Fluval Evo 13.5 - Leak from DT to Chamber 3

[mikedgrok]

Hey all,

I might be missing something really obvious here, but appreciate your help...

Running fluval Evo 13.5 with stock return flow head, connector, tubing etc. to return pump.

For me, there always seems to be an incomplete seal around the return flow hole - between the display and chamber 3, leading to a regular drip from the display into ch 3...

Not a huge deal because the drip is a lot less than the return flow - but a bit annoying. Am I missing an extra part or something? Anyone else deal with this?

 

[Sarcazian]

I have the same issue, but it only started after upgrading the pump to the silent 0.5 and variable flow. I checked the parts and I could not find a washer or anything that I may have missed, but I guess it is possible.

I always thought it was due to me pushing out more water and the 3rd chamber was a lot lower (about 1/2 full). How low do you keep the last chamber - due to media/etc?

I found that if I don't rinse out my chemi-elite/blue (weekly) it starts seriously restricting the water level in chamber 3.

 

[mikedgrok]

I have the same issue, but it only started after upgrading the pump to the silent 0.5 and variable flow. I checked the parts and I could not find a washer or anything that I may have missed, but I guess it is possible.

I always thought it was due to me pushing out more water and the 3rd chamber was a lot lower (about 1/2 full). How low do you keep the last chamber - due to media/etc?

I found that if I don't rinse out my chemi-elite/blue (weekly) it starts seriously restricting the water level in chamber 3.

Tks for the reply... I run my water level decently high - maybe a half inch or so below the hole in the chamber wall ...

I'm running the eheim 1000 pump on around 50% so still pretty good flow I think

When I shut the return off, the water levels rise in the back chambers quite a bit (another reason I'd like to run lower levels, I think!!)

I'd rather run the water a bit lower actually, but am using chamber 2 with chaeto algae and live rock in the intank tray ... So need the water high enough to allow for that (filtration + pods)

 

[Sarcazian]

How are you keeping water in the second chamber? I want to run chaeto in mine, but it's almost always at 1/4 full (or so).

Chamber 1 is the intank with floss, chemi-pure (rinsed weekly), and then the original ceramic bag that came with the tank. I need to pick up some marine pro or maybe I should smash up some other LR I have in the brute. Center plug is glued in.

It looks like your pump may be running a little slower than mine though at ~132 vs 180. I would easily upgrade to the 1.0 (251 gph) if not for my existing flow to sump issues.

 

[mikedgrok]

How are you keeping water in the second chamber? I want to run chaeto in mine, but it's almost always at 1/4 full (or so).

Chamber 1 is the intank with floss, chemi-pure (rinsed weekly), and then the original ceramic bag that came with the tank. I need to pick up some marine pro or maybe I should smash up some other LR I have in the brute. Center plug is glued in.

It looks like your pump may be running a little slower than mine though at ~132 vs 180. I would easily upgrade to the 1.0 (251 gph) if not for my existing flow to sump issues.

I have floss, purigen/carbon, seachem matrix in #1 ...

Always have same water level in 2 and 3 for the most part - also plugged the hole in 2 with the part from intank

What do your water levels look like when return pump is off?

I ordered the random flow generator return nozzle and curious to see what effect that'll have on reservoir levels !

 

[Sarcazian]

Interesting. So, I just noticed that you are running chamber 2 with the intank? I guess I should try placing that back in to see if it helps, but I was running UV in chamber 2 for awhile.

You can see that even chamber #1 is pretty low with water. Often the water has to drip onto / down to the chemi-elite sitting on the middle shelf. I will need to check out my water level tomorrow when I feed, but I suspect that the DT loses water since the chambers are so empty. In my case, it's sort of like water cannot flow in fast enough and perhaps I keep my DT level too low? For some reason the tank (not stand) is off about a 1/16th (?) of an inch sloping towards the right.

Putting back on the other nozzle (non RFG) is something else to try as well, but I don't think that should impact reservoir levels?

 

[GoReefin]

Had to seal mine with silicone works fine now no leaks. Threw it all the way around the inlet 2 coats. I can take some better pics tomorrow.

 

[Sarcazian]

oh wow, did you drill your evo? Interested in seeing some other photos.

I might need to consider scraping off the glue and then trying some silicone, but I really didn't want to make a mess under water. I guess that may work similar to gel?

 

[mikedgrok]

Interesting. So, I just noticed that you are running chamber 2 with the intank? I guess I should try placing that back in to see if it helps, but I was running UV in chamber 2 for awhile.

You can see that even chamber #1 is pretty low with water. Often the water has to drip onto / down to the chemi-elite sitting on the middle shelf. I will need to check out my water level tomorrow when I feed, but I suspect that the DT loses water since the chambers are so empty. In my case, it's sort of like water cannot flow in fast enough and perhaps I keep my DT level too low? For some reason the tank (not stand) is off about a 1/16th (?) of an inch sloping towards the right.

Putting back on the other nozzle (non RFG) is something else to try as well, but I don't think that should impact reservoir levels?

I know what you mean about the drip below the filter floss onto the second shelf.

One thing I do have is my wave maker pointed toward the overflow from the opposite side, so I do typically get pretty good "overflow flow" ...

I have a few changes happening all at once - added the apex neptune yesterday, so now have a bunch of probes in chamber 3 taking up some more space than before.

I will grab some silicon if the seal of the RFG head doesnt close the hole a bit better than the current stock return head.

Just want to make sure I don't run too high in the back chambers (will overflow when pump stops for feeding, maintenance) and not too low so as to expose the chaeto to air.

Will share anything I learn!

 

[mikedgrok]

Had to seal mine with silicone works fine now no leaks. Threw it all the way around the inlet 2 coats. I can take some better pics tomorrow.

Which part did yoh seal - assuming the return head (the part in the display tank) ... And that this head is now fixed to the wall, meaning you can only unplug your white pipe from the back side of it?

 

[GoReefin]

I sealed the inside of the tank where I had to drill the black plastic a bit larger to accommodate the 3/4 inch inlet. I have 2 fluval 13.5g evo tanks attached to a 20g sump. The second tank I actually drilled 2 holes one for return instead of putting the return up and over the glass. I did a 1/2 inch return on the second evo and if I was to do it all over again I'd go with 3/4 all the way for flow. Check out my build thread for additional pictures and videos. I'll be adding a 3rd tank somewhat soon to the system.