need help with my plumbing PLEASE

[mattleycrue76]

Ok here goes



I picked up a 72 gal bowfront yesterday and spent all day today mixing saltwater and trying to get the plumbing right. I bought it used and it came with a 3 chamber sump, protein skimmer, and return pump.



Couple of questions:



the return pump is rated at 1500 gal/hr and seems to suck up way to much water causing a lot of air in the system. Is this to big a pump? sure seems like it. its like the overflow can't keep up with providing water.



also the overflow came with a little air pump called aqualifter i think and i thought i could disconnect it once the air had been sucked out of the overflow but whenever i try to disconnect it the overflow stops working.



I am confused and need to get this handeled quick like. at the moment i just have live rock in the tank and am only using a couple of pwerheads for circulation.





Any advice will be greatly appreciated. (especially if its quick)

 

[mmkeeper]

Your overflow is most likely a Cpr overflow, and it requires the aqualifter 24/7 to keep the suction going. Can you lower the intank side of the overflow to get more water for your pump?

 

[mattleycrue76]

you're right the overflow is a cpr model cs 100 overflow. unfortunateley i cant find any info on it or its gph raing

 

[mattleycrue76]

I just found some info on this overflow. apparently its rated for 800 gp/h. guess that would explain my problem. so does that mean that i need a 800 g/h return pump?

 

[kimo4848]

Can't you just put a ball valve on and turn it down that way. Pumps run better with a little back pressure.

 

[Katchupoy]

it would be better to put a tee instead of a ball valve. one end goes back to the tank and the other end goes back to the sump. then you can then put a ball valve on the one that goes back to the tank. this way you can fine tune how much water you want to go back to the tank without actually putting too much pressure on the pump.

let me know if you want me to explain it further.

 

[Katchupoy]

if you can find a different overflow so much the better. right now that will work but still look for another one. the u tubes are less maintenance compared to cpr in terms of not having the needed aqualiter. if you can make it simple so much the better.

 

[mattleycrue76]

Thanks for the tip I am going to go get a ball valve and a t- piece right now

my other problem is that the return stream of water is creating a whirlwind inside my tank. what do i use on the return hose to distribute the flow evenly in the tank ?

 

[theJ]

let me know if you want me to explain it further.

Hi there, just tagging along on this thread, could you go a little deeper into how a tee with a ball valve would be better than just a ball valve? Just curious as I only have a ball valve, no tee, and am always looking to improve

 

[tdgates10]

If you put a tee on your return line with one line going to your tank and the other going to your sump, you can eliminate back pressure on your pump. You just put a ball valve on each of the lines (sump return off tee and tank return off tee) and control pressure that way. All excess pressure (water) goes into sump instead of pressure on pump. All totals in more life for your pump.

 

[Mugg1977]

You can also use the tee back to the sump to run a UV sterilizer, if you choose to run one. It all depends on the flow rating of the UV and what you are actually returning to the sump. Basically a free pump.

 

[joshinjosh]

yes, also remember the rating for the overflows are for the maximum amount of flow. so I would have a return pump not too close to the rating, e.g. a 800gph overflow probably is best for ~600gph retrun.

 

[Skimmy]

waaay too much flow from your return pump, you want the water from your display to go through the sump filter like 3 times an hour, this way your skimmer, refugium, and carbon filters will have the water dwell in them longer, allowing them to more efficently clean and effect the water.
it is a very common mistake to attempt to make the sump filter water flow try to accomodate the high flow requirements for the main display tank.

 

[mattleycrue76]

waaay too much flow from your return pump, you want the water from your display to go through the sump filter like 3 times an hour, this way your skimmer, refugium, and carbon filters will have the water dwell in them longer, allowing them to more efficently clean and effect the water.
it is a very common mistake to attempt to make the sump filter water flow try to accomodate the high flow requirements for the main display tank.

Ok so how much pump speed am i looking for here? the one i have now is about 800-900g per hour at the height im looking at. ill be running a t piece with a ball valve as discribed above + and t piece where the flow goes back into the tank to distribute the flow a little. does this sound like i have too much pump? how do i tell?

 

[tdgates10]

I just messed around with the ball valve on the tee until it was quiet and wasn't making the slurping noise. I have the twin overflows rated at 1200gph and am pushing 1500gph through them with only minimal noise. I have the other 1000gph going back into the sump via the tee, and am going to hook my new skimmer up to it when I get it.

 

[Skimmy]

Ok so how much pump speed am i looking for here? the one i have now is about 800-900g per hour at the height im looking at. ill be running a t piece with a ball valve as discribed above + and t piece where the flow goes back into the tank to distribute the flow a little. does this sound like i have too much pump? how do i tell?

well, 75 x 3 = 225 gph, so about 1/3 of the 800-900 gph you have now.

 

[kimo4848]

You should be fine now, big pumps are fine just add a tee and a ball valve and you should be fine. I run bigger pumps so I can add plumming to them so I can run other things with the same pump.