Ghost Overflow (Reef Synergy) plumbing question help, please???

[joecc]

Hi,

I'm a noob at plumbing a sump, so no laughing, lol.

I've pre-ordered the Reef Synergy Shadow ghost overflow for a 75. For plumbing a bean animal stye ghost overflow, a valve (ball, gate) seems to be required on the full siphon drain line to, as I've read, "control how much flow goes thru the full siphon"?

I had been planning on installing a gate valve on my return line to control flow, and just installing regular union disconnects coming out of the three drain lines of the overflow box. Is it still necessary to install an adjustable flow valve (gate, ball) on the full siphon drain line? Wouldn't the gate valve on the return only, essentially then "control how much flow goes thru the full siphon" and do the same thing? Is it necessary or beneficial to be able to control the flow both at the return and at the full siphon?

What am I missing here?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[fcmatt]

I would definitely have a gate valve on the main drain so you can create a full siphon to match your return.

As for the return pump people try to match the pump to the system to avoid another gate/ball valve. Or a controllable DC pump. Or a valve in a location that suits the pumps design with minimal interference to it. In general pump's work best with as little restriction as possible. I am not a pro. Othe people's advice can and will be superior

 

[Scottedontknow]

I don't ever recommend using a ball or gate valve on a return pump. Restricting flow like that puts a ton of stress and back pressure on the pump thus your pump will burn out and it fail before it's time. You should buy a D.C. Pump if you want to control the return flow or create a manifold that you can divert that back pressure back into the sump.


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[Bent]

I don't ever recommend using a ball or gate valve on a return pump. Restricting flow like that puts a ton of stress and back pressure on the pump thus your pump will burn out and it fail before it's time. You should buy a D.C. Pump if you want to control the return flow or create a manifold that you can divert that back pressure back into the sump.


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It won't hurt an AC pump to valve it. It's been done for years before DC pumps were available.

 

[joecc]

You will want to use a gate valve on the primary drain (Full Siphon). Adjusting the flow into the tank from the return pump will not have any affect on the adjustment of the rear box tuning. The rear box needs to tuned with a gate valve for the best performance.

Thanks.

Pardon my noob ignorance, but exactly what am I tuning flow for at the rear box? Noise? What sweet spot am I seeking in the gate adjustment and how will I know when I'm at it?

 

[reef thief]

I don't ever recommend using a ball or gate valve on a return pump. Restricting flow like that puts a ton of stress and back pressure on the pump thus your pump will burn out and it fail before it's time. You should buy a D.C. Pump if you want to control the return flow or create a manifold that you can divert that back pressure back into the sump.


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+1. Restrict the drain. I doubt your return will net 1800 gph. You'll want your return to last as long as it can.

 

[Adamc1303]

Noise that comes from overflows is the water dropping into the box and mainly gurgling which is the sound of water mixing with air that need as to escape the pipe. The way the Bean Animal works is that by finely restricting the water from the main drain line by tuning the gate valve you end up purging all water from that pipe and creating a full siphon which causes the water to drain from your tank faster since it's being siphoned (sucked out). However since you restricted the drain line the rest of the water needs somewhere to go since you are removing less water from the tank then you are pumping in (by very little). The rest of the water will go down the 2nd standpipe without a drain. It won't gurgle since the sweet spot means there is very little excess water left to drain after the full siphon so the water just goes down the walls of the 2nd pipe and doesn't face air out which makes the gurgling noise. The third pipe is there for emergency purposes if one pipe gets clogged and restricted. The third pipe also comes into play on start up since it usually takes a few minutes for the main drain (gate valves drain) to purge all of the air out of the pipe and work as tuned. So when you tune it give it fine adjustments every few minutes. Not all at once. You don't want to restrict it too much that the 2nd drain starts to gurgle because the main drain isn't being used to it's full capacity. This sounds complicated but it really isn't once you set it up you will see what I mean.

Thanks,

Adam

 

[joecc]

Thanks Adam, thanks Synergy Reef. I get it now.