FRANKENSUMP! It's alive!

[rDr4g0n]

welp guys, i got my sump running! heres a vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utbxpRnakK8 (give youtube a while to convert the vid)

i have a few questions though. first, how far from the surface of the water should my overflow intake be? if i move it to close to the water surface (with some adjusting screw thingies) it doesnt drain enough water. if i move it too far away im worried that it wont get the icky stuff off teh surface.

also how can i shut that thing up. the drain is loud and annoying. it came with a little intake filter sock, but it doesnt quiet it much.

finally, im worried that even though this thing has a 1inch bulkhead, its just not utilizing it. i mean, theres barely a trickle going down into the sump. most of my water flow is recirculating so that the pump chamber is full. on the other hand, if it moves too fast, the heater and protein skimmer wont be effective.... any advice?

[sasquatch]

Hey Drforegone, the video aint happening, can you bring the overflow a little closer to the screen?

[Dentoid]

Sweet video! I especially like the Tchaikovsky, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Faries" track-real classy! Sorry I can't answer your questions, but it looks like you've been a busy boy.

[Woodstock]

I am afraid I can not answer your "trickle of flow" question. I do know that there are several variables when dealing with drainage.... gravity, backpressure, and air flow all come into play.

Here is a VERY informative site dealing with overflows. DURSO STANDPIPES

BTW.. I enjoyed the video!

[rDr4g0n]

i wanted to do the vid really cool and stuff, but decided not to spend too much time on it... ya know more time for the aquarium

[rDr4g0n]

the durso standpipe site looks like it has teh info i need. ill try to build one of those next weekend.

can anyone help me with my question about the depth of the overflow skimmer box? should it be right on teh surface of the water where the water actually has to fall into it, or should it be submerged like a quarter inch?

[lcstorc]

If I understand the question correctly mine is right at the surface of the water.

[rDr4g0n]

ok then i have another question. if i put the skimmer at the surface (mine has screws to adjsut its height), then the flow slows to a trickle. if i put it further down, i get a better flow, but the surface gets icky protein film on it. the box is supposed to be a 600gph flow, but it doesnt even seem close to that. it has a 1inch bulhead that it barely utilizes, and the box it self has about a half in of water in it at all times (working on a durso standpipe to do something about that, but i want to fix this flow issue first.)

actually ive just turned off the sump and overflow. im having trouble getting everything "balanced". is it supposed to be a delicate balance of overflow vs return pumping or am i just doing something wrong?

[sasquatch]

This a bit confusing lol, whats your return pump rated at, the overflow can only swallow whats supplied, if it was undersized the tank would overflow

[rDr4g0n]

the overflow is rated at 600gph. the pump is rated at 780, but there is head pressure that would drop that down. i figure theyre about even but... ugh. ive learned a lot just from starting and avoiding floods over the past 2 days lol

[sasquatch]

if the overflow is not backing up, assume your not getting 600gph so lets say 500 thats 8.3 gallons per minute, thats not alot of water, so maybe it just looks like its a trickle

[rDr4g0n]

Originally Posted by sasquatch

if the overflow is not backing up, assume your not getting 600gph so lets say 500 thats 8.3 gallons per minute, thats not alot of water, so maybe it just looks like its a trickle

that is absolutly true... you are wise in the ways of the fish.