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blange3's 180 upgrade
- Thread starter blange3
- Start date
phil519 said:LMAO. You know how it is...certain "to-do" projects for the spouse take precedence... :
"Honey, after you finish moving all of the trees from the left side of the yard to the right side, and all of those from right side to the left, you can have the rest of the afternoon to work on your tank!"
momof6kids
NJRC Member
JohnS_323 said:phil519 said:LMAO. You know how it is...certain "to-do" projects for the spouse take precedence... :
"Honey, after you finish moving all of the trees from the left side of the yard to the right side, and all of those from right side to the left, you can have the rest of the afternoon to work on your tank!"
Hey, I don't want them moved, I want them taken down and split into logs for firewood. Thank you very much. ;D
OK, a quick update, but no pictures.
The water test is under way. Tank is filled, plumbing is done except for dressing up the return lines back at the sump and a disconnect close to the pump.
This is just a test to see whats up with the floor and to see if the tank holds water.
So far so good, but there are a few tweaks needed.
There is an occasional drip from one of the sump bulkheads. The water line is a bit close to the too so I have to cut down the strainer fittings on the return bulkheads.
Getting a random sucking sound from one of the returns as well. But this one has a lot of excess line to be trimmed and the returns are under water in the sump, so that may have something to do with it.
I know there is a discussion on return noise in JR's thread so I'll check that our later.
The water test is under way. Tank is filled, plumbing is done except for dressing up the return lines back at the sump and a disconnect close to the pump.
This is just a test to see whats up with the floor and to see if the tank holds water.
So far so good, but there are a few tweaks needed.
There is an occasional drip from one of the sump bulkheads. The water line is a bit close to the too so I have to cut down the strainer fittings on the return bulkheads.
Getting a random sucking sound from one of the returns as well. But this one has a lot of excess line to be trimmed and the returns are under water in the sump, so that may have something to do with it.
I know there is a discussion on return noise in JR's thread so I'll check that our later.
momof6kids
NJRC Member
Baxreefs said:Hey water tests are a big step!
Very un-procrastinating-like
lol Yeah Bill!! Progress!! 8)
And we test before the new carpet comes for a reason!
Had my first overflow within and hour.
I was trying to figure our how to cut out the sucking sound. One overflow was drawing more water than the other. So I restricted the overflow a bit and things balanced out. However the level was slowly rising which I did not notice before I decided to take my shower.
So next thing I know my daughter is yelling, "Dad your tank is leaking!" So dripping wet I throw on a pair of gym shorts and run downstairs that thankfully it wasn't leaking but just overflowing.
So now what to do about the overflows? I have two 1" bulkheads for returns. They came with the elbow and strainer kit. I pulled the elbows and just went with the strainers. Now the water level is an inch below the upper trim, but no sucking noise. However, one return hardly returns any water. There's no kink in the flex PVC, but I must have an obstruction somewhere.
1" return lines are supposed to handle 600gph. I measured the return flow an I'm running 300gph. If I close off the slow side, the other side keeps up but now has the occasional sucking sound. If I close the good side and open the slow, it doesn't keep up. So when it comes time to move it for the carpet installation, I'll be trying to figure out what is slowing things down.
Had my first overflow within and hour.
I was trying to figure our how to cut out the sucking sound. One overflow was drawing more water than the other. So I restricted the overflow a bit and things balanced out. However the level was slowly rising which I did not notice before I decided to take my shower.
So next thing I know my daughter is yelling, "Dad your tank is leaking!" So dripping wet I throw on a pair of gym shorts and run downstairs that thankfully it wasn't leaking but just overflowing.
So now what to do about the overflows? I have two 1" bulkheads for returns. They came with the elbow and strainer kit. I pulled the elbows and just went with the strainers. Now the water level is an inch below the upper trim, but no sucking noise. However, one return hardly returns any water. There's no kink in the flex PVC, but I must have an obstruction somewhere.
1" return lines are supposed to handle 600gph. I measured the return flow an I'm running 300gph. If I close off the slow side, the other side keeps up but now has the occasional sucking sound. If I close the good side and open the slow, it doesn't keep up. So when it comes time to move it for the carpet installation, I'll be trying to figure out what is slowing things down.
Honestly Bill I would'nt fix a thing. Just throw about 6-8 inches of detrius laden sand in there and you'll have other things to worry about ;D But at least it will look like the ocean ;D
Is the tank level? That could be the cause of one side draining faster than the other...
For the drains you could try screwing in a PVC elbow into the bulkhead...that's what I did on my frag tank...I have just the strainer screwed into my bulkhead on my fuge...but there is low flow in there...have you tried throttling back your return pump? That may help with the sucking noises.
For the drains you could try screwing in a PVC elbow into the bulkhead...that's what I did on my frag tank...I have just the strainer screwed into my bulkhead on my fuge...but there is low flow in there...have you tried throttling back your return pump? That may help with the sucking noises.
Brian said:
The slow end is lower, but only 1/32" I'll shim it when the tank is in place for good.
I had the elbows in, but it runs more quiet with them out. There has to be something restricting the one side because when I shut the other side off, it can't keep up. 1" returns are suppose to handle 600gph. I'm pumping 300gph. I didn't throttle the pump back because I really don't want to go any lower.
My other concern is I wanted a single return to be able to keep up with the pump in case the other gets blocked. I will be adding a float switch to cutoof the pump, but I want a safety margin.
The bottom line is it works OK as is. Thanks for all the feedback.
blange3 said:
Bill, I think your right. There must be something stuck in the plumbing restricting the water from draining faster. If you can, place a container in the stand with the return pump and have the water drain in the container. See if you still have the problem. If you don't, then the problem is after that point in the plumbing. Hopefully you have put enough unions on the plumbing to do this.
JRWOHLER said:
Hey James,
The returns came plumbed with ball valves.
The drain configuration is a threaded 1" bulkhead,
connected to a 1" elbow,
to 3" of 1" rigid pvc pipe,
to a 1" ball valve,
then another short length of rigid pvc,
to a 1" slip union,
to about 10' of 1" flex PVC into the sump.
I'm sure they were intended just to close off the overflow if you needed to clean the returns, but I played with the valves just to see if something was stuck.
The corrent plan is to replace the suspect valve, get some 1" pvc, elbows and caps and make 1" returns with dursos.
Just enough fun to keep me amused and away from finishing the trim that needs to be painted. ;D
I won't need the cheato until after the carpet is installed and I have saltwater in the tank, probably 3-4 weeks. Thanks!
Bill--
Are the drain pipes vented, Durso-syle?
In my tank I have two 1.5" drains, one is vented, one is not.
When they were both vented, they couldn't keep up with the single 1.5" return.
With one non-vented, it becomes a siphon that can handle an enormous amount of flow.
The other (vented ) drain is needed when the system starts, before the siphon kicks off, otherwise the tank would overflow.
I have a gate valve on the end of the siphon drain. It allows me to eliminate the sucking sound from the elbows coming out of the bulkheads, and to control the level in my overflow.
If you want to stop by some morning, I will shut down the return pump and you can see it do its little hydrodynamic dance when it starts up.
I discovered most of this myself, then learned it had been discussed at (enormous) length in a thread on RC. The main instigator is the notorious BeanAnimal. It's worth searching out and reading.
The elbows are great on my bulkheads because there's only 1/4" of clearance underneath, too small for a snail to get under and block the drain.
HTH,
Jim Roth
BTW, congrats on the wet test, it's a big step. I was so happy when it was finally going leak-free, I almost just left it that way as a kind of modern sculpture, unblemished by rocks and fish.
Are the drain pipes vented, Durso-syle?
In my tank I have two 1.5" drains, one is vented, one is not.
When they were both vented, they couldn't keep up with the single 1.5" return.
With one non-vented, it becomes a siphon that can handle an enormous amount of flow.
The other (vented ) drain is needed when the system starts, before the siphon kicks off, otherwise the tank would overflow.
I have a gate valve on the end of the siphon drain. It allows me to eliminate the sucking sound from the elbows coming out of the bulkheads, and to control the level in my overflow.
If you want to stop by some morning, I will shut down the return pump and you can see it do its little hydrodynamic dance when it starts up.
I discovered most of this myself, then learned it had been discussed at (enormous) length in a thread on RC. The main instigator is the notorious BeanAnimal. It's worth searching out and reading.
The elbows are great on my bulkheads because there's only 1/4" of clearance underneath, too small for a snail to get under and block the drain.
HTH,
Jim Roth
BTW, congrats on the wet test, it's a big step. I was so happy when it was finally going leak-free, I almost just left it that way as a kind of modern sculpture, unblemished by rocks and fish.