Thank you!!! I bought the check valve as well just to be extra safe.....I REALLY don't want to clean up an overflow, hahaha. Funny thing, my next step was looking for instructions on how to do exactly this, so really, thank you very much!
Back to my original problem:
We installed the 1" drain hose which definitely helped, but did not solve the problem. I finally threw up my hands and said, 'this darn thing must be defective.' I called Marine Depot, considering my overflow box is the MarinDepot 800, and asked what the deal is because I MUST be missing something, right? RIGHT?!?
According to my new friend Marine Depot Scott, I need to either get a different return pump or install a flow valve. When I bought all of my tank equipment, I made my selections based off of good reviews rather than just brand name selections, and the Aqueon pump I chose had really good reviews....... Bleh. According to Scott, Aqueon is notorious for incorrectly rating their equipment which seems to be the case for my wonderful little pump. I'll tell you what, I think I would be pretty darn impressed if I needed that kind of flow! That being said, I just purchased the Sicce Synchra Silent 1.5 return pump that, thankfully, has an adjustable flow. Somebody please reassure me that all will be well with this one?!
Sincerely hoping that this solves my problem! Good Lord, I am so far beyond frustrated! I never would have thought this would be such an issue!
Now to write AlgaeBarn and have them hold my second Ultimate Refugium shipment.........
So, the Sicce 1.5 is in your sump for the return? I am not sure if that is enough depending on the pipe width and length. Very good pumps though - I have a 0.5 on my 13.5G, but it's pretty weak with like 3" of pipe.
When I was running my 36G bow I originally started with a Mag 5 (~500GPH) and later upgraded to an Eheim 1260 (~625GPH). If I had to do it again I would just go with a controllable DC pump to truely get what I needed.
Since you mentioned MD, you can see their head pressure (GPH) based on pipe length - https://www.marinedepot.com/danner-supreme-aqua-mag-5-water-pump
Also from the Sicce documentation you can see that the 1.5 should push about 238GPH at about 3.3 feet of pipe.
Last edited: