Might seem like a silly question but I'm new to this kind of overflow, have always used durso,stand pipe etc,I understand the main drain with valve for adjustment.emergency drain etch.my question is how do I fill the tank for the first time?, do I fill to the main drain and let the sump fill and then turn on the pump?, then adjust the water level to the top of emergency drain?, hope I'm making myself clear, lol.
Herbie overflow question
- Thread starter rtague
- Start date
EvenFurther
New member
Your overflow box will allow you to fill the DT to the normal water level. I assume the herbie drain setup is inside an DT overflow box.
Ok, but the water level has to come to the height of the emergency, right? Which is 6" above the main drain.
Potatohead
New member
Just keep filling the tank until the sump is about halfway full. You won't know exactly how much water you need in the system until you get the return pump running and you set the level of the overflow with the valve. Depending on your sump the return chamber is the only place where water level will (should) fluctuate. When the return pump is not running the tank will drain to either the bottom of the overflow teeth or perhaps lower if some of siphons back down your return tube, which is common. The overflow will drain to the main drain level, the emergency will only come into play once the return pump is on.
EvenFurther
New member
The emergency height is what sets the level in the overflow box, using the herbie drain method. The valve on the siphon is used to tune the siphon line to only allow a very slight trickle thru the emergency. That's how you keep a constant level in the overflow box for silent operation. The emergency height should be positioned for a 1/2" to 3/4" water drop from the overflow weir.
Thanks bud, that makes sense.I guess you don't really know how much volume you need until you get it going.Should I fill the sump halfway then turn on the pump then add water as I need and adjust the valve to get level to the emergency drain??
Potatohead
New member
Correct, set the level in the overflow using the valve (you'll have to wait about 20-30 minutes when you really start to fine tune it) and then add or remove water in the return chamber as necessary.
Thanks bud that clears it up for me,thanks also for the tip for modified sca 50 cube sump.
leviburns89
New member
Correct me if I'm wrong,,
But shouldn't the starting water level be the same as normal operating level?
Example, when you do a water change, and shut the pumps off, you still have 100% working volume.
So, with that in mind, when you fill it, just fill it to operating level, overflow, sump, dt
But shouldn't the starting water level be the same as normal operating level?
Example, when you do a water change, and shut the pumps off, you still have 100% working volume.
So, with that in mind, when you fill it, just fill it to operating level, overflow, sump, dt
But the main drain is 6" lower than operating level,if you just keep filling water level will stay at drain level and the sump will overflow,no?
leviburns89
New member
Don't let it overflow, once you are filling, just stop adding water once the water level in your sump is correct, then stop, and turn on your system.
The display should only drain maybe 1 more gallon until water level is lower than main drain.
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But when filling,won't the water level stop at the height of the main drain?which is 6" lower than the emergency and where we want to be?
Potatohead
New member
When the tank is running, your sump will only be about 1/3 - 1/2 full. When you turn off the return pump or the power goes out, water will drain from the tank to the sump. How much water depends on the height of your main drain and how far into the water you have placed your return nozzle. Obviously you need to test this so that the sump does not overflow when the return pump shuts down. I also have an SCA system (66g) with their sump and there is still 2 - 3" of space in the sump when everything is off. Most people typically mark the sump with these levels so you know how much water to add back in when doing water changes.
The water volume is the same but the levels in the display and sump will change.
leviburns89
New member
Not trying to argue, but how is that possible? Where did the extra water go to create a void in volume? The plumbing shouldn't hold enough water to change water level.
In my mind, the water level stays constant, because as soon as you take water from the sump, and return it to the DT, it also overflows an equal amount back into the sump thus giving you equal volume
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leviburns89
New member
I've dug a little more.
Your water level will/should never be lower than the baffles on your overflow, and sump baffles. Those dictate everything.
Fill to that point, and turn it on.
Might have to fine tune, but that's it
Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
Your water level will/should never be lower than the baffles on your overflow, and sump baffles. Those dictate everything.
Fill to that point, and turn it on.
Might have to fine tune, but that's it
Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
Potatohead
New member
Are you really arguing that turning off the return pump does not affect the levels of the water in your display tank and sump?
Not true. Put your return nozzle lower than your weir teeth and it will most certainly drain lower.
