Media reactor tubing location

[JennyFlow]

This may be very simple, but perhaps someone who has been around has some insights that most overlook regarding effluent tubing from media reactors.

To be clear I am talking about the plastic tubing coming from say a carbon or Ca reactor full of goodness. Are there benefits or drawbacks to just having that tubing drain underwater in the sump vs just above the water. I suppose the noise would be annoying but you could visually verify its flowing although lifting the tubing up isnt hard. Maybe air exchange, less clogging, more/less calcification for ca, what are those finer points and do your effluent reactor tubings just dangle in the sump?

 

[JennyFlow]

bump

 

[Sk8r]

I don't use one, so I can't answer you directly, but one way to get info on specific pieces of equipment is to google [brand of] reactor user manual. In this hobby we do a lot of second-hand stuff, especially early on, and on-line manuals are a real useful resource.

Secondarily, beware of having any tube that CAN POSSIBLY become a siphon when the water level rises or a pump stops. A tube from a pump, eg, can all of a sudden start sucking instead of blowing if a) the pump shuts off and b) the tube is higher than the pump. And this can happen if the main pump stops and the water level rises---then if, for example, your auto topoff tube BECOMES submerged by the rising water. Many a hobbyist has discovered that principle the hard way. I once had a situation where the water level in the topoff reservoir and the water level in the sump were seesawing off and on: when enough water sucked out, the topoff cut on, filled the sump so it submerged its own tube, and kept doing it, off, on, off, on until it had equalized the salinity in the topoff with that of the whole system. It was one of those facepalm moments.

And, by the way welcome to RC.

 

[mcgyvr]

Noise and salt spray/creep reduction are the benefits...no drawbacks..