Re-plumbing my tank

So the title says it all, I am re plumbing my tank, because every time I shut off the pump I have to re adjust everything to get it flowing again, When I turn back on the pump it fills the DT way too fast and it will flood. I will post pictures of my current plumbing, any suggestions would be great. I am going to make it so my two drain lines go into the skimmer chamber and I will have an adjustment valve on my return pump so I can adjust the flow, with a tee going off into the fuge. The one thing im worried about is that the pump will not pump enough water into the over flow, if there isn't enough water it makes this horrible gurgling noise .. anyways I will post pics hopefully that will help I don't really know what im doing lol.

 

OK I see now that the overflow doesn't look as bad as I had originally thought. Youo will nee to buy a pump that is able to pump the same amount of water back to the display as what is coming from it(from the overflow/drain). When unrestricted, a single 1" PVC pipe moves about 600 - 800 gallons per hour.

 

I just really don't know what to do, the pump I have is able to pump it back up, but when I shut it off I just can't get it going again, it floods the DT and if I leave the drain lines open there isn't enough water being pumped back into it, and it gurgles

 

I don't know if this will help or not. What I did was attach a flexible hose to the overflow box going into the sump. Then inside the sump I have a return pump, with the same flexible tubing going right back into the tank. I didn't really know what I was doing either so I made it as simple as I possibly could. So far I have never had to turn off any pumps or do anything with the plumbing at all. The pump in the sump is high enough so that it could never overflow the DT and the sump is never full enough to where the overflow could ever flood that.

Your plumbing pictures look like rocket science/brain surgery to me.


After reading your last post it seems like you need a more powerful pump. One that can handle the flow of the drain line? ALSO, my overflow gurgled for quite some time. I eventually cut up some pieces of foam to stick in the overflow box, as well one piece for the drain line itself. Be careful with the foam though because it has a tendency to get clogged and cause a flood. I have everything tweaked just for my system and I almost wish I was there just so I could try a few things that I cannot explain. But I can't, so good luck! lol

 

How do you do water changes without turning off the pump, Doratus?

 

Eaxctly. I think that should solve your troubles.

 

I feel like Im figuring out rocket science and brain surgery... ahhh... its just not simple.. lol

 

I think the problem is that my pump is retarded and doesn't pump a consistent amount of water which is why I am getting a new one. so when I shut it off It spazzes out when I turn it back on and pumps more water then it will not pump so much water.. then it will.. its so inconsistent I think this is what will solve my problem, getting a bigger consistent pump. Because right now my tank is running just fine, its flowing at an even balance, but if I shut it off and turn it on it will flood the DT but why? why would it flood it when its running right now at a good pace, its draining the amount of water that it is pumping because the over flow is staying at the same level. Why wouldn't it just start back up??

 

You'll need a Bean Animal expert to help you. I think you have a PARTIAL continuous siphon system. You're missing a third return pipe, and I think that one of the elbows in the overflow box should face up. I think.

I believe what is happening is when you turn your return pump back on, the drains are not clearing themselves of air before the DT overflows.

 

I had noticed that too. you could possibly empty the overflow and fix the plumbing on the inside of the tank, but to drill a third hole...boy would that be a hassle.