Water Level in sump

[JMorris271]

I have 40 g sump with 3 chambers that keep exactly even level wise. I was thinking the return chamber is suppose to be lower than the other 2. Are these equal levels ok or is there a problem I need to address?
My other situation. I have to cleanup a ton of broken tree branches that have fallen because of ice.:headwally:

 

[BrianKC]

Can you post a pic of how the baffles are laid out?

 

[JMorris271]

Can you post a pic of how the baffles are laid out?

The same water line in each chamber

 

[BrianKC]

Your sump looks like it's designed to have the same level across the sections. You should be fine. Nice sump, btw.

 

[thegrun]

I think something is wrong there. I assume the return pump is running in the picture, correct? The water level in the middle section (refugium) should only be at about the level of the teeth leading into the return pump section. I believe you have too much water in the system. It is also possible the middle section is intended to be the return pump section and the right hand side the refugium. Can you get a picture of the sump near the bottom showing the baffles between the middle and right hand sections?

 

[sfdan]

Are any of the baffles off the ground? If that baffle on the right is off the ground then I agree with thegrun's assessment, though I'm not sure why the water level in the refugium area would be so low. I might be misjudging the depth of things in the picture though.

 

[BrianKC]

The fringed baffle on the right is designed to be the "high water" line. If you started siphoning water out of your sump, it would lower evenly until it hit that line. Then the return area would lower while the middle remained the same level (the middle would then overflow into the lower-level return side). That said; I see no problem running your sump higher than that level. You've already elevated your skimmer. Provided there's still room in your sump to accommodate any back flow/siphon should your power go out, what you are doing is fine.

 

[BrianKC]

I should caveat; if you want to keep any swimming creatures in your fuge area, you do need to lower the water level so it overflows the fringed baffle; otherwise your swimming friends would be able to swim over and down into the return area and potentially into your return blender (pump).

 

[JMorris271]

There is no other water level option with this 40 gal Eshopps sump. The water flow from second chamber has got to be high enough to go over the return chambers baffle on the right. I dont see why if the level is higher than the teeth would make a difference. There is no under passage in the fringed baffle. The baffle just before the pump has an under passage. Any lower than flush with the top of that grilled baffle and the pump chamber goes dry. A sponge can be put in between the two baffles before the return should I want to have something in the fuge.
Yes, the pump is running full throttle. There is ample volume to handle power failure drainage or whatever it might be.
I was just expecting that the return chamber to be lower.

 

[JohnnyHildo]

in that case i'd just run it deep enough to run a skimmer and with enough space to accept the back-drain of water in a power outage.

 

[perforator]

The water level is going to fluctuate with evaporation which could cause problems with your skimmer.

 

[gottalikesharks]

That just does not look right, what model sump is it?

 

[JMorris271]

The water level is going to fluctuate with evaporation which could cause problems with your skimmer.

That is what the ATO prevents from happening.

 

[TangingOut]

Is this your sump or something similar? If so then I'm guessing there's too much water in it. There should only be water up to the teeth in the middle section and that's when the return level will start to go down. That's where you decide the level you want it at with an ATO.

 

[JMorris271]

Yes. That's my model sump. Until last week I had the level set to do just that. Overflowing about 1/8 to 1/4 inch up in the teeth. It made no difference what level I set it at. All 3 chambers stay at the same level.
I will remove a few gals out again and see what happens.

 

[degibson84]

The water should flow over the toothed baffle. Into the return pump section. You have too much water in the sump.


I'm running that same eshopps

 

[sfdan]

Does your left hand baffle have a leak? They shouldn't be at the same water level.

 

[Mrramsey]

The water should flow over the toothed baffle. Into the return pump section. You have too much water in the sump.


I'm running that same eshopps

Yeah thats what I think as well. Get the right amount of water in the system and you should be able to lower your skimmer.

 

[JMorris271]

It has a hole in the middle of that baffle that is where the water leaves the skimmer chamber. No leaks

 

[JMorris271]

Ok. I took out 5 gals of water from the sump


Let it run an hour with the water at the teeth


With 5 gals less and the level just below the top of the teeth it stays at the same level.



I feel it doesn't mess things up to be even. The only real purpose the baffles serve is stop bubbles from making it to the DT and containing the sump.
Berlin systems are essentially the same . I don't have an issue with it being that way. I just didn't know why. Perhaps it has something to do with the balance.


Another weird thing is that when I lower the water in the sump, it also lowers the level in the overflow making it noisier. That directly affects running the sump higher.