Stupid durso...

[TriggerFinger]

I have the typical durso drain on a 90g and it’s SO loud unless my return pump is set at 32%, yes 32. Any higher and it gurgles in the overflow box and creates a mega splash in the filter sock. So much so that it foams like a skimmer and leaks onto my floor. I’ve changed the height of the stand pipe, the length of the pipe on the drain into the sump and messed with the return rate. I want the return rate to be higher, it’s too slow right now. The drain can handle it, it’s just so noisy. I think it’s because there are too many holes in the stand pipe. There’s the vent hole on top and 3 other holes in the pipe, I don’t think you can see it too well in the pictures. Should I make my own drain and only drill a top vent hole??

Another option....I came across a “reverse durso” on YouTube where there’s a wye at the end of the drain. The straight pipe goes into the drain and the Y has a cap and a vent tube. Anyone use this?



So frustrated. I’m about to make a straight drain and run a full syphon but I’ve read that’s a terrible idea with one drain. Is it really so terrible if I cover the top of the overflow box and run a full siphon?

 

[Firemanreefkeeper]

Get rid of the durso, make it a herbie and you will never have to worry about it again. Full siphon is a bad idea. If something goes wrong you flood the house or burn the pump up.

 

[BoSalman]

I run a durso with very minimal noise.

Yes a herbie is much more quiet, but you can work out a tricky durso just fine!.

What's your drain pipe length into your sump?

Also, did you try to choke your drain a little bit (15-25%) and run higher on your return? That did the trick for me!

What size return pump?

 

[TriggerFinger]

Changing to a herbie is my absolute last resort but thanks for the nudge @Firemanreefkeeper. I don’t know if I have enough room behind the tank to run pvc. It would require a full teardown, it can’t be moved without taking the tank off the stand.

@BoSalman
The drain pipe is roughly 29 inches long. The water line is roughly 30 inches from the bottom of the bulkhead.

What do you mean choke the drain? Push more water to try and keep the water a little above all the holes? Then Yes...it will go up to 85% before it starts to become too much for the drain to handle.

It’s a Jebao dcp 10000

 

[BoSalman]

Changing to a herbie is my absolute last resort but thanks for the nudge @Firemanreefkeeper. I don’t know if I have enough room behind the tank to run pvc. It would require a full teardown, it can’t be moved without taking the tank off the stand.

@BoSalman
The drain pipe is roughly 29 inches long. The water line is roughly 30 inches from the bottom of the bulkhead.

What do you mean choke the drain? Push more water to try and keep the water a little above all the holes? Then Yes...it will go up to 85% before it starts to become too much for the drain to handle.

It’s a Jebao dcp 10000

I meant how much your drain pipe is submerged below water line in the drain section of the sump?

I found 2 inches is a good start. Choke the drian as in if you have a gate/plug valve on your drain, you can close it about 15%-25% and run your pump higher.

I run a similar pump but smaller (5000) and i do run it 90% on a 1.25" durso drain that is choked a little bit. And that configuration gives me a great sound reduction.. the only noise i hear is when my powerheads are aggitating the surface powerfully...

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hello, hope all is well.

You are kinda of limited with the 90 as far as drain set ups. If I remember yours only has one over flow. You have a few options but first, do not set it up as a siphon nor put any type of flow restriction on it. Chances are small, but it has happened where that 1 drain clogs up or blocked and winds up overflowing.

The options are
1. Search internet for quieting durso. There are a few options like the one you mentioned. The 3 holes on the standpipe are for air intake on the top one and siphon breaks on the side ones.
2. I think the best options is take the 2 holes in overflow to set up a herbie and run the return up and over the back.
3. Is to run a ghost overflow I think it’s called. It involves purchasing and overflow box and drilling the tank at the top to set up the overflow.
4. Leave the durso as set and bump up flow in the tank to compensate.

Luckily I had 2 overflows in my 180 so I could set up herbie. Before than all I heard was the flushing you mentioned.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I meant how much your drain pipe is submerged below water line in the drain section of the sump?

I found 2 inches is a good start. Choke the drian as in if you have a gate/plug valve on your drain, you can close it about 15%-25% and run your pump higher.

It’s an inch underwater. Any lower in the water creates even more splashing foam.

Share a pic of your drain set up please?

 

[TriggerFinger]

Hello, hope all is well.

You are kinda of limited with the 90 as far as drain set ups. If I remember yours only has one over flow. You have a few options but first, do not set it up as a siphon nor put any type of flow restriction on it. Chances are small, but it has happened where that 1 drain clogs up or blocked and winds up overflowing.

The options are
1. Search internet for quieting durso. There are a few options like the one you mentioned. The 3 holes on the standpipe are for air intake on the top one and siphon breaks on the side ones.
2. I think the best options is take the 2 holes in overflow to set up a herbie and run the return up and over the back.
3. Is to run a ghost overflow I think it’s called. It involves purchasing and overflow box and drilling the tank at the top to set up the overflow.
4. Leave the durso as set and bump up flow in the tank to compensate.

Luckily I had 2 overflows in my 180 so I could set up herbie. Before than all I heard was the flushing you mentioned.

Yes it’s only one overflow box...it’s my first tank and I have a whole list of things NOT to get/do on the next one.

Not comfortable drilling anything but good suggestion.

Flow in tank is good but it’s so slow through the sump. I get a surface film in the return section because it’s so calm.

 

[BoSalman]

It’s an inch underwater. Any lower in the water creates even more splashing foam.

Share a pic of your drain set up please?

Sure, you can see that large valve is my main drain, it is a durso standpipe 1.25" that came standard with the aquarium. I closed the valve just a little bit to control the water coming in, i also have it submerged about 2" below my sump water line. The one next to it is my emergency drain which i run higher without trickling.

I adjusted my pump from level 8 (approx 35%) all the way up to 19 which is my current level (max is 20). I also found that with time it did quiet on its own (perhaps build up inside the pipe?). First few days i did insert and airline turbing into the opening of the durso from the top to quiet it a little bit and it did work, but i removed it later on (should include an air valve to control air but didnt have one..)


Hope this helps.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I understand that an open drain can get clogged or blocked, causing a flood but honestly couldn’t the same thing happen to a durso?? It seems like a higher chance with just a single drain regardless of the type. I’m not trying to argue, I completely agree and that’s why I haven’t done it but do you see my point? What’s the difference?

If I cover the overflow box with a black polycarbonate lid then that pretty much eliminates animals getting in the box and no algae since no light??

Help me understand why the open drain is worse than this durso set up. To me they are equally risky.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Open drain is not the same thing as full siphon. Simply removing the durso is a safe option, although you will have the noise of a waterfall from the water dropping the full height of the box. Full siphon would be to put a valve on the drain and require you to adjust it such that there was only water in the pipe (no air). It is not possible to perfectly match the flow from a siphon to the return pump so you would also need to have a secondary gravity based drain which handled a small portion of the flow. This would be a herbie overflow.

 

[TriggerFinger]

ok so how far under water should the drain pipe be in the sump? I’ve tried above the water, at the water, almost to the bottom of the sump and where it’s at now, an inch below the water line.

Is a durso drain supposed to siphon?

 

[TriggerFinger]

Also, thanks everyone for your ideas. I’m brainstorming. Thinking about asking the Octo lids guy to make me some type of acrylic cover to put around the drain pipe, turning the return pump up and letting it go. I just can’t have all the splashing out of the drain pipe. A cover would fix that I think

 

[Peace River]

Is a durso drain supposed to siphon?

No, the small hole on the side of the Durso pipe intentionally breaks any siphon that may occur. There is two main places that noise usually happens in this type of setup. The first is at the "U" at the top - the water is supposed to rise up past the open end of the "U" and then flow across the "U" (but not fill up the entire "U") and down the drain. The "U" allows the water to enter the drain plumbing from below the surface of the water and thereby limiting the noise in comparison to an open drain on a straight pipe. You should be able to duplicate the straight pipe by simply removing the Durso piping and insert a straight PVC pipe - I expect that you will not care for the noise. My guess without seeing the setup in action is that the small 1/4" hole on the side of the Durso is at a level that may create a gurgling noise. If this is the case then you can either put the 1/4" air hose back in the hole or even plug that hole and drill another one of the same size into the top of the "U" (yes, I realize that you are not a fan of drilling).

The second place for noise is where the water enters the sump. Obviously if it exits the pipe above the water level then you will have splashing. One option is to add a filter sock hanger with felt or mesh socks (or similar). Another option would be to diffuse the water under the surface. Good luck!

 

[ca1ore]

I don’t run single drain tanks anymore, but when I did I used a stockman rather than a durso standpipe. Much quieter. There are videos online that show how.

 

[Peace River]

After a bit more searching here on the R2R forum I found a thread from 2017 that was a near duplicate of this conversation and added several more opinions that may be helpful. Good luck!

 

[Firemanreefkeeper]

I wouldn't drill or add the ghost overflow as suggested. Most likely your tank is tempered and it will shatter into thousands of pieces. On the plus side, if that does happen your noise problem would be solved.
Adding a valve to the drain defeats the purpose of the durso design. The hole in the top is meant to break or slow the full siphon. You can do that but you might as well get rid of the durso part of the plumbing and just have a pipe a few inches below the waterline. As far as clogging up, it will be a slow process. I get limpets and small snails in mine then food and nori get stuck to it. It doesn't take much to slow it down.

 

[Pntbll687]

Sure, you can see that large valve is my main drain, it is a durso standpipe 1.25" that came standard with the aquarium. I closed the valve just a little bit to control the water coming in, i also have it submerged about 2" below my sump water line. The one next to it is my emergency drain which i run higher without trickling.

I adjusted my pump from level 8 (approx 35%) all the way up to 19 which is my current level (max is 20). I also found that with time it did quiet on its own (perhaps build up inside the pipe?). First few days i did insert and airline turbing into the opening of the durso from the top to quiet it a little bit and it did work, but i removed it later on (should include an air valve to control air but didnt have one..)


Hope this helps.

OK, I have a couple observations here that may help

1. The ball valve on the drain should be removed. The durso isn't designed to run with one, and it could increase the chance of a clog which would either flood the tank or burn up the pump.
2. I would remove that 90 degree elbow on the drain. There can be a build up of air pockets as the water makes the turn, which can make even more noise. I would change it to two 45 elbows, like you have on the return
3. What brand is the tank? A quick lookup of the manufacturer can tell you how many gph the durso is rated for. For instance, aqueon brand is rated for only 400gph with the overflow in the corner, but rated for 600gph with the over flow on the back wall.
4. Looks like there are 3 holes in tank, you could EASILY switch to the herbie style overflow. Change one of the returns to a full siphon, use where the durso is as your emergency drain, and run the second return as normal or even put a T at the top and have two returns fed off the same line.