Clogged drain or too much pump

JONAFIN

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2022
Messages
17
Reaction score
37
Location
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've recently replaced the plumbing on my 135gal. The drain is basically a straight shot on one side and about a 6ft stretch on the other. I want to upgrade the pump to get more flow through the filtration and more flow in the tank. I currently have a jebao 4000. Looking to install a dcq10000 of the same brand. I noticed even with the current smaller pump the durso on the far side can be submerged at times. Im tempted to see if it's clogged a little bit I'd have to pull it apart which is kind of a risk. I was hoping someone with more knowledge of plumbing could tell me with the pictures below if that length and pitch of pipe should handle large drain capacity. Is it normal to overwhelm the drain like that? Is it wise to have a ton of flow through the filter or am I wasting time and money trying run more water through the filtration? I noticed when I was blowing a small powerhead around to clean very little of the debris got sucked through the weir. Thanks in advance

IMG_20230114_102331.jpg IMG_20230114_102400.jpg IMG_20230114_102408.jpg IMG_20230114_102456.jpg
 
OP
OP
JONAFIN

JONAFIN

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2022
Messages
17
Reaction score
37
Location
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Dorso's do NOT handle flow well. If you want higher flow you will have to change to a Herbie or Bean Animal system.
Do you think I could cut the pipe slightly lower on that one side and use a full siphon? Considering I have a separate drain on the other side for a back-up? I'd rather not have to modify the tank itself.
 

Dburr1014

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2016
Messages
8,180
Reaction score
8,127
Location
CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You have two pipes now in one box?
Pull off the elbow and add a gate valve just before the sump. The second pipe will be the emergency.
Return will now have to be over the rim of the tank with another hose.
 

Reign1

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 12, 2022
Messages
407
Reaction score
480
Location
US
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You have two pipes now in one box?
Pull off the elbow and add a gate valve just before the sump. The second pipe will be the emergency.
Return will now have to be over the rim of the tank with another hose.
This
 

Shirak

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
2,271
Reaction score
1,250
Location
Thousand Islands, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Many reefers suggest 3-5x your system volume through the filtration system per hour. so 135 plus the sump is roughly 150 maybe? The return pump is listed at 1000gph. With the head and plumbing pressure you might be getting 800gph which is roughly about 5x through your filtration. Sounds to me like you need more powerheads/wavemakers in the tank itself. The old way of running thousands of gallons on the return pump to create flow in the tank is long gone. More powerheads will keep detritus suspended in the water column for stuff to eventually go down the drain into the filtration system.

I don't see much in the way of in tank water circulation. What are you currently using?
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,841
Reaction score
200,109
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
I've recently replaced the plumbing on my 135gal. The drain is basically a straight shot on one side and about a 6ft stretch on the other. I want to upgrade the pump to get more flow through the filtration and more flow in the tank. I currently have a jebao 4000. Looking to install a dcq10000 of the same brand. I noticed even with the current smaller pump the durso on the far side can be submerged at times. Im tempted to see if it's clogged a little bit I'd have to pull it apart which is kind of a risk. I was hoping someone with more knowledge of plumbing could tell me with the pictures below if that length and pitch of pipe should handle large drain capacity. Is it normal to overwhelm the drain like that? Is it wise to have a ton of flow through the filter or am I wasting time and money trying run more water through the filtration? I noticed when I was blowing a small powerhead around to clean very little of the debris got sucked through the weir. Thanks in advance

IMG_20230114_102331.jpg IMG_20230114_102400.jpg IMG_20230114_102408.jpg IMG_20230114_102456.jpg
Just having installed a second set of durso plumbing, I find it very easy to configure and very quiet. When I installed a strainer, the same happened with flow imbalance and hving shut off valves below which is a must with durso, I was able to open the valve a little and resume normal flow and intake. It would also allow you to add the 10000 model and control flow both from pump and plumbing. To see if there is an obstruction, get a thin 10 foot tape measure and run it up your piping and it will follow right down to the sump like a plumbing snake and also dislodge anything that would be in the piping
 
OP
OP
JONAFIN

JONAFIN

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2022
Messages
17
Reaction score
37
Location
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
@JONAFIN is that grey pipe across the back the 6 foot length from the drain?
Having a long run at that angle isn going to kill flow.
Yes. That's the drain. I was trying to get as much slope as possible to avoid draining issues. So you think it might be a little clogged up?
 
OP
OP
JONAFIN

JONAFIN

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2022
Messages
17
Reaction score
37
Location
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Many reefers suggest 3-5x your system volume through the filtration system per hour. so 135 plus the sump is roughly 150 maybe? The return pump is listed at 1000gph. With the head and plumbing pressure you might be getting 800gph which is roughly about 5x through your filtration. Sounds to me like you need more powerheads/wavemakers in the tank itself. The old way of running thousands of gallons on the return pump to create flow in the tank is long gone. More powerheads will keep detritus suspended in the water column for stuff to eventually go down the drain into the filtration system.

I don't see much in the way of in tank water circulation. What are you currently using?
I'm have few powerheads I'm using. I'm still trying to figure out the best placement to avoid deadspots but they move some water when they're cranked up. If 5x tank turnover is adequate then maybe I'm overthinking it. I just didn't like the way the stirred up detritus seemed to hang around. I suppose you're right, more in tank water movement would keep it suspended long enough to be eventually sucked through
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20230114_124853.jpg
    IMG_20230114_124853.jpg
    112.5 KB · Views: 17
  • IMG_20230114_124833.jpg
    IMG_20230114_124833.jpg
    111.4 KB · Views: 23
OP
OP
JONAFIN

JONAFIN

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 9, 2022
Messages
17
Reaction score
37
Location
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just having installed a second set of durso plumbing, I find it very easy to configure and very quiet. When I installed a strainer, the same happened with flow imbalance and hving shut off valves below which is a must with durso, I was able to open the valve a little and resume normal flow and intake. It would also allow you to add the 10000 model and control flow both from pump and plumbing. To see if there is an obstruction, get a thin 10 foot tape measure and run it up your piping and it will follow right down to the sump like a plumbing snake and also dislodge anything that would be in the piping
That's a good idea. Thank you
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 44 48.4%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 49 53.8%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 21 23.1%
  • None.

    Votes: 23 25.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 9.9%
Back
Top