Plumbing help - loud overflow, water level, air in main drain

[finn_reef18]

I finished my plumbing yesterday and it’s pretty loud. The main issues I’m having:

1) I’ve tuned the drain/gate valve and return pump speed so I get constant flow, but there’s a lot of air going through my drain and causing lots of bubbling/gurgling noises (photo attached)

2) my overflow box (Eshopps eclipse Small) is making really loud waterfall noises

3) Water level in my tank is lower than I would like, there’s about 2” empty space from the top. I think it’s draining through the overflow slots too fast and I can’t get it any higher

Any advice?

 

[homer1475]

Inside of the box? Height of the pipes will dictate water level.

 

[W1ngz]

Need a photo of the external box, the problem will be in the water level there.

 

[finn_reef18]

Need a photo of the external box, the problem will be in the water level there.

Cut a longer (black) piece of PVC. The red one that comes with it is too short. My overflow is silent now. Sweet! Drain in the sump still super loud with all the air going through though.

 

[homer1475]

herbie setup, just let it purge of air and it will quiet down. On your drain pipe into the sump, do you have it slightly submerged. Like only and inch or two below the water line?

 

[finn_reef18]

Update, I figured out another source of noise, it was the trickle from the filter sock compartment. (I’m using the Eshopps nano Refugium). Rotated that and one of the “waterfall” noises stopped.
Two down, overflow is quiet and filter sick is quiet.

 

[W1ngz]

There's got to be some information missing. No air can get into the main drain line, the bulkhead is wide open and fully submerged. There may be air still in the lines, probably due to the outlet of the primary being too far below the water line in the sump. Shorten the outlet PCV to be about 1" below the sump waterline.

 

[finn_reef18]

herbie setup, just let it purge of air and it will quiet down. On your drain pipe into the sump, do you have it slightly submerged. Like only and inch or two below the water line?

It’s submerged into the drain section quite a lot, it’s the way this Refugium is set up. There’s a photo in one of my earlier replies.

 

[homer1475]

As far as the height of the display, just turn the gate valve on the main siphon line to increase the water height. The "dry" emergency should have just a little trickle down it.

 

[W1ngz]

This is what @homer1475 and I are looking at. This pipe is too long.
I'm assuming this is the outlet into the sump?

 

[homer1475]

It’s submerged into the drain section quite a lot, it’s the way this Refugium is set up. There’s a photo in one of my earlier replies.

No photo of the pipe submerged into the sump. You show the side of the external box, the side of the internal box, and a pic of the water height in the display.

 

[finn_reef18]

As far as the height of the display, just turn the gate valve on the main siphon line to increase the water height. The "dry" emergency should have just a little trickle down it.

Ah I know how air is getting in. My plumbing goes to a fitting in the sump then the dumb has it’s own tube that goes below the water line. That has to be where the air is being forced down.

 

[homer1475]

This is what @homer1475 and I are looking at. This pipe is too long.

Sorry thought that was the internal box. Didn't realize that was the sump.

That is certainly too far submerged. It only needs to go under water an inch or 2. Having it submerged so far, it cannot purge the air fast enough causing it to glug and chug.

 

[finn_reef18]

This is what @homer1475 and I are looking at. This pipe is too long.
I'm assuming this is the outlet into the sump?

Yeah but it’s a fitting from the sump itself, my plumbing goes into here and then drops down. That must be where the air is coming from.

 

[homer1475]

The horizontal run, combined with the amount the pipe is submerged. The horizontal is holding the air, and because the pipe is so far submerged, there isn't enough force to force the bubbles out of the horizontal.

 

[homer1475]

Pull the bottom pipe out of the bulkhead, cut it so it's only an inch or 2 below the water level. problem solved.

 

[homer1475]

Do you have a gate valve on the main siphon line?

 

[finn_reef18]

Do you have a gate valve on the main siphon line?

Yeah. Tuned it so that water level is higher in the overflow box with the longer emergency drain line, which made the overflow silent. Didn’t give me extra height in the display though.

 

[W1ngz]

That must be where the air is coming from.

It's not 'coming from' there, it's trapped there. The back pressure from the overly submerged pipe is preventing it from escaping.

 

[dohc97]

On most sump setups that is a removable piece that you can shorten. I ended up just replacing the ones in my sump with new pipes that I cut to only be a couple inches below water line. If you look closely at my drain here you can see how the pipe is not too far under the water level