Hello everyone! First time reefer here, having some trouble with my new tank.
I decided to leak test everything before moving my aquascape into the tank but I simply cannot get my Herbie overflow drain to achieve full siphon. No matter what I do the drain shoots out a constant stream of rather loud air bubbles into the sump.
Using the gate valve, I have adjusted the main drain so that a small amount of water drips down the emergency drain. Even with the bulkhead completely submerged in the overflow, the primary drain still spews a stream of bubbles into the sump. I have also tried raising and lowering the flow rate on my return pump, turning the gate valve to match the increased/decreased flow, but it didn't solve the problem. Closing the primary drain completely (sending all water down the emergency drain) and then re-opening valve also did not work, and there were still tons of bubbles spewing out of the bottom of the drain even with the valve almost entirely closed and water pouring from the emergency drain.
I'm aware that it may take some time to purge air from my main drain and achieve full siphon, but the problem persists even after running the tank for ~3 hours.
I am also noticing a small "whirlpool" effect within the overflow located above the main drain.
I assume there must be some kind of air leak in my primary drain preventing the full siphon? I have slathered glue all over every joint on the drain but still the problem persists. Maybe the gate valve is leaking air? I have seen some people say 90 degree PVC elbows could be trapping air in the drain but my setup only has two 45 degree elbows on the way down to the sump.
My tank is ~50 gallons and my return pump is 800gph, if that matters.
Some pictures:
Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks!
I decided to leak test everything before moving my aquascape into the tank but I simply cannot get my Herbie overflow drain to achieve full siphon. No matter what I do the drain shoots out a constant stream of rather loud air bubbles into the sump.
Using the gate valve, I have adjusted the main drain so that a small amount of water drips down the emergency drain. Even with the bulkhead completely submerged in the overflow, the primary drain still spews a stream of bubbles into the sump. I have also tried raising and lowering the flow rate on my return pump, turning the gate valve to match the increased/decreased flow, but it didn't solve the problem. Closing the primary drain completely (sending all water down the emergency drain) and then re-opening valve also did not work, and there were still tons of bubbles spewing out of the bottom of the drain even with the valve almost entirely closed and water pouring from the emergency drain.
I'm aware that it may take some time to purge air from my main drain and achieve full siphon, but the problem persists even after running the tank for ~3 hours.
I am also noticing a small "whirlpool" effect within the overflow located above the main drain.
I assume there must be some kind of air leak in my primary drain preventing the full siphon? I have slathered glue all over every joint on the drain but still the problem persists. Maybe the gate valve is leaking air? I have seen some people say 90 degree PVC elbows could be trapping air in the drain but my setup only has two 45 degree elbows on the way down to the sump.
My tank is ~50 gallons and my return pump is 800gph, if that matters.
Some pictures:
Any help would be appreciated...
Thanks!