Another drainage question

[gflat65]

I've got my 7.5 frag tank plumbed inot the 125 (siphon out of an oveflow to feed the tank and an elbow out the back of the tank -tank is only about 6" tall). When I kill the flow in, then restart it, the drain takes a few minutes to tach up and I flood the frag tank (and the carpet). As long as I open the valve slowly, it can eventually handle the full flow. It may slope up at one point on the drain side (didn't when I put it in, but may have shifted but would only be slight). If that is not it, what else would cause the drain line to back up like that? Would drilling a hole for an air line help anything (thinking air is getting trapped somewhere)?

 

[TitansFan]

Is the drain exit under water in the sump? Maybe it is having to build up some head pressure to actually push its way out into the sump?

 

[foggy54]

ONLY 2 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BE A PLUMBER

1. Sh*t runs down hill.
2. Payday's on Friday.

Good luck...................................

 

[crumbletop]

Do you get appreciable flow in the frag tank from the way it is plumbed? If you get your flow from something other than the line from the 125 overflow, then maybe throttling back the flow from the 125 to the frag tank (i.e. ball valve) would do the trick.

 

[gflat65]

The drain does extend into the water column in the frag tank, so I'll try shortening up the pipe at the exit point. It can handle the flow once it breaks itself in, but upon starting the flow again after being stopped, it overflows, then slowly catches up and works fine.

 

[TitansFan]

I think its the head pressure you are causing having the water exit under water into your sump. The drain is having to wait for the weight of water to build up to push itself out.

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8851458#post8851458 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by foggy54
ONLY 2 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BE A PLUMBER

1. Sh*t runs down hill.
2. Payday's on Friday.

Good luck................................... [/QUOTE

Pure genius...you forgot a 12 pack a night minimum consumption along with soldering ability which doesn't help with reef tanks of course

 

[gflat65]

Nothing like sweating in pipes, but John, you forgot the coin slot. All plumbers have them and show them off any chance they get.

 

[cee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8853264#post8853264 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishdoc11

...along with soldering ability which doesn't help with reef tanks of course

Does if you build your own ballasts, powerhead controllers, or peristaltic pump controllers

Dave

 

[TitansFan]

So, Gary did you find a fix?

 

[gflat65]

Haven;t gotten to play with it yet. As long as the flow doesn't stop initially, there is no problem. Of course, right now if the flow stops (i.e., power outage), the siphon breaks and the tank gets nothing from the main tank until I recreate the siphon. However, I plan to get a solenoid that will shut the water flow from the the tank with power lose so I don't break siphon. Making sure this is fixed by then is a must... I'll start with cutting the drain pipe shorter at the water interface. Next, I'll make sure the pipes are always slopping down (should be by design, but maybe there is an expansion in one of the larger elbows allowing air to be trapped).

Thanks for all the help.