I need help with my sump

[RocReefer]

Finally getting back into the hobby after a few years hiatus. I bought a "trigger" systems baffle kit for a 40G breeder and diy'ed my sump. Finally got the tank wet and I'm not really happy with the water level in this sump it seems too high. I tested it by sitting everything off and it won't overflow, but I'm currently running my return pump on the lowest possible setting because the return section doesn't seem to fill up fast enough. If I turn the pump up anymore it will start to suck air quicker than the section will fill. Any suggestions??

 

[P-Dub]

Looking at your drain pipes to the sump, they look awfully small. what size drain lines are you running to your sump? Basically, it appears your drain can't keep up with the return pump. I would enlarge the drain line substantially or add another.

 

[Pistondog]

Like p-dub says add another line.
You might incrementally improve the air bubble suck by inserting a snorkel, smaller diameter air line into the drain line to eliminate the bubbling.
One end down the drain tube, past the 1st bend, the other in air.

 

[LuisPerez711]

Silly suggestion but have you tried simply putting more water into the last chamber to compensate for greater flow? When you increase flow, the level in the return chamber naturally drops. It doesnt drop much but it does drop enough to cause issues.

Same goes for when you turn on your skimmer. The water level will drop again.

I keep my return pump submerged with 6 inches of water above it.

 

[RocReefer]

My return is 3/4" and the drain is 1" unfortunately my tank is a marineland 93G cube and is only drilled with 2 holes so I'm stuck with the return and 1 drain line. I did try to move water from the skimmer section into the return side, but it didn't really do anything. Eventually just returned to where it's at in the picture

 

[LuisPerez711]

My return is 3/4" and the drain is 1" unfortunately my tank is a marineland 93G cube and is only drilled with 2 holes so I'm stuck with the return and 1 drain line. I did try to move water from the skimmer section into the return side, but it didn't really do anything. Eventually just returned to where it's at in the picture

No. Not move water from one chamber to another. Put more water into the sump/system period.

A single 1 inch drain and a single 3/4 inch return should not be an issue. It may be a little louder because of the style of drain, but it will handle enough flow to not be an issue.

 

[P-Dub]

My return is 3/4" and the drain is 1" unfortunately my tank is a marineland 93G cube and is only drilled with 2 holes so I'm stuck with the return and 1 drain line. I did try to move water from the skimmer section into the return side, but it didn't really do anything. Eventually just returned to where it's at in the picture

At this point, I would get a smaller return pump.

 

[WVNed]

I think you need to understand what is going on.

You pump the water to the tank and it flows downhill back to the pump. Along the way the water meets a few tight spots that hold it back like your weir or your drain pipe.
The faster you run the pump the more water these tight spots hold back. The water held back will make the tank level higher or the return level higher or even both.
That water comes from the return section of you sump. As the water gets deeper up in the tank the return section empties.
Run your pump at the low speed and carefully mark all the water levels, main tank, overflow and sump chambers.
Then speed the pump up and see which ones increase. All of them increasing a tiny bit would be normal.
If one increases a lot more than the others then you see if you can fix that.

If all of them increase about the same, then how full does your sump get with the return pump off? If it isn't full then you can add more water until it is about 2-3 inches from the top.
There simply may not be enough water in the system to get to where the return flow matches the pump flow
before emptying the return section.
When water is trapped by a restriction it gets deeper in front of it. That increases the head height across the restriction. That increases the flow through the restriction. 1/2 an inch can make a big difference.

 

[131696]

For your pump is at its lowest settings and that chamber runs out of water ,all shutoff valves are opened all the way and still pump has trouble running out of water in chamber,pump to big get smaller return pump or make drains 1 1/2 and see if that works but you don't want way to fast in sump because it will make noise. I say change pump get a smaller 1 and leave drain the way it is.

 

[RocReefer]

I appreciate all the tips and support but I must not have been thinking clearly. @WVNed was correct and the sump chambers where causing too much of a restriction. I simply lowered the baffle from the refugium into the return and this allowed for move water movement. Was even and to crank up the return pump and everything seems to be running smoothly now