siskiou Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I'm testing my tank plumbing and I've noticed that the overflows on my tank slowly empty after I turn off the return pump. They are the megaflow kind, where the standpipes are not permanently glued in. They are just pushed into the bulkheads. Is this normal, or should the waterlevel remain up in the overflows to just below the standpipe intake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 If im understanding you correctly its not a big deal as long as your sump can handle the extra water.......a little bit of plumbers tape on the connection could fix it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 edit......they arent threaded.....a little bit of silicone could fix it ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 Never thought of silicone! I'll try that, though I may just set the sump level so it doesn't matter, just in case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 These megaflows are also very noisy! It's mostly the water rushing through the drain lines that's bothering me. Does anyone know of a way to silence that? I have flexible hose 1" drain lines and it sounds like I'm flooding the living room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nu2reef-n Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I would be careful with silcone gel. It takes at least 24 hours to cure. I would think it could contaminate your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 These megaflows are also very noisy! It's mostly the water rushing through the drain lines that's bothering me. Does anyone know of a way to silence that? I have flexible hose 1" drain lines and it sounds like I'm flooding the living room. first..ill say good call Nu2reefin......hes right...........i dont know about contaminating the entire tank but it isnt inert until it cures and you really dont want to do it. What you could do is silicone it and just put a powerhead with a venturi hooked up in both your tank and sump to keep the water moving and oxygenated for a day to let it cure. Thats what i would do....or you could just leave it. AS far as the other noise........try extending the drain line down below the water level in the sump......but as you do extend it put a T in the line with a 90 degree elbow coming off of it to make a vent stack........that should kill 80% of the noise........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 Thanks for the silicone warning! And the drain lines are extending below the water level, but I don't have a vent stack on the end. So, I put a T on the drain lines and add an elbow that will be above the water level? To let the air escape? Like this? Excuse the horrible drawing! The red is supposed to be the T and the blue the 90 degree elbow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly guy Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 You actually can install the T up much higher than that...above the sump completely.....then off the T put a 90 in with a few inches of pipe.......this is just so water doesnt splash out Sometimes you can even put a plug on the end of this pipe and just put a few holes in it kind of like the top of your durso. This will help tremendously most of the time but FYI....its a drain line not under pressure so you can play with it without gluing anything to make sure its going to work before doing anything permanently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 You don't have a picture, by any chance? I'm terrible with verbal instructions. And does this help with the noise of the water coming down the drain? Because it's not creating much noise exiting the drain line in the sump. It's the travelling of the water downwards that's the problem. No boiling water noises in the sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 So does the water keep draining past the input of the durso? Ryan told me when i picked up my tank from him that the durso that comes with the megaflow is real loud. He made a new one that was quieter. I had this problem on my current tank. I ended up drilling a bunch of holes at the end of the drain pipe where it enters the water level of the sump, some above the water level and some below. Helped out a ton! Now air can escape before going into the sump, eliminating the noise. Also if you can put a 45 el on the drain that will help, the straight drop of water is real loud. Here is a pic, you can see the holes thru the mesh bags, i don't use the bags anymore too much hassel and they didn't help with the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefin' Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 miles i think she said she doesnt have noise in the sump, but the drain pipes behind her tank are noisy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Yah, it still has to do with the air in the drains though. Thats what makes the noise. Need to either limit the air into the drains, or give it a way to leave while making the least amount of noise, i.e. bubbles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefin' Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 this is what i did.. the air is suppose to go out the tee pointing up. but they all dont....you end up with a with small bubbles coming out...a heck of alot quieter than big air bubbles gurglin out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 I'll have lot of experimenting to do this weekend! I might give the "Herbie overflow" a try (from RC), using the returns in the overflow as the backup drains, and doing the returns over the back instead. What is it about the megaflow dursos that makes them louder? Apart from the three strange holes up top, they look exactly like a regular durso. And yes, the overflows empty completely very slowly, after turning off the return pump. The sump can hold the backflow, so I'm not sure I'm going to worry about siliconing in the standpipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefin' Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 i remember this from a few years ago....talk to drock59, i believe he did one..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 Thanks for the pic! I wonder where you can get the perforated tubes, though I suppose I could drill a pvc pipe instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Put some teflon tape on the PVC pipe that goes into the bulkhead. It will give it a tighter fit and stop the leaking, i did it on my drain from my fuge and it worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefin' Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Thanks for the pic! I wonder where you can get the perforated tubes, though I suppose I could drill a pvc pipe instead. i believe ive seen it at wilco farm store her in Albany in the plumbin section .....so maybe check some farm stores or anywhere that carries sprinklers/irrigation stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefin' Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_plumbing_parts_fittings_bulkheads_strainers.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Anyone have a good link for all the different types of drains? I would really like to see what all the options are. I hear a lot of talk but I rarely see pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 http://www.dursostandpipes.com/ http://silentstandpipes.com/ Herbie overflow http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=344892 I think there are a few more but that should get ya started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefin' Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 http://home.everestkc.net/jrobertson57268/HGB/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Good one Jansen! I was looking for that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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