overflow kit noise

[Mike778922]

I just recently upgraded to a reef ready aquarium. The overflow kit I got with the tank has barbed ends so I used flexible tubing for the drain and return hoses. The tank now seems to be filling up the overflow and then draining making quite a bit of noise. Then the overflow fills again and drains again and continues with this cycle. It almost seems that air is getting trapped in the drain hose and it needs the pressure from the excess water to force the air out. I was wondering if anyone has a solution to this problem.

 

[ChrisBuono]

Is your drain a Durso style? Does it seem like it's flushing?

 

[jallard]

Mike,

Assuming that you have the standard overflow kit... it probably consists of a PVC elbow connected to a PVC pipe that exits the overflow area into your sump. I personally would scrap that and build a Durso Stand pipe. Check out this link...
http://www.dursostandpipes.com/BuildYourOwn/tabid/54/Default.aspx

If you would rather not do that you could mess with the size of the hole that is drilled into the elbow.....when my system was making the flushing I made the hole a tiny bit larger.

HTH

 

[bkraus]

This is Mike, not Brian. What happens if the hole is too big? Does it become loud from sucking air?

 

[ChrisBuono]

What you described sounds like a flushing effect. And if you have a Durso-style pipe, the hole at the very top of the straight part of the pipe is used to tune the flow.

I think if the hole is too small, a vacuum is created that builds until gravity breaks it from the accumulated weight of the water. Then it 'flushes' down. And starts all over again.

Check out my Durso thread somewhere in our forum (should still be on page 1). Check out the picture of the top of the pipe. I use a small valve on a short length of tubing so that I can 'tune' the flow of air.

In general, the water-level of the overflow should be about halfway up the elbow. Said another way, the top 3/4" of the elbow should stick out of the water.