FatChevy Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Ok so I'm wondering here. I had a really bad gurggling sound from my built in overflow. I tried everything from turning the ball joint closed a little on the return to glueing more piping together to covering up holes in the drain. what I figured out was that the drain was going to fast. I reduced the volume of water going through the drain by closing the ball joint and vawlah or how ever you say it. the gurggling went away. my question is does that mean I can upgrade to a bigger pump? I have a mag 7 and everyone keeps telling me thats enough for the size tank I haver which is a 76g. my thoughts are if I have to reduce the amount of water going through the drain into the sump then that would mean I need a bigger pump right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Here are some good links on sumps and overflows. They may help. http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html http://www.dursostandpipes.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 That's not what I asked. Please read op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramy Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I thinks its the oppisite that if you need to reduce the flow to eliminate the gurgling that it means you need a bigger drain to allow the water to flow smoothly out of the tank. Also it may help if your first 90 has a vent in it so that the water can drain and not siphon. But I am still new to reefin but have done lots of plumbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Technically you dont NEED a bigger pump. If its pushing water through you are fine. Why are you trying to get so much flow through the sump? There is a fine line to silencing overflows. Too much flow means gurgling and surging, too little and it almost splashes down the piping. Make sure the overflow is above water at the sump, which prevents back pressure. I have never had to ball valve an overflow, you want that as free flowing as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 well in my sump I have to ball valves. one for the drain and one for the return. It was draining to fast which was causing the gurgling. thats why I had to lessen the amount of flow going into the sump. so in theory, if I get a bigger pump then there would be more flow and I wouldnt have to restrict the flow of the drain into the sump. right? the reason im trying to get so much flow is to circulate faster. I'm still oober new. I've also been told that getting powerheads will help to circulate the water better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 do you have only one drain? if you have two, you can set one mostly closed so it stays at a full siphon (drain it under the water level of sump) and the other one should have just a trickle. both would be silent. if you only have one, you shouldn't push the pump size too far or my could over power the drain (if it gets a partial blockage for example) and then you have a flood...bad news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Only 1 drain. So leave my drain partially closed? Or just upgrade to maybe a mag 9? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I would use a gate valve instead as you can fine tune it better then a ball valve to allow better flow if your needing to slow it down but I wouldn't recommend increasing the pump unless your already undersized for your overflow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 That's not what I asked. Please read op If you understand the principles of how the combination of sump, overflow and returns work, it makes it easier to diagnose the and solve the problem. With your other thread the original symptoms are classic of too much flow for the return line to handle. Gurgling sounds are often caused by too much flow rather than not enough. By closing your drain valve you are changing the dynamics of how the water flows through the pipes and as a result the sound decreased. This does not necessarily mean that you have too little flow from your return. Silencing an overflow can be tricky. If you google stockman standpipe or durso or gurgling overflow you will find many valuable forum discussions about similar issues. Just trying to save you some more headaches. I would hate to see you purchase a larger pump and not solve the issues. Most of us have been there before. Save your $ for some powerheads or other equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Thanks just what I needed to hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Haha and that is exactly what I have been trying to say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 It's hard to understand because a lot of the comments really didn't do anything for me. I have 1 question though. Is it gonna hurt to upgrade to a mag 9? I have to buy a new pump anyways. Mine cuts out every so often. Or just stay with the mag 7 or would you recommend a better pump? Also how do you have you ota set up? I just got my ro/di filter in yesterday and I plan on doing some type of ota I just don't want an extreme one. Something that's going to last and not have to be replaced all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVPaquatics Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Eheim pumps rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Some reading since your still new http://www.melevsreef.com/rodi_recipe_for_disaster.html http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=275455 For more flow, add a PH or two but you can't use the return for that or you'll have a flood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Another vote for an Eheim pump. I've had mine for 6 years, and keep a backup one, just in case, but I haven't needed it so far. I wouldn't worry about more flow through the return pump, but get a good one power head inside the tank for more flow. Pushing too much flow through the sump is not necessarily a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatChevy Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 I just bought 2 koralia 1150s so hope that will do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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