Water level and canopy

[C1-10P]

Good evening,

trying to figure out a slight dilemma with my buil (72”x18”x21”) And maybe it isn’t a dilemma at all….
After putting everything together I feel like the water level is too far below the edge of the canopy, am I crazy?

if it is, my dilemma is that the lights (3 Kessil A360x) are just over 6” from the water, which I was told by Kessil is ok since the tank is only 18” wide. So if I raise the water level my lights will be too close, but also the water is already about 3/4” above the teeth of the overflow.

the previous owner had plumbed the Durso with 3/4” which I’m reading is too small, thinking about replacing to 1” then reducing to 3/4” below the bulk head. I may end up replacing that and then seeing if I can open up my return pump some more to get more flow through the sump. I’m using a sicce syncra 4 and the ball valve is closed about 50% on the return.

looking for any pointers, got the big points covered but lacking the experience on fine tuning the flow through the sump and water level. Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

I'd need to know how far the water is from the top of the tank to offer an opinion.

 

[C1-10P]

I'd need to know how far the water is from the top of the tank to offer an opinion.

Fair! The bottom edge of the canopy is along the top piece of acrylic, from there I would say the water is about an inch from the top of the aquarium.

 

[blaxsun]

Fair! The bottom edge of the canopy is along the top piece of acrylic, from there I would say the water is about an inch from the top of the aquarium.

In that case I'd probably leave the water level as is. I don't imagine it's possible to lower the canopy (probably resting on the top edge), so the only suggestion I could come up with is to attach a trim piece along the front and sides to hide the water level.

 

[Reef Diaper]

I would leave it as is. My canopy sits at about the same height and I think it adds more interest when you can see the wave action at the water line.

 

[C1-10P]

In that case I'd probably leave the water level as is. I don't imagine it's possible to lower the canopy (probably resting on the top edge), so the only suggestion I could come up with is to attach a trim piece along the front and sides to hide the water level.

Yeah lowering the canopy would put my lights a few inches from the water, dont think I’d be comfortable with that.

 

[Brucealmighty]

You may be able to reduce the gap between the water level and the canopy by turning the power up of the return pump? I know for my tank I can make the display tank overflow with my pump, hope it gets sorted for you there are many people here who can help you.

 

[C1-10P]

I would leave it as is. My canopy sits at about the same height and I think it adds more interest when you can see the wave action at the water line.

Good way to look at it, at first I felt it looked like it was just low on water.

 

[kados]

I have the same exact scenario. Nothing can be done other than raising the water level by raising the drain height. I run two open drains. If I raise the height of the drain that sets the height of the water level to hide the gap then the flow into the weir is too high and won't skim properly. I'm used to it now...bugged me in the beginning.

 

[C1-10P]

You may be able to reduce the gap between the water level and the canopy by turning the power up of the return pump? I know for my tank I can make the display tank overflow with my pump, hope it gets sorted for you there are many people here who can help you.

When I turn the return pump up I Can’t get any more down the overflow so the sump runs dry, thought about plumbing a larger durso but everything else seems stable with the flow so may just leave it until it becomes a problem

 

[The Farmer]

is your canopy sitting on top of the euro brace?

 

[C1-10P]

is your canopy sitting on top of the euro brace?

No it has blocks of wood on both sides of the tank it rest on

 

[Brucealmighty]

If you added more water to stop the sump running dry?, obviously it is a set amount of water for when it powers down and you don't want a flood but it may just be a case of it needs a sip more water with the return pump turned up a little higher?

 

[The Farmer]

Can you provide a picture?

No it has blocks of wood on both sides of the tank it rest on

 

[C1-10P]

If you added more water to stop the sump running dry?, obviously it is a set amount of water for when it powers down and you don't want a flood but it may just be a case of it needs a sip more water with the return pump turned up a little higher?

I’ll give it a shot, I’ll shut it down tonight and see how much room I have to add to the sump. I am assuming by raising the height above the weir I am loosing the skimming function a bit. Figured I could eventually glue in some acrylic to effectively raise the weir tooth height if needed.

 

[C1-10P]

Can you provide a picture?

That’s the best one I have.

 

[The Farmer]

I see it’s sitting on top of your tank, you can add a trim piece to your canopy to come down to the level of water and hide it

 

[Brucealmighty]

When I first settled in the level of my sump I realised that the skimmer was in half the amount of water it was supposed to be in, I had it in about 5 inches of water and its supposed to be in 10 inches, so hopefully you will be able to get your skimmer to play ball too, it is all a little bit of fine tuning at the start.

 

[C1-10P]

I see it’s sitting on top of your tank, you can add a trim piece to your canopy to come down to the level of water and hide it

Yeah I may do that, or replace the front piece, the wood started to warp after being painted and assembled, so if I can’t get it to flatten out with some clamps I may just put a 12” piece instead of a 1x10

 

[The Farmer]

Yes a small over hang will hide the water line and you won’t even have to adjust your return or worry about your lights

Yeah I may do that, or replace the front piece, the wood started to warp after being painted and assembled, so if I can’t get it to flatten out with some clamps I may just put a 12” piece instead of a 1x10