Tank Overflowing

[SkinnY T120]

I'm dealing with a tank that is overflowing out of the display, not in the correct manner.

The tank has been going for about 3 months with no issues. The drain and the return are both one inch pvc. The return pump is an 1800 mag drive going directly back in with a few 45s. I understand that drain should be bigger than the return but I haven't had any issues until now. Plus my drain appears to be draining at full speed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sirreal63]

Need more information, how big is the tank, how many drains and a pic of it would help. The probable answer is you are pushing way more water than the drain can handle.

 

[slief]

My guess is that something got into your drain line like a snail or algae and is restricting it. Regardless of the root cause, I really think the writing is on the wall as you already know your drain line is too small and this will most certainly happen again.. You absolutely need to redo your drains or add another drain at the very least. You could get yourself a smaller return pump or restrict the one you have which would be a bandaid approach a not ideal when it comes to flow in your display.

If you are running some sort of siphoning drain, it's also possible that there is some air in the drain line which could be reducing some of your flow.

 

[Siebo]

Maybe a snail is in you drain pipe restricting flow? Is it open where some can get inside of the tube?

 

[ddropski]

do you have any " hills in the hose?"

 

[viggen]

A 1 in drain can only flow so much and you are at that limit. You only need to turn your tank over 2-5x a hr so not knowing what your tank size is...... you might have to large of a pump or a smaller one might be all you need.

If I recall a 1 in drain can only flow 800-1000 gph max as a drain, I think most claim closer to the 800gph number. Depending on head pressure and plumbing you might be 1000-1500 gph obviously possibly more or less.... That's probably way to much flow for a single drain.... Why not use both 1in bulkheads as a drain? Always safer to have a backup incase on drain fails or gets clogged for some reason....

Swapping to a smaller pump or just dialing back the flow on the present return pump is your only option.

 

[Mikefromaz]

One other thing. Consider getting an inexpensive flood alarm to put under the tank. Lowe's has a LOUD.battery operated model for under $20. This unit operated by a nine volt battery claims a five year battery life. It will also scare your cat <grin>.