Resolved water level problem

my main problem right now that i need help with is my water level. in my sump the water is too low to run my skimmer if i restrict the airflow the water rises in my skimmer to run it properly. this takes water from my sump which means i need to add more to keep my sedra pump under water but if i add more water my DT will overflow since i only have a half inch clearance from the top. another issue is if i do add more water to cover the pump which is possible for that half inch and my power goes out my sump will overflow.... im really stumped on how to fix this to run my skimmer. i have had my skimmer off for 4 days now.

 

What size DT, what size return pump & what brand skimmer? My guess is your return pump needs split off and a return line diverting some back into the sump.

 

The above will work. As will increasing the height of your bubble trap partition.

 

Describe you setup. Display size, sump size and baffle configuration, pumps and plumbing incuding any fittings and valves, overflow type, skimmer type etc.

If things are designed properly water levels should not be a problem even when the power goes off.

Photos are always a great help too as its easier to picture in our minds.

 

Equipment list

MAIN DT
Tank 50 gallon truvue BF
Lighting 2 39 watt T5 HO one white bulb other blue
wavemaker connected to return pump on each side of tank
2 fans for circulation (korla)

SUMP
25 gallon truvue platinum series sump
Bubble-Magus NAC 6 skimmer (very loud for some reason)
Sedra 7000 submersible pump for return
of course i have a filter sock and sand for filtration plan to add LR down the road

sorry dont have pics of water levels or good ones of sump i do have a few under my other post

 

So is it a built in overflow or external?

 

built in overflow

 

You should not have any problems at all, that system should run smooth as butter.

Do you have a standpipe on the overflow and is it set up to mix air with the water? If so it should be able to keep up with the return pump easily since that pump at 5 feet or so is doing about 400 GPH which is easily within the range of a 1" overflow which is what you should have.

Do you have a ball valve on the discharge of the pump? Are the returns drilled into the back of the tank or hang over the back? How deep are the returns submerged? They should only be maybe 3/4" to 1" below the surface so when power goes off they are exposed to atmosphere and the siphon breaks. Like that you should only get maybe 2 gallons of water back to the sump when the power goes off. That should give you a working level of about half the height of the sump or more and stil have plenty of freeboard for backflow.

 

You really just need a piece of acrylic and some acrylic glue to create a separate chamber for the sump and a separate chamber for your return pump if this is your sump right here. Platinum Series Basic Sump Model 180 - Basic Sumps

 

Good catch, they never answered the baffle configuration question I asked. Possibly none, and that could be a problem.