Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

[OCJoeR]

New member to Saltwater and this forum. I'm not sure if this thread is still active but here goes.

I've had a small (55 gallon) tank set up for about 2 years. I used the photos of the BeanAnimal system and set it up in my tank. It was running fine until about a month ago when it started acting up. The water level in the overflow box would get too high and the air line to the secondary drain would kick in and cause the level to go down to the normal level but then it would just come back up. I took things apart and checked for clogs etc. and found nothing. After putting it back together and running it for a few weeks it seemed to go back to normal operation. I should note that the pump in my sump has a feed cycle that activates when I push a button twice on the control head. It shuts the pump down for about 10 minutes and then the pump kicks back on. I've noticed that when everything is running right the over flow box drains down to the bottom of the elbows on the bulkhead lines. When it's not working correctly it only drains to the bottom of the inlet of the bulkheads. I posted a photo of where the level is when it's not working correctly.

If I put my finger over the air line on the secondary drain line the level of the water goes down but when I let go it comes back up and causes that gurggling sound when the water level hits the air line again.

As I said, for whatever reason it went back to normal operation but then went back to having this issue and I did nothing to the tank.

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction to correct this problem.

Joe

 

[griss]

New member to Saltwater and this forum. I'm not sure if this thread is still active but here goes.

I've had a small (55 gallon) tank set up for about 2 years. I used the photos of the BeanAnimal system and set it up in my tank. It was running fine until about a month ago when it started acting up. The water level in the overflow box would get too high and the air line to the secondary drain would kick in and cause the level to go down to the normal level but then it would just come back up. I took things apart and checked for clogs etc. and found nothing. After putting it back together and running it for a few weeks it seemed to go back to normal operation. I should note that the pump in my sump has a feed cycle that activates when I push a button twice on the control head. It shuts the pump down for about 10 minutes and then the pump kicks back on. I've noticed that when everything is running right the over flow box drains down to the bottom of the elbows on the bulkhead lines. When it's not working correctly it only drains to the bottom of the inlet of the bulkheads. I posted a photo of where the level is when it's not working correctly.

If I put my finger over the air line on the secondary drain line the level of the water goes down but when I let go it comes back up and causes that gurggling sound when the water level hits the air line again.

As I said, for whatever reason it went back to normal operation but then went back to having this issue and I did nothing to the tank.

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction to correct this problem.

Joe

Since you're using a BeanAnimal system, let's get the expert @BeanAnimal involved

 

[OCJoeR]

Sounds like a plan to me.

It was suggested in another forum that the level of the water in the sump tank where the main drain exits is too high. However, there is no way to change that without altering the height of the divider between it and the next compartment of the sump so the level in that compartment hasn't changed.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

IF, the above post is true then you have to shorten the drain pipe so there is only about 1-1.5 inches under water level.

 

[OCJoeR]

Here is what the main drain inlet looks like in the sump.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]