Salty Rambler
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Am I having a siphon issue?
When I inherited my tank, my friends and I researched and built a DIY Franken-sump with DIY overflow (weir) plumbing to avoid drilling the tank. The overflow PVC pipe transitions to a clear hose and then flows down to the first chamber of the sump, which has the HOB skimmer. The end of the overflow hose is submerged below the water line in the first chamber of the sump, with the intent of cutting down on the noise, and it ran fine for circa a year, when I moved the tank long distance. Now that I have the tank running again, it is a struggle to keep the water levels balanced despite the presence of an ATO. I've read many references on the forum to siphons breaking, but admit I assumed that meant the siphon failed and did not restart, vice a slow decline in tank level stability.
That said, is my issue related to the siphon? The water continues to drain down the overflow weir and into the sump, and there is a valve to help regulate the flow of the return pump. Whenever I turn the pump off for a water change, when I turn the pump on again, I have to make multiple minor adjustments to the valve over the next hour or two before I have steady water levels in both the DT and the sump, but I don't need to restart the siphon itself.
Tonight, the ATO alarm sounded, and the water in the DT was almost overflowing. I'm tempted to put the HOB filter back on and give up on the sump altogether, rather than risk coming home to a flood. If this IS a siphon issue, would something like an aqualifter help fix it? If it isn't a siphon issue, could it be a faulty valve, or some other well known issue? I've attempted searches on the forum, but I get the feeling my knowledge base isn't large enough to recognize the answers that might be staring me in the face in other discussion threads. I wanted to move to an AIO during the long distance move, but my move was during the great tank shortage, and I still haven't had much luck at locating a 50 gallon cube to upgrade my current circa 38 gallon tank. Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated.
When I inherited my tank, my friends and I researched and built a DIY Franken-sump with DIY overflow (weir) plumbing to avoid drilling the tank. The overflow PVC pipe transitions to a clear hose and then flows down to the first chamber of the sump, which has the HOB skimmer. The end of the overflow hose is submerged below the water line in the first chamber of the sump, with the intent of cutting down on the noise, and it ran fine for circa a year, when I moved the tank long distance. Now that I have the tank running again, it is a struggle to keep the water levels balanced despite the presence of an ATO. I've read many references on the forum to siphons breaking, but admit I assumed that meant the siphon failed and did not restart, vice a slow decline in tank level stability.
That said, is my issue related to the siphon? The water continues to drain down the overflow weir and into the sump, and there is a valve to help regulate the flow of the return pump. Whenever I turn the pump off for a water change, when I turn the pump on again, I have to make multiple minor adjustments to the valve over the next hour or two before I have steady water levels in both the DT and the sump, but I don't need to restart the siphon itself.
Tonight, the ATO alarm sounded, and the water in the DT was almost overflowing. I'm tempted to put the HOB filter back on and give up on the sump altogether, rather than risk coming home to a flood. If this IS a siphon issue, would something like an aqualifter help fix it? If it isn't a siphon issue, could it be a faulty valve, or some other well known issue? I've attempted searches on the forum, but I get the feeling my knowledge base isn't large enough to recognize the answers that might be staring me in the face in other discussion threads. I wanted to move to an AIO during the long distance move, but my move was during the great tank shortage, and I still haven't had much luck at locating a 50 gallon cube to upgrade my current circa 38 gallon tank. Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated.
