Fluctuation In Overflow

[Kunala6]

Hi
I have noticed the water level in the overflow fluctuates sometime it gets to the point where it makes a noise and whirlpools. I have a Innovative Marine Lagoon 150 EXT. I have a feeling this is due to the combination of the protein skimmer and the ATO. My protein skimmer runs during the day and off at night, I found this to be the best since my aquarium is lightly stock with about 10 damsel sized fish, and it has only been running for about 6 months. My ATO is setup in the return pump chamber and sometimes I notice it is overfilled I use the Osmolator 3 so the LED is red when it is overfilled. I wouldn't say it is overfilled by much just slightly. I have also checked the piping making sure it is connected correctly. I do see a bit of pineapple sponges in the overflow, not sure if they are in the tube to restrict the flow. Any thoughts?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

IMO its normal. The pump slows downs as it gets dirty, and stuff collects and grows in the main drain which slows the water further.

 

[edsbeaker]

Let me try to help.

Does the osmolators red light only go on when the skimmer turns off and then the red light turns off when the skimmer goes back on, or does this happen at other times too?

If this is just happening because of the skimmer it’s because the water from the skimmer drains into your sump and raises the level in your return section when turned off, so of course your Osmolator is saying it’s overfilled. In the AM when the skimmer turns on, then the water level goes down in the return section and most likely the ATO turns on to fill what was lost during the night.

If this isn’t the case and it is overfilling enough that the alarm is going off then you may have an issue with siphoning due to the level of your ATO outlet being lower than the water level in your ATO reservoir.

In regards to the overflow level going down, it sounds like the return pump is pumping faster than the water can flow into the weir. You can fix that by turning the red valve near the sumps drain section to the right, which will slow down the flow going down to the drain section in the sump and raising the level in your overflow.

On my IM 75 and 170 EXT I kept my overflow level a few inches above the main drain pipe and just barely overflowing the secondary drain pipe. If you start hearing water going into the return section that means water is going down the emergency drain pipe so you just need to dial that valve back a little to the left until that stops. For every change you make in turning the valve, give the tank a few minutes to catch up before making another change.

I don’t think you need to worry about the pineapple sponges clogging the drains.

Let me know if any of this doesn’t work and I’ll be happy to try and help.

 

[ShakeyGizzard]

my overflow level changes when my filter roller operates

 

[Kunala6]

Let me try to help.

Does the osmolators red light only go on when the skimmer turns off and then the red light turns off when the skimmer goes back on, or does this happen at other times too?

If this is just happening because of the skimmer it’s because the water from the skimmer drains into your sump and raises the level in your return section when turned off, so of course your Osmolator is saying it’s overfilled. In the AM when the skimmer turns on, then the water level goes down in the return section and most likely the ATO turns on to fill what was lost during the night.

If this isn’t the case and it is overfilling enough that the alarm is going off then you may have an issue with siphoning due to the level of your ATO outlet being lower than the water level in your ATO reservoir.

In regards to the overflow level going down, it sounds like the return pump is pumping faster than the water can flow into the weir. You can fix that by turning the red valve near the sumps drain section to the right, which will slow down the flow going down to the drain section in the sump.

On my IM 75 and 170 EXT I kept my overflow level a few inches above the main drain pipe and just barely overflowing the secondary drain pipe. If you start hearing water going into the return section that means water is going down the emergency drain pipe so you need to dial that valve back a little.

I don’t think you need to worry about the pineapple sponges clogging the drains.

Let me know if any of this doesn’t work and I’ll be happy to try and help.

The skimmer doe not overflow, I empty it every few days and keep an eye on it daily, but I do notice the red light on the ATO usually during times the skimmer has either turned off or not. Never really noticed when the skimmer has been off or on for more than a couple hours. The ATO water line is above the water level by a few inches so I don't think it siphon back, and reservoir water level stays below the ATO water line. I try to keep the water level in the overflow same as your by using the red dial I set it by slow increments. I currently run my pump at 70%, what do you run your pump at? I use the mighty jet and the sump that Innovative Marine provided.

 

[edsbeaker]

The skimmer doe not overflow, I empty it every few days and keep an eye on it daily, but I do notice the red light on the ATO usually during times the skimmer has either turned off or not. Never really noticed when the skimmer has been off or on for more than a couple hours. The ATO water line is above the water level by a few inches so I don't think it siphon back, and reservoir water level stays below the ATO water line. I try to keep the water level in the overflow same as your by using the red dial I set it by slow increments. I currently run my pump at 70%, what do you run your pump at? I use the mighty jet and the sump that Innovative Marine provided.

It sounds like the skimmer is the reason for the ATO alarm showing level is too high, so there isn’t much you can do about that if you only want to use the skimmer for 12 hours, but I can’t think of any reason why that would cause an issue, as long as it’s not siphoning and working correctly.

I keep my return pump with 4 lights on, so much lower flow than yours. The recommendation is that your return pump should typically be 3-5X the water volume. Powerheads are your tool for flow in your display tank. So, I don’t think you need or even want the flow that fast in your sump. Slower flow will allow your skimmer to work better too. If you turn down the flow you will have to readjust that valve again since the level in your overflow will change again.

I really can’t give you a reason why your overflow level slowly goes down. When it happens, what do you do to try and fix it?

 

[Kunala6]

It sounds like the skimmer is the reason for the ATO alarm showing level is too high, so there isn’t much you can do about that if you only want to use the skimmer for 12 hours, but I can’t think of any reason why that would cause an issue, as long as it’s not siphoning and working correctly.

I keep my return pump with 4 lights on, so much lower flow than yours. The recommendation is that your return pump should typically be 3-5X the water volume. Powerheads are your tool for flow in your display tank. So, I don’t think you need or even want the flow that fast in your sump. Slower flow will allow your skimmer to work better too. If you turn down the flow you will have to readjust that valve again since the level in your overflow will change again.

I really can’t give you a reason why your overflow level slowly goes down. When it happens, what do you do to try and fix it?

Ok, thank you, I think our pumps are at the same or close, if you are using the Mighty Jet DC XL, the first light I think is at 40%.

 

[edsbeaker]

Ok, thank you, I think our pumps are at the same or close, if you are using the Mighty Jet DC XL, the first light I think is at 40%.

Yes, they are the same.

 

[Marco_99]

If you are running flow pumps like mp40’s or whatever wave makers in the tank they can push more water out depending on the program they are running. When my ramp up and down it actually surges enough water that it will trickle the emergency overflow for a few seconds sometimes.

If your overflow pipes are submerged in the sump it’s best to have them only about an inch underwater so the pressure created to drain can be easily overcome if not it may be a bit erratic in keeping a constant siphon. Gate valve adjustment on your main overflow pipe also helps get that drain flow just right.

Your skimmer and ATO water function is going to have zero impact on the amount of water your return pump is pushing up to the tank, the level in the sump matters nothing to the return pump unless it’s out of the water sucking air or your drain pipes are being submerged and not submerged.