FIRST POST! Need help with water level!!!

[Ryan]

Today I did a wet test (tap water) with my new 36gal bow front.

Im running a DIY refugium made out of a 10 gallon tank. I had holes drilled in the top back corners for bulk heads (1" for drain, 3/4" for return)

Im using a RIO 2500 for a return pump back to the tank. I have a ball valve installed inline to adjust flow.

I am having problems maintaining a steady water level in the main tank. It either slowly creeps up too high, or slowly starts to drop.

It seems to me that the drain is not able to keep up with the flow of the Rio pump so I have to restrict it down to just about nothing with the ball valve.

I would think that the drain would support a much larger amount of water then it seems to be doing right now.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[nemo1991]

i had this problem ahha i gave up, lol but just keep on trying try get it so its perfectly even, you'll find it eventually (btw i gave up cause i tried to do it on a whim with a 10 gallon i found in my garage and a power head and random clear tubes ahhah, no bueno

[IBMGeek]

The max capacity that could go through that 1" bulkhead is 600gph. Your pump is pushing around 782gph at 0' head so you need to throttle the pump down, or make sure your head is at least 3', then the rio will pump about 580gph.

In other words you need to match the water going up to the water going down.

P.S Head is the amount of height the water needs to travel.

[wildreef]

Originally Posted by IBMGeek

The max capacity that could go through that 1" bulkhead is 600gph. Your pump is pushing around 782gph at 0' head so you need to throttle the pump down, or make sure your head is at least 3', then the rio will pump about 580gph.

In other words you need to match the water going up to the water going down.

P.S Head is the amount of height the water needs to travel.

Or he could possibly make a longer "head" but might not work all that well
Or just buy somthing a tad smaller ' seems the pump is just to much with the drain he has on the tank.

[IBMGeek]

Originally Posted by wildreef

Or he could possibly make a longer "head" but might not work all that well
Or just buy somthing a tad smaller ' seems the pump is just to much with the drain he has on the tank.

If he really just wants to keep the pump and not have to restrict it with a ball valve he can tee some water from return back to the sump/refugium and then control that amount with a ball valve.

But its more plumbing and more things that can fail so dont know if its worth it.

[Ryan]

Thanks for the quick replys!

It does not seem like I have 600 gph flowing from the pump right now. I feels like a gentle rush of water. It is enough to bearly disturb the surface of the water.

Right now the 1' bulk head has a threaded 1" "L" barb outside of the tank. Inside of the tank I have 1 1" slip fit barbed "L" with a strainer over the top of the barb. I am using 1" inside diameter hose. The inside diameter of the fittings seem to be restricting flow.

What other options do I have for a drain with my 1" bulk head to possibly increas its capacity?

[IBMGeek]

How low below the water line are the bulkheads?

drilling another hole for another bulkhead is your best bet.

[Ryan]

The center line for the drain bulk head is 4" from the top of the tank.

Im thinking I have to have something wrong. The Saltwater supply store I go to has the same setup on very large tanks using very large external pumps that have to be pushing more then my Rio 2500...

[Ryan]

Also, looking at my drain hose while water is going down it, it looks like there is a lot of room in it. If I had to estimate, I would say there is a stream of water no loarger then 1/3 the inside diameter of the hosing going down in the the refugium.

[IBMGeek]

post a pic, maybe that will help. You can Measure how much is coming down through the overflow. Get a gallon container and time how long it takes to fill.