Plumbing feedback

[TangGuy]

Hello everyone,

I have been struggling to keep a consistent salinity. I wonder if has something to do with the plumbing. It seems the water level on my left return chamber will suddenly drop and my ATO will replenish the water as expected but when this happens, my display tank can overfill. I first thought it was an issue with my return pump (which was a cheap unit) but after replacing it twice (currently has a new Nepture Cor 20). I don't believe it has anything to do with my return pump. When things go crazy, I have to make slight adjustments to the gate value to correct the problem but it only fixes it temporarily. Could it be a plumbing problem? Perhaps a bad gate value? Position of my gate valve (horizontal vs vertical)?

Thanks for your feedback!

-Robert

 

[SPR1968]

Hi Robert, do you have a better picture of the sump (the ATO is blurred or it might be my eyes!) and also the display, and what ATO unit are you using ?

 

[TangGuy]

Hi Robert, do you have a better picture of the sump (the ATO is blurred or it might be my eyes!) and also the display, and what ATO unit are you using ?

Hi Sean,

Happy Boxing Day from Canada! I cleaned the sump walls to provide better photos. My ATO is a Tunze 3152.

Thanks,

-Robert

 

[Utubereefer]

Maybe if the output of the ato was on the other side of the bubble trap it might help?

 

[SPR1968]

The COR 20 is rated for tanks up to around 180g and the Tunze 3152 is rated for tanks to around 55g so small/nano according to a quick search

Whats roughly the total system volume ?

Im just initially thinking you have a biggish pump but a small ATO maybe something it out of balance

The sump pipe work looks ok to me, and yes you need to adjust the gate valve occasionally, but depending on the tank size, if you have the COR20 on full blast and a small ATO……. Just thinking…

 

[TangGuy]

The COR 20 is rated for tanks up to around 180g and the Tunze 3152 is rated for tanks to around 55g so small/nano according to a quick search

Whats roughly the total system volume ?

Im just initially thinking you have a biggish pump but a small ATO maybe something it out of balance

The sump pipe work looks ok to me, and yes you need to adjust the gate valve occasionally, but depending on the tank size, if you have the COR20 on full blast and a small ATO……. Just thinking…

I had a Jebao DC 3000 before this pump and the behaviour was the same. You are right the Cor20 is overrated for this tank. I want to buy a Waterbox Reef 180.5 in the next year so I didn't want to buy another new pump in a year so I bought the Cor20 to do the next tank as well. It's running between 16-20% utilization. The total water volume is around 110-115 Gallons. I considered buying the Neptune ATK to replace the Tunze, just not sure if it would make a difference. The ATO doesn't run a long time before it brings the water level back. This makes me think it's not working too hard but I could be wrong.

Thanks,

-Robert

 

[theMeat]

How big is the display? What type of overflow? Got some pics?

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Your Return is Below the Sumps normal water level. The Return gets Air Bound till there is enough pressure to push the air out. Meanwhile the water backs up in your Aquarium to overflow conditions. Either shorten the return pipe, or put a “T” in it with a breather pipe to release the air. If it is noisy , put a cap on the breather, and drill a hole in it. If you go the cap route, make sure you clean the cap and hole, on a schedule. Do not glue it on the breather tube, for ease of service. On mine I remove the cap when I’m out of town. For peace of mind, on a salt creep clog, which is actually rare.

 

[TangGuy]

How big is the display? What type of overflow? Got some pics?

It's a corner overflow from the factory with a durso drain.

 

[theMeat]

Hard to make out but in pic it looks like you have a valve on water going from display to the sump. On a single drain system this is a big no no because air and water are going down the same single pipe. You could, and should take it off or at least run it wide open.

On your feed from ato to sump the tube should end above water level in sump, and above water level in ato reservoir to avoid a siphon that will continue to dump water after ato pump shuts off

 

[TangGuy]

The ATO hose is above the water line and I fill the ATO reservoir lower to prevent a siphon.

It is a single drain system and you are correct, the drain has both ball and gate valves. The ball valve is completely open and the gate valve is adjusted to balance with the pump. So you are suggesting I completely open the gate value and rebalance the return pump?

Thanks,

-Robert

 

[theMeat]

The ATO hose is above the water line and I fill the ATO reservoir lower to prevent a siphon.

It is a single drain system and you are correct, the drain has both ball and gate valves. The ball valve is completely open and the gate valve is adjusted to balance with the pump. So you are suggesting I completely open the gate value and rebalance the return pump?

Thanks,

-Robert

Yes
Can adjust the pump output with a valve, or if it’s a dc pump you can adjust it electronically to get your desired gph you’re shooting for. Drain should be wide open and not asked to handle too much gph. As an example on a one inch pipe around 4-500 gph max to have it run relatively quiet and consistent

 

[TangGuy]

Hard to make out but in pic it looks like you have a valve on water going from display to the sump. On a single drain system this is a big no no because air and water are going down the same single pipe. You could, and should take it off or at least run it wide open.

On your feed from ato to sump the tube should end above water level in sump, and above water level in ato reservoir to avoid a siphon that will continue to dump water after ato pump shuts off

I made your suggested changes. The drain is completely open and I have increased the volume on my DC pump to balance it as much as possible. It noisier than it was and there are bubbles that I didn't have before. Video attached.

 

[theMeat]

Makes sense. You increased pump output.
The water level in overflow box should be about 1/2 to an inch below display tank level to keep that part of things quiet. Most newer durso pipes are adjustable up/down to accomplish this.
You should shoot for between 3-6 x display tank water volume per hour with your return pump. Anything more gph than what you skimmer can process is pretty much a waste anyway.
Not sure what you mean about “balancing” . Ideally you shoot for 3-6x times gph, or pretty close to what your skimmer can process. If you ask a single pipe to drain too much it will be noisier and make more bubbles.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Also I don’t know why there are Five Unions, and Three 90’s on the Return. The True Union Valve should be enough and it looks like, you could easily do with Two 90’s. No 90’s if the Sump was Flipped. Each one of the fittings is a serious restriction on the gravity fed line.

 

[TangGuy]

Makes sense. You increased pump output.
The water level in overflow box should be about 1/2 to an inch below display tank level to keep that part of things quiet. Most newer durso pipes are adjustable up/down to accomplish this.
You should shoot for between 3-6 x display tank water volume per hour with your return pump. Anything more gph than what you skimmer can process is pretty much a waste anyway.
Not sure what you mean about “balancing” . Ideally you shoot for 3-6x times gph, or pretty close to what your skimmer can process. If you ask a single pipe to drain too much it will be noisier and make more bubbles.

thank you for your feedback.