bubbles in return pipe

[chuck116]

Hello folks , I just fired up my tank after removing the pipes and converting the 2 feeds to returns , so now I have 4 returns and the beginnings of a manifold for feed . One of my new questions is that I have a large supply of bubbles coming out of only one of the returns and honestly I think it was there before the project, though I would like it to flow bubble free like the other three. I think something was mentioned at the meeting about this but I cant remember exactly what it was. any help is as always greatly appreciated... THAnks again ,,, the newbies, CHUCK AND ANNA MARIA. dam caps lock.

 

[chuck116]

ok i just realized that the 2 drain that i added are not draining, i think its because i dont have a hole drilled in the top for air to flow, but i dont want to drill it in the wrong spot, if in fact i do need to drill it , to have water flow thru the pipe. need help , please.

Chuck P

 

[onefish2fish]

???

do you have bubble traps in your sump? is your pump sucking air? is your drain close to the pump? how is the water being returned to the tank, is this making air?

 

[mikem]

Jon, I think he's talking about the overflows going to the sump.
Drill the holes in the top about the size as an air line tube. Both durso's or stand pipes should be about the same height so one isn't sucking more water than the other, since there is 2 stand pipes in each overflow box.
Try covering the hole in the side of your stand pipe.

 

[chuck116]

yes mike your right we talked about it saturday and I went and made all four pipes returns like you said. and ran a pipe for the feed which i will construct a manifold in the tank for , but just wanted to get it functional first. BUT I did not drill any holes in the top or sides of the new returns that I made. the stock returns have holes in the sides which i think you said were not needed so i did not drill them . i noticed that the new returns were not working i guess cause there is no way for the air to escape the pipe. i will drill the holes in the top. do i need to install the air line also and if so hole long of a piece of line do i need to install in the new holes ?

Thanks a ton the newbie Chuck P

 

[JRWOHLER]

Air in the overflows line....this I know :. If you have flex tubing make sure you don't have any dipsy doodles, loops, curley cues or whatever...straight to the sump. Next if you still have some bubbles..like me..filter socks on the end will contain them and the salt creep that comes along with them. And then what Mike said make sure you have the same height on each one. If you can put a small valve in the hole you made then you can regulate the airflow. It may need more or less you sort of have to experiment(that is from the guys at AO).
Good luck.

 

[chuck116]

sounds great thanks to all trying it now.

 

[chuck116]

??? ok i drilled the holes about the same size as the other ones and still no return water coming thru the hoses. Just as lost as ever !!!!!

 

[chuck116]

I forgot to mention that i only drilled the hole in the top.

 

[mikem]

Can you adjust the stand pipe lower in the overflow? It might be too high out of the water. Can you post a pic of the overflows?

 

[chuck116]

I will post pics now , but im not very good at it, they are the same height as the others . the only difference now is the cross drilled hole in the side but that is the hole that is creating the noise. i will take the pics now .

 

[mikem]

Thanks Chuck. They might help.

 

[chuck116]

I hope it works . here they are!!!

 

[mikem]

You have to lower the one on the right in the first and second pic. Or raise the one on the left.
When ever I make my stand pipes, I use a T with a cap on it instead of an elbow. It makes cleaning easier and I can remove the cap when first setup to see how and if everything is working proper.

 

[mikem]

Try lifting the left one a half inch if possible. It looks to me, by looking at the teeth on the overflow box, that the water level is a little low.

 

[chuck116]

Ok thanks i did what you suggested and it seems to be working . it seems as though there is not alot of flow thru the returns i made although they are flowing. I cant get enough water back into my sump to run the pump wide open although i dont have the manifold assembled yet, and when i do i realize that it will tame the pump a bit by adding head pressure is that correct ?Also, mike did you suggest 3/4 pipe for the manifold ? unfortunately i dont remember i did not take enough notes ?

 

[mikem]

Can you get a pic of your sump? Maybe your baffle to the return part is too high. 3/4 is good. If you need to make more pressure coming out of a head, reduce that head or heads to 1/2 inch.

 

[chuck116]

this is the sump the dimensions are 36x16x14 1/2

 

[chuck116]

ok i decided to change them to tee's i will try this weekend. and i just thought of something should all 4 pipes be the same diameter and if so 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch. I wish there was a way to get more water in my sump and have less drain back in the sump when i shut off the pump. so much confusion. ???

 

[JRWOHLER]

Try to get everything the same and get some filter socks on those bad boys. I hear you I was totally frustrated for a while. I was constantly bugging people to see their plumbing and whatnot. For me it was just too much flow. Good luck.