Kalk for pH
- Thread starter wbdevers
- Start date
sorry to be confusing. one at a time. the close up picture of your overflow box it looks like the water is more then 1" higher then the lip of the box. is that right? iam not saying to raise box, iam saying that it looks like your pumping to much water into your main tank. so much in fact that the overflow cant handle that amount of GPH. i have a dual overflow box. ( two 1" drains) one has a gate valve on to back up the flow and make it quiet. (like your doing) and the 2nd drain is the emergency drain. which only gets water when the main one backs up to much. the gate is better then a ball valve, it just makes fine tuning easy. i dont know if the setup is called herbie or what ever. the baked baking soda raises ph and alk. if you dont bake it it doesnt raise ph.
wbdevers
New member
It works like any other style--you prime it and even if the water level drops, it keeps its prime (in theory). It actually has a "silencer" on it. You can see from this pic (can’t show because I'm at work and our filter blocks Photobucket) but the silencer is a drilled plastic tube that fits in the top of the back of the boxes lid. Work really well until there is too much flow and it starts sucking a lot of air. The box is rated at 1200gph (smallest they make) and my pump is rated around 800gph (budget reasons). I've thought about adding a Durso, but where I have it set right now is quiet--in fact there is no noise.
Actually more of me just not reading what you said, but thanks. The box actually hangs that low into the tank. If I lowered my water level that much in the tank it would have about 2.5 inches or more of dry glass. I like to keep my water level about 1/2 inch below the rim. This is why I actually need to raise the box. As stated in my first section, the box can handle more than the pump. The difference is just in the heights. Had I gone with RO's dual box, would have been 1800gph (I believe). I do wish I had added gates instead of ball valves now for the very reason of ease of adjustment.
I read somewhere on here that you can really screw things up with the baking soda, but I don't remember what it said. I'm going to just drip the kalk due to price and ease. I've got a valve on it so I will drip it over the entire day if need be.
Now if I can just figure out the sump vs. DT level problem.
Actually more of me just not reading what you said, but thanks. The box actually hangs that low into the tank. If I lowered my water level that much in the tank it would have about 2.5 inches or more of dry glass. I like to keep my water level about 1/2 inch below the rim. This is why I actually need to raise the box. As stated in my first section, the box can handle more than the pump. The difference is just in the heights. Had I gone with RO's dual box, would have been 1800gph (I believe). I do wish I had added gates instead of ball valves now for the very reason of ease of adjustment.
I read somewhere on here that you can really screw things up with the baking soda, but I don't remember what it said. I'm going to just drip the kalk due to price and ease. I've got a valve on it so I will drip it over the entire day if need be.
Now if I can just figure out the sump vs. DT level problem.
wbdevers
New member
The overflow can't drain any more water than the pump puts into the tank. To demonstrate that, just turn off the pump for a minute or so. The problem with restricting the flow is that the gate or ball valve might get plugged, partially or fully, and that can be a problem.
wbdevers
New member
Thanks for all of the help and suggestions. I hope no one took any of my questions or responses as negative or unappreciative. Definitely didn't mean anything like that. I'm the type of person who wants to understand everything (ask my wife!) so I will question a good bit. I do appreciate all that has been said.
I've taken a little bit of all of it and some of my own and I think I've gotten my system balanced in the right way. I did as you all suggested and opened my drain valve wide open, but I shut the pump off first (as I was doing it I realized what you all were saying and had one of those duh! moments and a few choice words about myself). Yes it sucked air and all, but as it leveled out the water I cracked open the pump side. I knocked the flow way back, but the sump level is both lower and much calmer. I also raised the overflow box up so that the water level just cascades over the lip (surface skims--needed that anyway). This caused the water in the o.b. to drop, but the water now flows along the hose wall (no noise!). Only problem now is that it is bubbling in the drain side due to mixing at the end. I will get more LR rubble or a sock to cover and that should eliminate that. I also moved my float switches to the drain side but I just reread nanojg's post and see I should have put it in the return side (will change that).
I'm still trying to figure out how evaporation in from the tank will translate into a lower sump level (it will dawn on me later than sooner I'm sure).
Again, thank you all for the help. I truly do appreciate it.
I've taken a little bit of all of it and some of my own and I think I've gotten my system balanced in the right way. I did as you all suggested and opened my drain valve wide open, but I shut the pump off first (as I was doing it I realized what you all were saying and had one of those duh! moments and a few choice words about myself). Yes it sucked air and all, but as it leveled out the water I cracked open the pump side. I knocked the flow way back, but the sump level is both lower and much calmer. I also raised the overflow box up so that the water level just cascades over the lip (surface skims--needed that anyway). This caused the water in the o.b. to drop, but the water now flows along the hose wall (no noise!). Only problem now is that it is bubbling in the drain side due to mixing at the end. I will get more LR rubble or a sock to cover and that should eliminate that. I also moved my float switches to the drain side but I just reread nanojg's post and see I should have put it in the return side (will change that).
I'm still trying to figure out how evaporation in from the tank will translate into a lower sump level (it will dawn on me later than sooner I'm sure).
Again, thank you all for the help. I truly do appreciate it.
Let me give it a try. The water level in the DT will never change as long as your return pump is running. As water is removed by evaporation, the return pump simply pumps a bit more water to keep it constant. The level in the first 2 sections of your sump is determined by the baffles inside. Water pours into the 1st section, overflows the baffle and then goes to the 2nd. These will never change as long as the water is flowing because it is constantly being refilled. The last section of the sump (the return) is the "catch all" for the rest of the water. Since there is not another baffle after this section, it simply gets the rest of the water that is left. With all of the other pieces remaining constant (the DT and the first 2 sections of sump) any evaporated water must come out of this section.
I am more of a visual person. I hope the link works. http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
Uncle Salty 05
New member
You are playing a very dangerous game by restricting your drain.
The videos show that your overflow is not surface skimming like it should be and the back side of your overflow should not be as deep as it is.
If you want to quiet down the over flow all you need is a screen and a vent tube.
Go to http://www.cpraquatic.com/pdf/cs202.pdf scroll down and there is a diagram that shows the screen and vent tube I am talking about.
I am really surprised the Reef Octopus did not come with these essential parts.
The videos show that your overflow is not surface skimming like it should be and the back side of your overflow should not be as deep as it is.
If you want to quiet down the over flow all you need is a screen and a vent tube.
Go to http://www.cpraquatic.com/pdf/cs202.pdf scroll down and there is a diagram that shows the screen and vent tube I am talking about.
I am really surprised the Reef Octopus did not come with these essential parts.
wbdevers
New member
Thanks fickle1. I've looked at that graphic before, but your explanation helped.
Uncle Salty, I opened my drain 100% as suggested and have restricted the pump. Since I raised the o.b. last night the water level in the back of the box is just high enough to have the water flow down the side walls of the drain line. Also, by raising it, it is now skimming. One odd thing about this box is the silencer. I emailed RO about it because it is adjustable. They told me you can raise or lower it depending on the depth of the water you run in the box. Doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense to me because you would have to have a full 8" of water in the back to fill it. Oh well. I will check out the link. Thanks for the help.
Uncle Salty, I opened my drain 100% as suggested and have restricted the pump. Since I raised the o.b. last night the water level in the back of the box is just high enough to have the water flow down the side walls of the drain line. Also, by raising it, it is now skimming. One odd thing about this box is the silencer. I emailed RO about it because it is adjustable. They told me you can raise or lower it depending on the depth of the water you run in the box. Doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense to me because you would have to have a full 8" of water in the back to fill it. Oh well. I will check out the link. Thanks for the help.
