PLEASE HELP!! water level in tank TOO HIGH....

[Naperville Reef]

i have a 20L AGA with a 10g sump. the top left corner is drilled with 1" PVC coming out of the tank. this is connected to a Durso which drains to the sump.

my retrurn is a Mag 5 with .75" tubing.

the water level in my tank is nearly pouring out of the tank. in order to bring it down i have to restrict the Mag 5 so much that the flow is cut by 80%.

i do not have an overflow box. i have a 1" 90d angle PVC connected to the bulkhead. i have tried switching this to 1.25 and 1.5 " and with each increase in size the water level rises.

any help/suggestions would be appreciated

 

[BreadmanMike]

The only suggestion I can give you is to turn down your return until you reach the desired water level.

 

[RRafael]

Check the plumbing for blockages, how long has i been set up? is there algea in the pipes? are you missing any fish that may be in your pipes? are there any worms in the pipes?

 

[SaraB]

I have had the same issue and you will need to dial back your return flow until you get the desired level.

 

[AuroraDave]

Instead of increasing the size of the 90 inside the tank, increase the diameter of the exterior pipe.

Another alternative to restricting the Mag by 80% is to tee off the return. Have 1 line go to your tank and another back into your sump (or refug, etc).

 

[Naperville Reef]

just changed the tubing a few days ago and it is black, so no algae and i do not have any missing fish, snails, etc.

the problem with restricting the flow is that it is reduced by 80% or so. at that rate it would be like having a minijet 404 as my return.

thanks for the suggestions.

 

[RRafael]

That air line you have on the cap have you tried connecting and air pump to it, you may have an airlock building up.
When you first changed the pipes was the flow good?

 

[ONEMANBAND]

if thats a 1 inch 90, then it appears your bulkhead is only like 1/2 inch , that restriction will decrease your flow dramatically. If thats the case you might want to drill a larger hole and use a wider bulkhead.

 

[Naperville Reef]

thanks all for the help.

someone in another forum suggested that the 90d elbow was too high so i removed it and the water level dropped. but if i lost power my sump would flood so i connected a 45d elbow and it works perfectly.

i have been trying to fix this for weeks. i have made at least 10 trips to Lowes for new plumbing parts and the answer to my problem was sitting next to me the whole time. very frustrating but i'm glad it has been solved!!

thanks again

 

[sellout007]

You could have just turned the 90 to the side. That would have lowered your tank level, instead of replacing the 90. O)

 

[Naperville Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7015417#post7015417 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sellout007
You could have just turned the 90 to the side. That would have lowered your tank level, instead of replacing the 90. O)

i thought about that but figured that i would have issues with surface scum

 

[XeniaMania]

Why don't you drill holes in that 90 degree elbow? I cut slots into mine. This helped me lower the water level in my 20. And I only have a 3/4" elbow which handles the flow of a Rio1700 connected to a SCWD. I'm only shooting for 200g/h turnover and I think I'm more around 300.

 

[XeniaMania]

nm...you got slots :lol: