# What am I doing wrong with my overflow and sump?



## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

Are overflows/sumps just temperamental? The water level in my sump is either too high, too low, same for the main display tank, and to raise the water level in my tank a little I raised the drainage grate on the overflow and next thing I know my carpet is flooded... 

No one else seems to have these problems like I do. I am using a mame overflow and a Vectra m1 return pump. Did I miss something fundamental about sump/overflow operation? This seems like it's infinitely more difficult than everyone else seems to experience. 

What am I doing wrong? If I add water to replace evaporation, it's like the entire system goes out of balance and I end up with wet carpet or a sump that's too full and a tank that's water level is still too low, or SOMETHING.

Very frustrating. I see why you guys stick to canisters.


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## DennisSingh (Nov 8, 2004)

Your pump n overflow have to match up.
All I gotta say, it's too technical for me.
From what your saying, def. sounds like pump is too weak. If u r sump was draining, too powerful pump and not big enough overflow. Is overflow clogged by plants or anything?


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

No clogs, and it's 2K per hour pump on the highest setting... It was fine for the first week then started "acting up" again. My pump is like four times stronger than the reccomended pumps for it so I don't know wtf I'm doing wrong. 

I I spent $350 on the stupid m1 just so I woudn't have to deal with this and yet here I am. Sometimes the water drains too fast, sometimes too slow, and I'm going insane.


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## easternlethal (Feb 13, 2016)

Clinton Parsons said:


> I see why you guys stick to canisters.


It's no better with canisters trust me. Just ask how many people have flooded the floor trying to disconnect and clean their canisters or swallowed aquarium water whilst trying to prime one. 

Both methods take time to master and use with minimum hassle, but sumps are the ultimate filters.


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

Really people have those problem with canisters? Sounds insane. I started my first tank with canister being 11 years old and never ever such a problem occurred. So yeah, that's why I stick to canister, that, and smaller loss of CO2. 
About your sump: I would recommend having the overflow in the tank higher, so even if everything over it flows to sump, sump won't get too much water.


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## DaveK (Jul 10, 2010)

I've got a couple of questions for you...

How big a tank are we talking about?

How critical is it that the overflow be more or less invisible? 

I will admit that I have never used a mame overflow, but looking at it, I think it's a real kluge of plumbing that is going to be tricky to get working and keep working. It seems to have a whole lot of places where something like a large snail or plant leaf could block the flow causing problems.

I use a Lifereef overflow on my SW reef. It's a somewhat conventional design. You can see them here (offsite link) - prefilter box, siphon box, overflow box, siphon overflow, Eurobrace, Euro-brace, Euro-tank This type of overflow isn't going to be as hidden as the mame overflow, but you shouldn't have any issues with it. 

Eshops makes a similar overflow but I don't think it's as good.


It's possible to have a pump over run an overflow. In other words, the pump drains the sump faster than the overflow can provide water to the sump. This is yet another area that can cause floods. 

Systems using a sump can evaporate a lot of water. You may find it necessary to add an auto top off system. Tunze makes a nice one, but others are good also.

Overflows need to stay clean to work their best. Even a thin coating of algae can reduce the amount of water flowing through an overflow. That's not going to cause a flood, but you can see a difference.


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## Joshism (Nov 26, 2015)

I have no idea what your setup looks like. You've got to shut off your return pump, drain your aquarium down to your sump. Once the sump is full, pull your drain out of the aquarium water. That aquarium water line will be the line where your drain needs to stop draining. Adjust your drain pipe up to that level, so that it would stop draining at that line.


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Sounds to me like you have to big of a pump. Especially if it is 4x what is recommended. It sounds like your overflow is alternating between no siphon and full siphon, which would account for rising falling water levels, is there a loud gurgling/ sucking noise every now and then, reduce the pump flow for a while and see if it helps stabilize

If memory serves you want to pump no more water than about 75% of the capacity of the overflow and no less than 40% , to much and the drain can't keep up well, to little and it doesn't flush micro bubbles and you can develop a air pocket that breaks the siphon

Pictures/video would also be helpful


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## jovonhaln (Jul 28, 2012)

:smile2:
Looks like a mini version, I wanna try that! I use a box or a drilled tank but... 

You get that thing working and you wont regret it my tanks are never more stable or as clean as when running on a sump/trickle filter. Good advice above dont give up.


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## SwampGremlin (Dec 5, 2014)

I would Rather have to full of a sump Than water all over the floor if the water is flooding out of the top of the tank on to the floor than your pump is putting more water in the tank that the overflow can handle. Maybe you can add another overflow and have double skimmin capacity and keep your pump.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Your pump is too strong. You're overworking the overflow. You are also using the least efficient overflow design. My best suggestion is to get an auto top of sensor and hook it to your return pump. Set it up so the pump turns off when the water level in the display tank rises too much. You also need to dial back the return pump. Your overflow should be rated at TWICE what your return pump is running at. That is how most of us size the overflow. The overflow will never flood your sump, if your sump is appropriately sized, but your return pump can easily flood the tank. 

I had zero issues with my sump setup flooding. The only issue I had was getting enough flow through the tank. I highly suggest drilling your tank if you wish to keep a sump. It is the safest method of utilizing a sump, no exceptions. A single pipe overflow like you have is the noisiest, most temperamental, most prone to failure, sump option available. 

The overflow, when functioning properly, will set the water level in the tank and it will not fluctuate.


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

You have 2000 gallon pump with overflow that takes up to 300 gallon and hour. You got way more pump then you need. I really think you either need to down size your pump or increase your overflow to be able to handle pump that size. I have seen this before and water on the floor is just one of the problems that can happen with this problem. Your pump could run dry so fast with that volume with out enough return water. I also take it you have a vale on your return or you would be over flowing the tank all the time.


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

i installed 2 m-1's on my tank a couple weeks ago. love them.
however, in replacing my old pumps i did need to fiddle with the overflow valves. what became clear, very quickly:laugh2:, was that i needed to reduce each pump to a 'level 5' (or have 5 lights lit up). this major adjustment on the volume side allowed me to then tweak the valves to my desired flow.

at feeding time, i reduce the pumps to 'level 1'. then return to '5' after the food has been cleared up. no further adjustment has ever been needed.

great pump...just tweak it from the pump/volume side rather than your overflow side. i agree with other posters that you may just have too much volume going thru your system.

fwiw, i've also noticed that sumps generally require minor adjustments to flow before you can see the result. i'll typically turn a valve by a 1/4 inch, then wait 15-20 minutes to see what happens to the overall flow before making the next adjustment. my .02


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## Balkin (May 26, 2016)

Its an adjustable pump just dial down the flow until it works the way you need it to!!


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## Joshism (Nov 26, 2015)

Ok, we need to know what is the culprit to the flooding. Is it:

1. The return pump overflowing because the Mame overflow rate is not sufficient, or

2. The electricity went out, and the sump was over filled, or

3. Electricity went out, and you lost siphon, or

4. Other


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

Oh wow thanks for the replies, guys! I will take some pictures. It's a 90-P (48 gallon) tank with a 45-P sump. I just got a more conventional high-walled sump (A reef octopus 80) and better tubing to install today. 

I DO hear a gurgling noise sometimes, like a burp. I don't really want to get a different overflow, I just want this one to work. The minimal design was very important to me. I actually have a canister filter in addition to the sump, but I wanted a sump to run a reactor in, keep my probes and twinstar hidden, etc. 

It's an adjustable pump but no where in the literature included does it say "level seven = X GHP, level eight = X gph etc etc" 

Electricity didn't go out, and the vectra is attached to a battery backup in case that ever happens. I didn't lose the siphon FWIW, and if the power ever goes it the mame is supposed to automatically recover it's siphon. 

Trailsnail, what do you mean by too much volume going through my system? Also I do not have any valves, should I attach a double-tap connector to the pump? 

Today is going to be dedicated to drying up the carpet and getting my sump stabilized. 

Mame makes one of these, would I need two or just one? https://saltwater-conversion.com/collections/mame/products/mame-design-float-switch

PS: Wouldn't the water drain from the tank at the same speed regardless of what pump I use?


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

Joshism said:


> I have no idea what your setup looks like. You've got to shut off your return pump, drain your aquarium down to your sump. Once the sump is full, pull your drain out of the aquarium water. That aquarium water line will be the line where your drain needs to stop draining. Adjust your drain pipe up to that level, so that it would stop draining at that line.


I'm sorry, I just don't understand what you are saying? Could you rephrase it maybe? I am kind of dense sometimes lol.


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## _alex_ (Apr 22, 2016)

Your overflow choice is not a good one for the amount of water your trying to move. You need a Herbie style or bean animal style overflow. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## _alex_ (Apr 22, 2016)

And no water won't drain from the tank regardless of what pump you use. A 1" pipe can handle about 1000 gph at full syphon. And be very noisy at that. If your moving more water than your drain can handle it will never balance out. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Joshism (Nov 26, 2015)

Clinton Parsons said:


> I'm sorry, I just don't understand what you are saying? Could you rephrase it maybe? I am kind of dense sometimes lol.


What I meant was, if the problem is flooding due to electricity going out, try this: 

Think of your Mame overflow as a simple aquarium vacuum hose. Turn off your return pump. Once you've filled your sump, pull out the hose, or else it'll flood the house. That sets your water level in your aquarium. Your Mame overflow should now be set at that water level only. Any deeper, and it'll suck out water to the floor.

Also, no matter how over powered your return pump is, if you attach a valve, it'll limit the amount of water returning into the aquarium.

I didn't read your other post until now LOL. So you probably need to adjust your pump or attach a valve to the return hose. Either that, or your output needs to drain more water than your return hose can put in. That Mame Automatic Top Off should work. You only need one. 



Clinton Parsons said:


> PS: Wouldn't the water drain from the tank at the same speed regardless of what pump I use?


Smaller hoses will drain slower than larger hoses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhqPbV4SyBw


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

Well, the thing with the mame is that one size fits all  They only make it with one size drain (1") I could use several adaptors to get the 1 inch hose diameter down I guess. I am really set on using the mame because everything else looks so intrusive by comparison. 

I am using the return pump at the next-to highest setting and the water seems to be remaining stable, but it's lower in the tank than I would like (lily pipe makes too much noise) and the intake siphon is sucking up air. I was told there's nothing I can really do about that since that's where the water level just wants to be... 

I will post some pics of what I have going on once my ipod charges. e
e

do I replace water that evaporates by pouring it into the sump or the main tank? 

As far as me trying to move a certain amount of water, honestly I'm not trying to move a lot through the sump, I just don't really get a choice on how much the overflow drains... it only comes with one drain tube size. I'm just trying to pump as much water out of the sump as drains in so I dont' flood the place. 

Here is what I am working with: https://saltwater-conversion.com/collections/mame/products/mame-design-overflow

One thing I just noticed is how they have the glass tubed connected with some space for tubing in between the pieces. I have it connected glass-on-glass if that makes any sense.


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## _alex_ (Apr 22, 2016)

There is no way for your drains to out drain your pump. That's impossible. I'm guessing the reason your sump is overflowing is because the mame is continuing to drain after the pump is off. Also is the pump return under the water surface in the display??? If so with out a check valve it will drain till it hits air. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jrygel (Jan 29, 2014)

Clinton Parsons said:


> As far as me trying to move a certain amount of water, honestly I'm not trying to move a lot through the sump, I just don't really get a choice on how much the overflow drains... it only comes with one drain tube size. I'm just trying to pump as much water out of the sump as drains in so I dont' flood the place.


When you loose power or turn the pump off, water will siphon from the main tank to the sump via equalizing the level down to the bottom of the overflow grate or down to the top of the return pipe, whichever is lower. You need to size your sump to handle this extra volume to avoid getting the carpet wet and to allow for the system to balance out. I know that you said that you have a battery backup, but this is still best practice to keep extra capacity in the sump to account for balancing the system, clogged pump, etc.


The easiest way to do this is to turn the system off when you are topping off - you can also check by observation how low the lowest siphon point in the main tank is compared to the typical waterline when the tank is running, This is how much water is going to run into your sump when power is lost. you can then multiply that by the area of the main tank divided by the area of the sump, this will be how much higher the water level will get in your sump when the pump is lost. For example, (using a 90P and 45P) if you loose 1" of level in your main tank, you will gain (36 x 17) / (18 x 10) x 1 = 3.5" on the water level in your sump . . . IMO, a 45P is too small for a sump for a 90P. I have a standard 20g on a 90P, and the water level in my sump rises by about 1 1/2" when the power turns off.


The water will flow at a given rate in your overflow that will vary between full siphon and partial, how much you pump through your return cannot increase the maximum flow rate of the overflow. It looks like Mame's are design to use a partial siphon similar to a durso, so flow will only be around 300-350 gph; if you push more than that with your pump, you will risk overflowing your display tank. If you push less than that, the water level in your display tank may be a tiny bit lower, and the overflow will make a little more noise, but everything should flow just fine. Sumps don't work like a canister: pushing more water up the return does not ensure that you will get more from the overflow. Many systems use multiple pipes out of the overflow to deal with this variability and get more flow. A herbie (what I use) or bean animal, for example, both have one pipe running a full siphon, which will allow a 1" pipe to flow at up to around 600 gph; but both of these systems have additional pipes to deal with variation in the system. You can't run it that close with one pipe, you need to run the pump at somewhat less that the flow capability of your overflow because: if you have it tuned perfectly, with the pump running at say (hypothetically) 350 gph, and the Mame happily flowing full at that rate, when the Mame gets a little bit of junk in the grating or has some mulm build up in the hose, maybe it will start running a 340 gph - guess where those extra 10 gph are going . . . on the floor.


All this long winded explanation can be summed up as follows:

In order to have a balanced, reliable overflow and sump:



You need extra capacity in the sump to handle siphon water whether you have backup power or not.
You need to run the return pump somewhat lower than the capacity of the overflow.


Hope this helps,

-Justin


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Clinton Parsons said:


> Well, the thing with the mame is that one size fits all  They only make it with one size drain (1") I could use several adaptors to get the 1 inch hose diameter down I guess. I am really set on using the mame because everything else looks so intrusive by comparison.
> 
> I am using the return pump at the next-to highest setting and the water seems to be remaining stable, but it's lower in the tank than I would like (lily pipe makes too much noise) and the intake siphon is sucking up air. I was told there's nothing I can really do about that since that's where the water level just wants to be...
> 
> ...


Don't make your drain lines any smaller as all that will do is reduce the amount of water that will flow through the overflow, you want to go the other way and flow more... but since you can't do that you need to reduce the amount of water that your return pump is pumping

You're looking at this backwards, the overflow is trying to drain as much water as you pump in, not "trying to pump as much water out of the sump as drains in" Let the display tank drain to the sump (return pump off), fill sump to desired level, turn on pump and let the tank level stabilize (see below) mark the level of the water in the sump! NEVER FILL BEYOND THAT LINE WITH THE PUMP RUNNING, after that when you do top offs (tank or sump doesn't matter), just refill to that line and it is impossible to flood from the sump



Clinton Parsons said:


> I DO hear a gurgling noise sometimes, like a burp. I don't really want to get a different overflow, I just want this one to work. The minimal design was very important to me. I actually have a canister filter in addition to the sump, but I wanted a sump to run a reactor in, keep my probes and twinstar hidden, etc.
> 
> PS: Wouldn't the water drain from the tank at the same speed regardless of what pump I use?


Couple things here, as you mentioned the overflow will drain at the same speed regardless, but this isn't quite accurate. It will also only flow as much volume as is pumped into the tank... It has 2 speeds that it'll drain at, one with air mixed in and one under full siphon. The one where air is sucked in, will flow much more slowly than under full siphon and the burp you hear is likely when it switches from one "mode" to the other. It does this if the water level rises to the point that air can't get sucked in, switches to full siphon until it sucks air back in and then the level begins to rise again (unless you have more water flowing from the pump than the full siphon can handle and you dump water on the floor from the tank)

If you already have a canister for flow you can crank the flow through the sump WAY WAY WAY back, like the smallest fountain pump you can find slow, it will be very quiet at that point, very stable, and still give you decent turn over for your probes to be accurate, this is called a low flow sump. This can be done with one overflow if you limit the return water volume to a small amount so the overflow NEVER runs under full siphon, this will be quieter and stable

A high flow sump which is more what you are doing really benefits from 2 overflow pipes, one run at full siphon (controlled with a valve) and one run as atomospheric, you use the valve to balance the siphon so only a very small trickle flows down the second pipe (this makes it very quiet as well) this is often referred to as a herbie style




Summary:
-reduce flow from the pump
-fill the sump to the desired full level with overflow running but pump off
-look at herbie overflows if you want to run high flow
-if needed I can make a quick and crude video for you that shows a basic setup


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

I think I just fundamentally didn't understand how pumps work lol. After staying up late fiddling with it I am now using the vectra on the second setting and it's quiet, marked the line on my sump where all water drains if the power goes out so I know not to overfill (I had bought a taller sump, but it leaked and I re-sealed it so I have been using the 45-P since it was just lying around. ) 

It does "burp" ever ten minutes or so. Should I turn it down to level one? Also now that the water levels are finally stabilized in the sump and display tank, I would like the water level a little higher. Maybe a half inch. What would happen if I just poured water into the main tank? 


Should the drainage pipe from the overflow be above or below the water in the sump (or does it matter)? 

TheatreMusic, I think I was thinking of the while sump as working backwards than it actually works, thank you for your explanation, that made a lot of sense. In retrospect I don't really know how I got away with running it on the higher settings before. 

I definitely don't need from from the return pump, I've got a good canister filter beside the stand and a good powerhead if I need it later. 

One more thing, it doesn't seem to be a problem so far but I drew a red line at the water level in the main tank and sometimes the water level raises a mm or two, sometimes it lowers a mm or two, and sometimes it's spot-on where I drew it. Is this because of the aforementioned "burping" ?


I also added a double tap connector to the return pump. I'm hoping I can fine-tune it later today.


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

Since my last post, I just walked into the room where the tank is and the water level has risen 1 cm, which is where I wanted it but I what worries me is that I didn't touch any of the controls, add/remove water, etc. 

And there was a big burp noise and it dropped back down under the line... I feel like it needs a little tweaking.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Cant you just make a little hole in the intake pipe, just above where you don't want it to go any lower? If the water level falls past this little hole, it will suck air and break siphon.


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## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

Clinton Parsons said:


> Since my last post, I just walked into the room where the tank is and the water level has risen 1 cm, which is where I wanted it but I what worries me is that I didn't touch any of the controls, add/remove water, etc.
> 
> And there was a big burp noise and it dropped back down under the line... I feel like it needs a little tweaking.


spot on  

as to getting the level up where you would like it, I'm not sure with the mame, but on the over flows I have there are adjusting screws that you lift the overflow up off the rim with to set the level where you want it


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## jrygel (Jan 29, 2014)

Clinton Parsons said:


> Since my last post, I just walked into the room where the tank is and the water level has risen 1 cm, which is where I wanted it but I what worries me is that I didn't touch any of the controls, add/remove water, etc.
> 
> And there was a big burp noise and it dropped back down under the line... I feel like it needs a little tweaking.




<engineer talk>
The 'burp' is the overflow cycling between different types of flow. I don't have a mame, but from looking at the design, it looks like it will typically run with the water level just slightly over the weirs; if the pump flow rate is a little bit above the capability of the mame to keep up with that flow pattern, the water level in the main tank will build up until there is enough pressure to create a more stable flow pattern, closer to a full siphon. This more stable flow pattern will run water through A LOT faster than the typical turbulent flow pattern, and the tank will quickly stabilize back to the lower level, reducing the pressure at the entrance to the overflow and returning it to the turbulent flow. </engineer talk>


What it really comes down to is that, if you want a stable level in the tank, your pump needs to be turned down to where it keeps your overflow in the same flow pattern, because having the overflow cycle between different flow patterns will cycle the water level and is also a sign that your overflow is operating near capacity - in other words, it wouldn't take much of a clog to slow the flow enough that the stable flow isn't fast enough to keep up with the return pump and you have a flood. I would recommend turning your pump down one more notch, or, if you want finer control, add a gate valve to the return line to add pressure head to the pump and reduce flow. A ball valve will work also, but doesn't give nearly as fine of control as a gate. This is why most of us with sumps use overflows with multiple drains - we run one of the drains as a full siphon with 99% of the flow, with the other one or two drains just taking a trickle to account for differences in flow.


Also, the level of your display tank is entirely controlled by the flow and level of your overflow. If you want to adjust the waterline, you need to figure out how to adjust those two things. If you don't adjust those, any water you add to the display tank will just run down into the sump, the waterline in the display tank will remain the same, and the waterline in your sump will be higher than the one you carefully marked to avoid floods . . .


-Justin


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## DaveK (Jul 10, 2010)

Nordic said:


> Cant you just make a little hole in the intake pipe, just above where you don't want it to go any lower? If the water level falls past this little hole, it will suck air and break siphon.


Usually you don't want to break the siphon on the overflow. It the siphon does break, you almost always get a flood. Overflows, when designed correctly will not lower the water below a certain point.

It's much different for a return line. If power is lost, a return line can back siphon and drain a lot of the tank water into the sump. This can create a major flood, or worse. This is where you want to drill that small hole. You want to break the siphon on the return when you have a power failure. 

As a note, some people like check valves on the return line. I do not, because I have had a lot of them fail at critical times, like when power goes off. Check valves always seem to build up some gunk or algae or other stuff that prevents it from working. If you do use a check valve, test it weekly to make sure it's working.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

I've only done sump type filters for small ponds.
I'm working on the design for a stand with a beananimal setup. I also want the water changes and plumbing integrated and automated.


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## aja31 (May 25, 2013)

If the overflow is "burping" then to me that says that the pump is not pushing enough water back to the tank. In a full siphon overflow you pull water down at a set rate determined by the size of the plumbing. If you don't get water back to the display tank fast enough then the overflow level drops until the siphon breaks, slowing down the flow and letting the pump catch up. Once the overflow level is high enough the siphon resumes until the water level drops again. This system can never be balanced because one will always be ahead of the other (though it is much better for the overflow to run dry than the pump chamber). This is why there is a second non-siphon drain on most overflows, which can adjust the flow based on the water level allowing the system to be balanced, where the pump pushes water faster than the siphon but less than the siphon + the maximum capacity of the non-siphon line. 

At least this is my understanding, if i'm missing something please let me know.


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## Leeatl (Aug 8, 2015)

Sounds about right . I use a Herbie overflow type with no problems . You use a valve on the drain side and dial it in so the pump delivers enough to just trickle down the emergency drain .


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

The burping can also be air being suck in with the water over flowing. When my water flows over the weirs it also at times pulls air that collets in the u tube and then sucks it in to the over flow box with burp it is pulled down. This seems to only happen when the u tube is to close to the weir. 

You can change the height of the water in your tank by raising or lowering your over flow. If your water level changes at different times it has to be pump issues. I still think you have to much pump.


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## jrygel (Jan 29, 2014)

aja31 said:


> If the overflow is "burping" then to me that says that the pump is not pushing enough water back to the tank. In a full siphon overflow you pull water down at a set rate determined by the size of the plumbing. If you don't get water back to the display tank fast enough then the overflow level drops until the siphon breaks, slowing down the flow and letting the pump catch up. Once the overflow level is high enough the siphon resumes until the water level drops again. This system can never be balanced because one will always be ahead of the other (though it is much better for the overflow to run dry than the pump chamber). This is why there is a second non-siphon drain on most overflows, which can adjust the flow based on the water level allowing the system to be balanced, where the pump pushes water faster than the siphon but less than the siphon + the maximum capacity of the non-siphon line.
> 
> At least this is my understanding, if i'm missing something please let me know.


You are correct, but in the case of a overflow with a single pipe (like the Mame that the OP is using), it is not safe to use a full siphon because the single pipe you have is running at or near its full capacity; if ANYTHING happens to slow the flow in the overflow a little bit (a leaf gets caught in it) or increase the rate of the pump a little bit (the water level in the sump is higher after a water change), the system will overflow. This is the reason why most of us use systems with more than one overflow (Herbie or Bean Animal), there are two or three pipes in addition to the full siphon to take the difference in flow from those imbalances.


-Justin


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

I will lower the power level of the pump down to level one today and see how that goes. It looks like I REALLY went overkill on my pump haha.

The controller that came with my pump adjusts it from discrete levels 1-12 but I think there is a way I can buy a Reeflink server and control it via the cloud. I think if I do that I can control the power in terms of percent.


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

So my sump has been working great on the lowest setting, but I was wondering if having a "low-flow" sump will affect my co2 since my reactor is in the sump on one side and the pH probe is on the other. I don't want it in the tank. Am I overthinking things?


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## jrygel (Jan 29, 2014)

Clinton Parsons said:


> So my sump has been working great on the lowest setting, but I was wondering if having a "low-flow" sump will affect my co2 since my reactor is in the sump on one side and the pH probe is on the other. I don't want it in the tank. Am I overthinking things?




Sump flow doesn't matter much, but flow in the tank itself can. The way to check is to get your CO2 stable, then move you're pH probe around and see how much it changes throughout the tank - this will answer your question. pH probes react relatively quickly, 30 seconds or so in each location should be plenty. There may be some variation if you have your bubble rate set really high and are relying on the pH controller to turn it on and off, but if you just leave CO2 on, then the pH should stay pretty stable at any given point in the tank . . .


-Justin


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

I placed the drainage tube from the display tank into a mason jar and placed the pH probe in there with it so that it's not exposed to water that's been in the co2 reactor. You can clearly see when I did it on the graph, and it's more accurate now I think. It was reading on the low side before.


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