Taming the overflow

[guitar510]

I have a 75 gal tall tank with a hex overflow in the center/back of the tank. I've never used a standpipe in the overflow and have always had problems with loud flow/gurgling noises. I've managed to find ways to minimize the sound by using various filter media inside the overflow. The problem with this is that the overflow is virtually empty and therefore I'm minimizing the overall volume in my tank/sump setup. I think its on the order of 8 gal which is nearly 10% of my 100 gal total volume.

Today, I decided to place a standpipe in and it is much louder than before. :mad2: The standpipe is 1 in OD PVC. The overflow fills up and then sucks out extremely loud to below the standpipe level. It won't maintain a consistent head above the standpipe. I tried various filter media again, but that changed the noise to a loud hissing.

My thought is that I need to minimize the standpipe inlet diameter.

Am I only having this problem because my tank is tall? Any suggestions?

 

[sps1-2-b]

Google durso standpipe and that will reduce your gurgling. Easy to make. You can get parts at Home Depot.

 

[guitar510]

Thanks for the reply, that setup looks easy! I'll give it a try.

 

[dancewithethan]

I installed Ball valve to my return pipe, and adjusted the water flows.

here are some pics for you.

 

[insacron]

You do have to be a bit careful by just putting a ball valve in there, if something large enough (like a fish) gets sucked down that pipe and gets stuck by the ball valve you'll just overflow your tank, unless you take precautions and build in safety back ups.

 

[cowdawg]

I used a durso standpipe on my SPS tank at first, but it was hard to keep snails out of my plumbing. I switched to the Hofer Gurgle Buster standpipe and have been liking it a lot more. The flow is easier to adjust (no drilling air holes) and it flows at a more consistant rate. HTH

Oh and it is a ton quieter too

 

[tomphot1]

I've been using the Durso for years - I put a small pc of egg crate at the end - it keeps the snails and anything else out that could cause a problem.
Keeping the pin hole open can be a pain - you know when it;s clogged due to the noise.

I'll look at the Hofer - thanks

 

[dancewithethan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13324677#post13324677 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by insacron
You do have to be a bit careful by just putting a ball valve in there, if something large enough (like a fish)

This is a return pipe. it's almost impossible for a fish or any thing to get through the many filtering stages, and into the return pump.

 

[insacron]

wow didn't read return pipe, saw he was talking about overflow and assumed it was drain line, my mistake