Sump level fluctuation driving me nuts!!

[Charley75]

The water level in the return section of my sump keeps fluctuating and setting off the alarm on my ATO. It’s almost like my return flow rate is fluctuating. I can tell by sound of the overflow. I am using a Reef Octo Varios 8 as my return. I just cleaned it a few weeks ago b4 upgrading to this tank. I picked up the return preowned so don’t have any manuals or anything. Is there a setting or something on the pump that would cause it to do this?

 

[Quoc Vu]

Pictures of your sump would help a whole lot. Might not be the pump could be many things.

 

[Tangdora]

I would shift focus to your overflow and whether your not your getting excess siphoning. If you’re running any type of stand pipe. Would check that the breather hole is not clogged.

 

[UncommonSense]

My immediate thought is tht you’re getting a primary drain siphon that is starting/stopping due to improper gate valve tuning, or unusual overflow plumbing… photos would indeed help!

 

[mmorrison55]

What else is in your sump? As uncommon sense mentions, likely just need to adjust your gate valves.

I find I need to tweak mine as my fleece roller is changed, becomes dirty, etc.

 

[Punchanello]

I had a similar problem and it was absolutely sucking any joy or success out of the hobby for me. Like you I thought it might be the pump, sump design, and any number of other crazy things.

Turned out to be the cheapo drain valve to the sump that came with the tank I owned. That or something plumbing related is probably your problem. Not the pump.

 

[Charley75]

so I run a Herbie style overflow and always have. I dont understand how the siphon could cause the fluctuations. Is there possibly not enough height dif from the primary drain and the emergency drain?

 

[dank.reefer]

One other thought that I haven't seen mentioned here is that there is something else on the electrical circuit "stealing" power from the return pump. In my frag system I run a UV sterilizer on a side flow from my return pipe. On that section of plumbing I have a flow meter to ensure that I have correct flow to the sterilizer and shut it of if flow stops. I can see my flow fluctuate from 320gph to 300gph and back again in sink with my heaters. It is plain as day to see on the flow meter chart in the Hydros.

Is it possible that something else is taking power off of that circuit and slowing the pump down? It could even be something non-tank related like a refrigerator or portable/window AC unit that shares the same circuit possibly even somewhere else in the home.

 

[Reeferbadness]

I have/had a similar problem with my Red Sea return/gate valve. Sometimes the tank wouldn't drain properly making the level in the sump go way down and the ATO to go on overdrive - dumping gallons of water into my sump (tank is 200g RS 750 Max). I ended up cleaning the gate valve and this helped a lot. Residue can build up and cause issues on draining. Hang in there and hope you find the cause and a solution.

 

[Charley75]

So the tank is on its own dedicated 20amp circuit. No manifold or anything….i have my UV plumbed in line in my return line. All plumbing parts new. I can hear it sort of “cycle”….the water in the overflow box gets lower so is falling further and louder….and then the return section in my sump rises and sets off the ATO alarm. If I just ignore it, which is freakin impossible, it will eventually fix itself. I end up just turning my ATO off, which then defeats the purpose of having it.

 

[EricR]

Do you have an easy way to remove/bypass your UV to see if it makes a difference (since it's in the return line),,, or is it hard plumbed?

 

[Charley75]

Yes I plumbed with valves and unions so I can easily remove for maintenance. I just can’t imagine that affecting anything though. There are literally know moving parts in the uv.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

This used to happen to me. Found out my large turbo snails were blocking the vents on my overflow at nite

 

[Dom]

The system may need more water.

Post some pictures. Let's see the tank, the sump. A nice full tank shot of the entire system would be helpful too.

 

[Marco_99]

So the tank is on its own dedicated 20amp circuit. No manifold or anything….i have my UV plumbed in line in my return line. All plumbing parts new. I can hear it sort of “cycle”….the water in the overflow box gets lower so is falling further and louder….and then the return section in my sump rises and sets off the ATO alarm. If I just ignore it, which is freakin impossible, it will eventually fix itself. I end up just turning my ATO off, which then defeats the purpose of having it.

Are your drain pipes under water? If it is too far below like say over a 1” the pressure to drain will cause surging until there is enough water at the overflow box again. Make sure your pipes aren’t too deep into the sump below the water line

 

[Charley75]

I want to say they are only 1-2 inches under. I’ll get some pics when o get home this evening too.

 

[Asm481]

Are you able to increase the flow on your return? Either that or close the valve a bit on the siphon line in your drain. The surging is from the siphon breaking and restarting itself.

 

[Charley75]

Seems like however I adjust it, it will “cycle” through the issue. That’s when thought that maybe there was a setting I was unaware of on the return pump where it ramped up and down.

 

[Charley75]

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

If all else is good (overflow not blocked, gate valve is clean, there's a full siphon) then I would say that your pump is returning water faster than the overflow can deliver it. Can you dial down the return speed to see if it balances out?