Is my plumbing ok?

[Bosco83]

So I am setting up a 210 aqueon tank with dual overflows and I just have some questions about the plumbing. I am using an Eheim 1262 for my return pump. I plumbed the drains together using 1 1/4 in pvc and have it draining into my sump where my skimmer goes. The problem is that the water is so loud running into the sump that I had to put a ball valve on the drain and dial it back to make it quiet. I can still run my return pump wide open but I was just wondering if it's ok the way I set it up?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[LaOtIn]

Personally I would have just put a sock on it, which you can still do. that will do 2 things, one it will make it more quiet and 2 it will give you another level of filtration. Plus you can extend the drain valve to below the water level and that will get it more quiet. lastly you can cut a piece of plexi to fit the top of your sump there in the drain area and drill out a U shape hole to go around your drain pipe and cover that section and that will make it more quiet

 

[LaOtIn]

oh yeah and you can come down with a larger pipe and that will make it more quiet. kinda like a reverse reducer fitting. have it go from 1.25" to 2" or even 2.5"

 

[Bosco83]

oh yeah and you can come down with a larger pipe and that will make it more quiet. kinda like a reverse reducer fitting. have it go from 1.25" to 2" or even 2.5"

So do you mean to go to larger pipe after the T in just the verticle section? Or should I cut the whole pipe out after the 90's at the bulkheads and make the whole thing larger pipe?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[five O]

You should never restrict your drain. You can reduce the flow of your return pump which would in turn mean less flow going down your drains. If your drain clogs due to the restriction, your tank will over flow. Follow some of the previous directions and it should quiet down your drain.

 

[five O]

Also, don't run the drain lines together with the tee. The water from each drain is crashing together at the tee, which is making some of the noise. Run each drain 2" below the water line in your sump. Good luck

 

[needmore-reef]

I would not connect the drains. I think its safe to have them independent just in case.
Plumbing looks clean, good job.

 

[mike810]

looks like you have your drain about 4" below the waterline. Wouldn't this make it more noisy? I wouldn't restrict the drain either, an overflow from the DT might be in your future.

 

[Bosco83]

Thanks for all the input everyone that's exactly what I need. I guess it's back to Home Depot.

Brian

 

[michaellong]

What I did with mine was put my valves after the T. that way you can level out the flow after you start the pump. Maybe you have equal flow? Flow to me is important as anything if not equal to annoying noise. Just a thought

 

[SoLiD]

You should separate both of your drains. You'll thank me in the long run.

 

[Bosco83]

Also, don't run the drain lines together with the tee. The water from each drain is crashing together at the tee, which is making some of the noise. Run each drain 2" below the water line in your sump. Good luck

Now that you mention the water crashing together I bet that is a big part of why it's shooting out so many air bubbles and that's most of the noise I think.

I tried the filter sock idea and it helped but not enough so tomorrow I think I will cut it and make them drain independently and see how that goes. Do you guys think I will be alright having them go into their own 90's and straight down 2" below the water level?

 

[Bosco83]

What I did with mine was put my valves after the T. that way you can level out the flow after you start the pump. Maybe you have equal flow? Flow to me is important as anything if not equal to annoying noise. Just a thought

You must be talking about the return? I made the T right in the middle so it's pretty even flow and I'm happy with how much the return is putting out. Just need to get this drain quieted down.

 

[Bosco83]

Ok I seperated the returns so now they go from 90's straight down 2" under the water and it's just as loud as before:furious: So now I think I will try and get some 45's and try and get them to go into larger pipes. One problem though is I don't have that much room for 45's and my skimmer goes in the same chamber. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[OwenInAZ]

You should never restrict your drain. You can reduce the flow of your return pump which would in turn mean less flow going down your drains. If your drain clogs due to the restriction, your tank will over flow. Follow some of the previous directions and it should quiet down your drain.

Never ever ever restrict your overflow lines. If you need to restrict flow to quiet it down do so on the return line, never the overflow. Did I say never enough? Really though it's a recipe for disaster once that baby gets clogged.

 

[needmore-reef]

Mine is noisy also with two 1 1/2 PVC into socks.

You may want to check out the Herbie method.

 

[five O]

You don't have to run your drains through a hard line (pvc). You already have the nipple and have a section of flex tube that I noticed. Just use the flex tube for the entire length of the drain. You can have a more gradual curve from the drain into the sump, instead of the 90's in your pvc. Your still getting the water crashing into the 90's. Its a cheap fix, and should allow you plenty of room for your skimmer. I prefer SPA FLEX which is carried at most big box stores for about $2.50 a foot. You can glue it pvc and with a little muscle, it will fit over nipples.

 

[MarkGP]

Get rid of the ball valve, separate the drains so you two pipes going into your sump and install a reverse durso on each. No more noise, no more bubbles!
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...jPITC0QGX-enMBw&ved=0CH8QsAQ&biw=1631&bih=878

 

[Bosco83]

Get rid of the ball valve, separate the drains so you two pipes going into your sump and install a reverse durso on each. No more noise, no more bubbles!
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...jPITC0QGX-enMBw&ved=0CH8QsAQ&biw=1631&bih=878

Thanks Mark! That worked for the most part it's a lot quieter than it was but at first I had the one on the right side going straight up but then after a couple of hours I opened the doors up and noticed it wash spraying water out of the small hole I drilled and getting really wet under my stand. So I put a 90 on it and extended the pipe just a little so it would just go back into the sump. Any Ideas on what I should do about that for a permanent fix? I guess I could just extend the pipe so that it goes even further for the vent hole?

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Or should I just redo the whole drain line and use larger pipe? I would have to use reducers right off of the bulkheads though. Would that fix the problem all together?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[MarkGP]

The less turbulence you have on your drains the quieter they will be. I would go with the largest size pvc possible from the tank and keep the two drains separate. Have them go into a Y instead of a T. Also, the reverse durso works better if it is larger in diameter then the pvc going into it. HTH!