Custom diy aquarium plus sump. Getting way to many bubbles and every few seconds huge volcano like bubbles lol it’s overflowing and slowly leaking.

[Alexz]

I even tried using 3rd pipe by removing 5 inch long pvc pipe. I’m using 1” pipes. When I had 1-1/4 in my previous setup didn’t have this issue. Also my water returns right next to overflow. That can’t be good. So I’m thinking I should either silicone a 3 inch piece of glass next to pipes since that’s where it erupts every 5 seconds or so. I decided not to rinse the old sand and now I’m getting ammonia over 3 my Hannah won’t show more. Also didn’t use RODI water originally but did condition it. Now RODI fixed and filters replaced back to single digits down to 9 now. When I tested it with water tester it was showing 200-300. I was using old filters and discharged water. I was thinking it was better then tap water but after I got water tester I realized I screwed up once again. Waiting on new salt to arrive along with dr Tim’s one and only. Oh my old tank was a few years old. Old one was over 200 gallons this one is 2x2x6 so about 150 plus about 20 in sump. Been cycling about 10 days. Please advise me on flow and how to set up my filter sucks, where to best place skimmer, bubbles Magnus auto paper roller filter and Cato. Eventually wanna dump sand in sump and grow corals on bottom as well. Forgot to say I had a difficult rushed move couldnt make new aquarium in time… started over after about 3 months. Sand was in a plastic container in basement. I was trying to save some bacteria( Thanks for your help

 

[Troylee]

Pictures would help… the sand situation is all bad! Should have rinsed well or replaced! I wouldn’t add any live stock for awhile and continue to gravel vac till you get it clean and ammonia down to zero!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Not an emergency...

 

[o2manyfish]

I even tried using 3rd pipe by removing 5 inch long pvc pipe. I’m using 1” pipes. When I had 1-1/4 in my previous setup didn’t have this issue. Also my water returns right next to overflow. That can’t be good. So I’m thinking I should either silicone a 3 inch piece of glass next to pipes since that’s where it erupts every 5 seconds or so. I decided not to rinse the old sand and now I’m getting ammonia over 3 my Hannah won’t show more. Also didn’t use RODI water originally but did condition it. Now RODI fixed and filters replaced back to single digits down to 9 now. When I tested it with water tester it was showing 200-300. I was using old filters and discharged water. I was thinking it was better then tap water but after I got water tester I realized I screwed up once again. Waiting on new salt to arrive along with dr Tim’s one and only. Oh my old tank was a few years old. Old one was over 200 gallons this one is 2x2x6 so about 150 plus about 20 in sump. Been cycling about 10 days. Please advise me on flow and how to set up my filter sucks, where to best place skimmer, bubbles Magnus auto paper roller filter and Cato. Eventually wanna dump sand in sump and grow corals on bottom as well. Forgot to say I had a difficult rushed move couldnt make new aquarium in time… started over after about 3 months. Sand was in a plastic container in basement. I was trying to save some bacteria( Thanks for your help

To the original Poster. If you sit down and relax and re-read your post - Does it make sense to you? Do you think you could solve the problems presented with the post you provided?

No photos, vague descriptions, I'm not even sure what the plumbing problem is. And then a collection of thoughts on a half dozen other potential issues.

Perhaps take this post down, take a few breaths, and then rewrite your post with some photos and a more detalied description of the issues you are having.

Then those of us who have been thru all these different situations can take the time to share our experience and knowledge with you and give you a chance to easily resolve your problems.

Dave B

 

[KrisReef]

 

[Alexz]

I posted 1 minute video

 

[Alexz]

Here it is

 

[LadyMac]

Here it is

It’s not posting. You may need to use a hosting site like Dropbox and then add the link here.

 

[Alexz]

Pictures would help… the sand situation is all bad! Should have rinsed well or replaced! I wouldn’t add any live stock for awhile and continue to gravel vac till you get it clean and ammonia down to zero!

Hi. I thought video would be better. But I dunno if I’m uploading and posting it right or it’s to long. Took pics

 

[Alexz]

It’s not posting. You may need to use a hosting site like Dropbox and then add the link here.

Oh ok. Hopefully pics can help. Good to know though thx

 

[Alexz]

To the original Poster. If you sit down and relax and re-read your post - Does it make sense to you? Do you think you could solve the problems presented with the post you provided?

No photos, vague descriptions, I'm not even sure what the plumbing problem is. And then a collection of thoughts on a half dozen other potential issues.

Perhaps take this post down, take a few breaths, and then rewrite your post with some photos and a more detalied description of the issues you are having.

Then those of us who have been thru all these different situations can take the time to share our experience and knowledge with you and give you a chance to easily resolve your problems.

Dave B

I was up all night finishing up lots of things from Construction plus aquarium sump diy isn’t easy. Shoulda bought one or planned it better. Plus smoked some pot and tried to write a book here my apologies)

 

[Matt1997]

Add standpipes inside the overflow box. Have two full siphon and one barely even a trickle.

The frothing in the sump is from all the micro bubbles coming down the overflow. Basically acting as a protein skimmer. Solve the overflow issue with the above comment and that will stop as well.

 

[Matt1997]

Also cut the overflow pipes and add a ball valve or gate valve so you can control the flow in two of them. No need to add one to the third as that will be wide open at all times as an emergency drain.

 

[Alexz]

Add standpipes inside the overflow box. Have two full siphon and one barely even a it

Ok just tiny ones right. I didn’t wanna do any more experimenting and flood my house again lol thank you

 

[Alexz]

Also cut the overflow pipes and add a ball valve or gate valve so you can control the flow in two of them. No need to add one to the third as that will be wide open at all times as an emergency drain.

You mean cut them in sump? cause they are way to deep almost touching the bottom

 

[Alexz]

Also cut the overflow pipes and add a ball valve or gate valve so you can control the flow in two of them. No need to add one to the third as that will be wide open at all times as an emergency drain.

Is it ok if I put gate valve inside overflow. Or I gotta cut my masterpiece lol

 

[Viking_Reefing]

You mean cut them in sump? cause they are way to deep almost touching the bottom

Just cut them anywhere and glue a gate valve on. You need to be able to restrict the flow of one of the down pipes so that it’s a full suction.
But yeah, re-write your original post as it’s, pardon me for saying, a jumbled mess that’s almost impossible to decipher.

 

[Troylee]

You got too much back pressure for one and need some stand pipes in the overflow box.. put a stand pipe on the drains in the box with a gate valve on the main drain to control the flow. You will also need to cut each pipe about 1/2” to 1” below the water line in the sump to stop the back pressure and “volcano” sound you’re describing lol..

 

[Troylee]

Is that tape to hold the sump together? Sheesh! You got quiet the mess going on there! I’d be scared to fill that thing with water honestly! I see the aluminum frame you got holding the bottom seam of the tank together that’s doing more damage than good if that glass isn’t perfectly flat on the stand and just sitting on the angle..

 

[o2manyfish]

@Alexz, Thanks, for posting the photos. Just so you don't think I was picking on you without being willing to help...

The first step is really simple to alleviate the 'emergency' issues.

First up - Did you build the aquarium yourself? If so it looks pretty darn good for a hobbyist.

You have 3 1" pipes and they all go way down into your sump below the surface of the water. When your pump is off the overflow pipes drain into the sump and when they run out of water they fill with air. When the pump kicks back on and the water starts flowing down the pipes the air is trapped. The air in the pipe is basically a bubble and wants to rise up the pipe to the top. The water is at the top and gravity is pulling the water down the pipe and trapping the air.

The air bubble in the pipe gets trapped and actually blocks the pipe stopping the flow of water going down the pipe. When that happens the water in the over flow box and the tank rises. As the water rises above the top of the pipe there is more pressure by the water. Sometimes the water wins and it flushes the air out of the pipe making a big splash down below.

But sometimes the air wins. And when the trapped air wins it over comes the weight of the water and pushes the water up out of the pipe causing you to get your erupting volcano.

Now several have commented about adding standpipes and gate valves. Those are techniques for quieting or silencing your overflow. But right now you have an issue with the plumbing design and you need to resolve that first.

There are 2 ways of doing this. 1) Now that you know the water level in the chamber that the overflow dumps into you can cut the drainage pipes to just within an inch of the surface. With only and inch of the pipe submerged it is much easier for the water to push the air out of the pipe and let the water flow down.

The 2nd way 2) is to leave your pipes down low but drill vent holes in the pipes an inch above the surface level of the water in the first chamber. A small hole in each pipe lets the air escape out the side of the pipe while the water runs straight in. This is a great job for a step bit as you may have to drill the vent holes a couple of times getting larger so that the air vents without whistling and if you go too big you get splashing. This also removes alot of the noise you get from all the big bubbles going into the sump.

I prefer the 2nd method. The reasons being that with a vent hole the water is allowed to flow smoothly down the pipe creating less splash, less noise and less bubbles because it's never fighting the air for space in the pipe. This also allows you to drain all the way at the bottom of the first chamber keeping the detritus from settling on the bottom as the water flows over the top.


Now once you have taken care of the emergency volcano situation then you can start playing with making the whole process of getting water out of the tank quieter. There are plenty of threads on Dursos and Bean Overflows for you to review and for you to determine which works best for you. Simple is always going to last longer with less headaches.

But adding standpipes in the overflow box to stop the water "Falling" into the pipes will make a big difference in noise. Then you will be left with some gurgling sounds and this is going to be an issue depending on the flow of water you have dropping thru the 3 down pipes. You may not need to go any further than stand pipes to make your tank nice and quiet. But if more silencing is necessary then start reviewing the Bean and Durso threads and see which method you want to experiment with.

Dave B