Sump plumbing trouble!! First timer

[Xxxtremewv]

Hi guys, having a bit of trouble with my sump plumbing and maybe one of you can give me a hand here, starting to get a bit frustrated :mixed: I have never had a tank with a sump before so when we moved last week i bought a decent used 120 with a 30g sump used and started the process. I WISH i wouldn't have done it this way and set the tank up first, but we had to be in a new house and out of an old in less than 48 hours, so i was way to rushed and i'm regretting it He had a bunch of plastic pieces as dividers in the sump so i just had a local glass company cut me some and made it myself. The way he had it plumbed he had no unions and a lot of tubing like so i used almost the exact same set up, all i did was add unions some ball valves and a gate valve and new bullheads. I saw the tank running so i figured the same set up would be fine. So what I am getting is a sucking/ gurgling sound in the drain. I think part of the problem may be the floor is Just barely off level and the drain on the far end is getting the majority of the drainage, but I'm still not sure that's the problem, the same amount of water would still be going down to the sump?
The tank had 2 tower overflows (pictures attached of them) and they are 1 1/4 pipes inside the tower and it comes down beneath the tank in 1" and i have those going to an 1 1/4 T and then into the sump (also have pictures). I think the T is where the gurgle comes from what I can tell
The return pump is also pumping so much water out of the sump its getting beneath the bulkhead going to the pump before water from the drain catches up and send an air bubble. I think part of the issue may possibly be the pump is sitting a half an inch below the level of that bulkhead coming out of the sump. Was hoping to not have to, because I'm not sure that's all of the problem, but I may have to do something and re-plumb to get that raised.

So basically, I was really really rushed and have got ahead of myself, and now the livestock and everything is in the tank, but the sump isnt acting right, so nothing is coming through it. Any ideas? Thank you so much!

 

[Xxxtremewv]

one more

one more

one more pic

 

[Xxxtremewv]

I think I may see when the gurgle happens. The return pump is set just a little bit below the bulkhead coming out of sump. When the water gets to that bulkhead it seems to build a little air bubble in the clear tubing and after a few seconds itll finally catch and send a big bunch of water into the tank with a lot of bubbles. Everytime it sends the load of water to the tank, thats when I get that drain sucking/gurgling. Im think its coming from the area by the 90 elbow after the T.

 

[Xxxtremewv]

Also, can this thread be moved to new to the hobby please? I think it may fit better there

 

[Lsufan]

The pump shouldn’t have any air once it is running for a minute. If it sucks air then that means eighther the sump needs more water or the pump is moving more water then the drains can handle. U may need to close the valve on the return pump to dial back the flow.

I have always run syphon drain setups so I’m not to familiar with a durso like u have. I do know they get really loud if u have to much water going through them. Having the horizontal run in the plumbing only makes it worse . Tying the two drains together like u did makes it worse too & I think that may be one of your issues.

I would get rid of the tee & have the two drains go into the sump individually. It should help on noise & it will drop the chances of having a flood. How u have it now with the drains tied together all it would take is the tee getting clogged & u would have a flood. If u seperate them to two seperate drain lines then if one drain gets clogged the other drain will handle the flow. It would get loud so it would let u know something is going on.

I would start by dialing back the return pump, but I would also get rid of the tee in the drains

 

[Xxxtremewv]

Ya know I never did think about that. That drain that is getting the majority of the flow is the one on that side, so its all coming down and over to the T and then through the elbow. I think I'll start there and see how that goes. Anything else you see that may help?

 

[Lsufan]

That is the two main things I see that would help. That tee is killing the amount of flow that the drains can handle on top of asking for a flood. I don’t know what size return pump u have but u may find that u have to dial it down some regardless.

I’m not sure what u mean by that drain is getting most of the flow. The two drains should be getting the same amount of water through them. I see that u put valves on the drains & that is something u are not supposed to do on a durso drain. I would leave the valves fully open at all times.

I think doing the above will help out tremendously on the noise. If u get to that point & u still want to try & quiet it down some more they have a couple other tricks like putting a piece of airline into the hole on top of the durso & sliding it down until it starts making it a little quieter. I’m no expert on durso drains so someone else would have to help with that.

 

[Xxxtremewv]

The floor of this house isnt completely level (I noticed after the rush to get it done)so the water hits the overflow on that side and starts draining a little bit before the other side becasue the tank sits a little lower

As far as the ball valves on the drains, that wasnt to regulate anything, I just put them on so I could shut both lines on it off if I had to

 

[Xxxtremewv]

Ive got that t taken out and replumbed and going to try it when i get home from work tonight.

Had another thought, do you think it would help me here if i took the plumbing beneath the tank apart and made that return on that right side a drain instead of having 2 returns? The return pump wouldnt have to send water through another line so im sure it could help, and i wouldnt have ti worry aboht adjusting pressures going 2 ways or anything. And the drain would defintely get enough water then to keep up with the pump i would think.

Any thoughts anyone?

 

[Lsufan]

I know u say the tank is barely out of level, but if it’s out of level enough to where one overflow is receiving way more water then the other it is more then barely out of level. I always level my stands to where they are within 1/16”. I would be worried if it is more then 1/4” or so out of level. At the very least I would check it with as long of a level as possible & see what u have. I know it would suck to have to drain the tank to level the stand, but that is better then having the tank fail. A tank out of level can stress the glass to a point of a failure.

If the tank is in plane but leaning one way it may be ok. What u want to make sure of is that it isn’t twisted so to speak. If u put a level on each end going front to back & both ends say they are level, then it is just out of level side to side so it may be ok if it is less then 1/4” or so. If it isn’t level front to back or side to side then that means it’s twisted & I would do something about it even though it sucks.

To answer your question, I don’t think I would do that at this point. I would see what u get after u make the other changes & go from there. Personally, before I made a third durso I would change it out to a herbie or beananimal. It wouldn’t be that hard to do being u already have the valves on the drains & then u know it would be silent