Hi from NC

[Guzman]

Hey everyone, my fiance for 9 more days and I have purchased a 90 gallon tank with overflow, sump, protein skimmer, 60 lbs live rock, return pump, etc etc and have set it up in our living room to get the most enjoyment of it. We have it hooked up and filled with saltwater from the closest LFS i could find. it is running now and i have a couple questions which i think i have found the answers to but i just want to check.

First is it is not very quiet at all, i'm guessing maybe because i have the drainage pipe running straight down into the acrylic partition of the sump. Should i angle it or leave it straight down? I know it is going all the way to the bottom of the sump tank, should it be a little above or a little below the surface?

Secondly, when i lose power the sump starts a syphon and i dont want to swim in my new house. I've read to drill small holes in the elbow of the drain pipe just barely under the surface of the water, is this correct? do i drill the holes on the elbow that is hooked on the down pipe, or the elbow that is hooked to the part that is open sucking water? or does that matter? pics would help i guess.

Finally, the saltwater has a STRONG smell to it, is this something that will dissipate over the week? No fish store smells this wonderful so i am curious. should i get some carbon or something and filter the wtaer? at present its just running water through the tank, circulating, coming to the sump and protein skimmer, then being returned.

Thank you all so much.

 

[ChrisRD]

Hi Guzman and :welcome:

Depending on how your system is plumbed, some folks have to put a tee or bend on the drain line where it empties into the sump to help reduce noise/turbulence. If you do a search on this site, I think you'll find some past discussions/pics that might help. If you can post a pic of how your setup is plumbed we can give you more detailed feedback.

On the syphon issue, if the return line is lower than the teeth of your overflow box (which is common) water in the display tank will syphon down to this opening when power is off. It will syphon until the water level falls to the height of the opening and pulls in some air. You need to make sure your system is setup so that the sump can handle the extra water in this condition. You can either keep the return outlet high in the tank (near the surface) so it won't draw too much water, or drill a syphon break hole somewhere just under the normal water line. Personally, I prefer not to rely on syphon break holes, but if you do, just be sure to check it periodically to make sure it doesn't get covered by encrusting growths or critters.
This sketch might help clarify:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... 695#952695

As for the smell, normally there's not a strong smell associated with an established tank so I'd just give it a bit of time.

HTH

 

[Guzman]

ChrisRD,

That picture you showed is worth 1000 words! I think i know what i need to do to fix the syphon problem. I think i have the return "port" or whatever that is in the display tank way too low in the water line. i'll try moving it up closer to the top and see if i can make this work. Thanks so much.

 

[ChrisRD]

Glad it helped.

 

[Guzman]

i'm making a picture now to illustrate my setup

 

[Guzman]

What i see wrong is maybe that the return nozzle is too far under the water level in the display tank.

Also for the noise issue is that the drain pipe is too far under the water level in the sump.

what else is wrong?

 

[ChrisRD]

If the drain pipe is a Durso style, it will trap air and then "burp" being submerged that far in the sump. You might try having it outlet just slightly under the water line, or at an angle so the air can escape more quietly.

The return line does look like it's well under the water line - you might want to get that closer to the surface to limit the amount of water that will syphon in the power-off situation.

Keep an eye on the clear hose. You may eventually want to replace that with something opaque as it may get gunked up over time. Anywhere light can penetrate in a reef setup where there is no access to grazing critters will generally grow something. :wink:

HTH

 

[Guzman]

Thank you very much Chris.

I am eagerly awaiting 7am so i can go home tomorrow morning and test all of this out.... my fiance called a bit ago and let me know the smell has subsided a little already.

i guess as for syphoning out the gunk, i do that from the sump whenver it looks nasty?

 

[ChrisRD]

i guess as for syphoning out the gunk, i do that from the sump whenver it looks nasty?

Yup. Many of us do this as part of regular water changes.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

the strong smell may be from your live rock...it may be in the middle of curing...if so, the smell should go away once your tank is cycled...

 

[Guzman]

Here are pictures of the setup - i've cut the stand pipe back to just below the water line which now i get a flushing type sound, and the pump is still a bit loud. But i have fixed the syphoning problem. Now when i came home this morning after being away for 24 hours the sump was almost low enough that the pump was almost out of water to pump.

 

[ChrisRD]

Looks good.

Sounds like you're just using a straight standpipe. It's normal for them to be noisy which is why most people today use a Durso or Stockman setup.
Durso mod
Stockman mod

Personally, I use two drains - a primary and a secondary. I regulate the primary with a gate valve so that the inlet runs submerged. The second drain just seeps. I find this setup to be the quietest of any I have tried. This thread shows what I did on my latest tank:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... erflow+box

The water level in your pump chamber is dropping due to evaporation. You'll have to topoff daily with freshwater (NOT saltwater).

HTH

 

[Guzman]

thanks. it is a Durso like you showed in that link, you just can't tell from my pictures. I get an occasional (every few seconds) flushing sound. maybe i need to top off more? could it be air getting into the overflow drain?

 

[ChrisRD]

Air gets into the drain line by design (this is what weakens the syphon action enough to cause the inlet to run submerged - thus quiet), but normally the flushing is from backpressure on the drain line (ie. lots of bends, outlet submerged too deep in the sump, etc.). I think there's a FAQ on Rich Durso's page (linked above) that explains this better.

Having the drain pointing straight down into that box might be resulting in turbulence and therefore varying backpressure. You might have to play with that part of the setup a bit more to get it working better. Maybe try angling the output slightly, etc.

Also, IME, over time, once things get slimed up a bit (technical term :wink: ), Dursos tend to run smoother.

To be honest, I've always found Dursos to require a bit of initial tinkering to get them really quiet which is why I do what I do now.

HTH

 

[SnowManSnow]

in the TOP of the durso pipe drill a small hole to let air in... if the thing still gurgles.. drill it a little bigger... you'll find a size that lets just the right amount of air in so that it doesn't do that burp thing you're talking about.

b

 

[ChrisRD]

Maybe I'm assuming too much.... For a Durso to work there has to be an air bleed. Without some introduction of air you'll have full syphon and lots of slurping noises (basically a regular standpipe). So, I was assuming there was already an air hole...

Messing with the air adjustment as Snow mentioned is worth a try. I find it easier to get Dursos set correctly with some type of adjustable air intake. Giving it a bit more air might help, but IME when a Durso functions sporadically it's usually got more to do with the way the drain piping is plumbed.

JMO

 

[Guzman]

Thanks Chris...there is an air hole already in the setup. I will try angling the drain pipe a bit. its just the every 5 seconds of flushing that i need to quiet down a bit, the rest of the system is pretty quiet. Maybe when i throw a canopy on it, it'll sound better also.

 

[SnowManSnow]

The system should never "FLUSH". it should be a steady flow all the time. if your pipe is filling up with watter then "flushing" down...something is wrong.

b

 

[Guzman]

The system should never "FLUSH". it should be a steady flow all the time. if your pipe is filling up with watter then "flushing" down...something is wrong.

b

ok... what would the answer to the problem be?

 

[mr_X]

is there an air tube that you can adjust, that sticks out of the top of the durso? if so, you might try moving it up or down to get the air/water mix just right.