What should the water level be at when pump is off?

[albertski]

I have the Waterbox Marine X 60.2 with the EcoTech Marine Vectra S2. I am struggling to set it up the flow correctly. I calibrate the Vectra S2 and it seems to be working correctly but I feel like every day I have to keep turning the valve. Then after a couple of days, the pump is working so strong that I need to manually put it on the lowest setting just so it works without any issues.

Could the issue be that I don't have enough water? What should the water level be at? Here are some pics of the water level when the pump is off.

 

[Billldg]

I do not have a Waterbox tank, but, looking at the water level when the pump is off, I would recommend adding some water to the tank. It will stop flowing when the water level drops to the bottom of the weir. I have an external overflow with a weir and it stops when the water level hits the bottom of the weir.

 

[Jedi1199]

When everything is on, you should be about 1/2 inch or so above the minimum level of the overflow box. In the sump, you will need a level in the main chamber that is determined by whatever skimmer you use.

 

[Jedi1199]

A little tinkering is key here.. Make sure that first, if the power goes off that you don't overflow the sump due to siphon reaction from the DT. A check valve solves that issue. Next be sure that the sump won't overflow the DT should the drain become clogged for whatever reason.

Once you have that figured out, place a piece of tape or use a magic marker to mark your maximum water line on your sump.

 

[fish farmer]

Do you have check valves on those two returns? Looking at the level that is where the water drops to.

 

[albertski]

Do you have check valves on those two returns? Looking at the level that is where the water drops to.

I don’t have a check valve coming from the pump. I didn’t know I needed one.

 

[Jedi1199]

I don’t have a check valve coming from the pump. I didn’t know I needed one.

This is for safety's sake. When I plumbed in my sump system on my 55g. I did a check of all of the things that could cause overflows. drain gets clogged? does the sump overflow the DT? power goes out, does the overflow box allow enough water to drain into the sump to overflow? What I had not considered is the return hose creating a siphon! I dumped a few gallons of water on the floor before I could stop it.. then I had to fix that issue. I installed a check valve between the return pump and the DT so now no matter what happens, I can't have a flood on my floor if something goes wrong.

 

[fish farmer]

I don’t have a check valve coming from the pump. I didn’t know I needed one.

Check valve or siphon break. I believe the current level of your returns is where the siphon breaks. I usually drill a small hole in the return line/lines right below the surface of the water to allow air to break the siphon. Or you can adjust your returns so they are closer to the same level of the overflow teeth.

 

[albertski]

This is for safety's sake. When I plumbed in my sump system on my 55g. I did a check of all of the things that could cause overflows. drain gets clogged? does the sump overflow the DT? power goes out, does the overflow box allow enough water to drain into the sump to overflow? What I had not considered is the return hose creating a siphon! I dumped a few gallons of water on the floor before I could stop it.. then I had to fix that issue. I installed a check valve between the return pump and the DT so now no matter what happens, I can't have a flood on my floor if something goes wrong.

Ahh I'm guessing I wouldn't need that because the Waterbox comes with an emergency overflow out of the box.

 

[homer1475]

Check valves are an accident waiting to happen in a SW tank. They work, but after a while biofilm, spiriod worms, vermetid snails, etc gum up the works, and they simply fail to work properly. Relying on one to stop the flow into the sump is a major no no.

In a correct setup , you should be able to hold all your drain down in the sump should the return pump get shut off. Blocked drain lines(if running a herbie or bean animal drain) should never be an issue.


In your setup it appears that the return lines are below the weir teeth. So your water drains down to the level of the returns. When they start to suck air, the siphon is broken and the flow down to the sump stops. Either lift them up a bit, or as mentioned drill a small hole right where the first meet the water level.

As far as the return chamber goes in the sump, you should have enough water in the sump to cover the return pump a couple inches(to prevent it from creating a vortex and sucking air), and low enough that it can handle your drain down.

 

[Spieg]

Agree with Homer. Check valves on the return are a waste of time/money. As Fish Farmer said you can drill a small hole for a siphon break (if needed).

 

[workhz]

Seems easier to just have the return not be too submerged. If a siphon break fails and the return is only an inch below the water then you won’t get much back into the sump. Plus, I feel the closer the return is to the surface the more surface agitation you get anyway.