipe to let the air out and prevent a siphon what you can do is add a little bit of air line tube and connect it to the pipe it will get rid of that sound just keep it above the water level to prevent that siphon it will still allow air in the but the tube will dampen the sound. I used to do that with one of my old skimmers bc it was so loud when drawing air in.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Do you have a standpipe in the overflow box? Sounds like you don't so research Durso or better yet Stockman DIY standpipe. 5 in PVC pipe and fittings and 30 minutes to build one.

You don't need the drilled hole in the return, it is a false sense of security at best. The key is keep your returns just slightly below the surface and always maintain sufficient room in your sump to contain the minimal amount of water that will back siphon to the sump in a power outage. It should not be much, iny 100G reef with the returns 3/4" below the surface it is 3.5 gallons maximum.

 

[ngvu1]

Where is this hole located on the return pipe? For most cases I have seen they to it for the purpose like hexOfFish is saying. This hole is under water so it should not make any noise....Air only goes through this hole in case of power outage and the return pump is off.

now the water in my overflow box is low and the hole that is drilled in the return pipe is shooting water out of it and its making a horrible noise.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Plug the hole, you said you have sufficient freeboard in your sump.

 

[Test led]

Put a zip tie around it. I did that to my Marineland 150rr and it fixed the noise issue.

 

[11cmortarman]

It is a durso stand pipe... I plugged the hole in the return and opened up the overflow all the way and everything seems to be running fine..I want to say thanks for taking your time to help me out.