Sump Level Issue

[Albertan22]

Honestly if your durso is siphoning you will know it. The water level will build up in the overflow then when the siphon establishes it will rapidly draw down until the open end of the pipe is exposed then make a loud sucking noise as the air is pulled in and breaks the siphon. The cycle will then repeat. You know it when you see it, it’s like a toilet emptying with the same suck at the bottom end of the cycle. I stand by my earlier assertion that you just need to slow your pump and remove some water from the sump to bring the water back to normal. I really think you should try this before altering your plumbing too much.

 

[un5tab1e]

Only reason i havnt done this is its drilled for a 3/4" bulkhead

I have 0 knowledge when it comes to Durso I turned mine into a Herbie as soon as I set the tank up but, I'm sure someone will eventually help get you dialed in. Myself if a 3/4 inch emergency is what my tank had been drilled at then I would of had 3/4 emergency drain. Just the piece of mind knowing I have something to help if a snail gets lodged into the main. I have had that happen once lol it wasn't fun getting it out.

 

[excell007]

have you tried changing the level of your ATO sensor?

 

[Albertan22]

I have 0 knowledge when it comes to Durso I turned mine into a Herbie as soon as I set the tank up but, I'm sure someone will eventually help get you dialed in. Myself if a 3/4 inch emergency is what my tank had been drilled at then I would of had 3/4 emergency drain. Just the piece of mind knowing I have something to help if a snail gets lodged into the main. I have had that happen once lol it wasn't fun getting it out.

Having a smaller emergency drain than your main siphon is bad news. The emergency often doesn’t get enough head pressure to run full siphon (depending on your overflow box) so generally needs more capacity than the siphon, not less. The whole issue is what led to the creation of the bean animal overflow to make sure there was actually enough capacity to handle a plugged siphon.

 

[Amantijt]

have you tried changing the level of your ATO sensor?

i did do this thinking it was just a dirty sensor cleaned it moved it around a few times with no real good result

 

[Amantijt]

Having a smaller emergency drain than your main siphon is bad news. The emergency often doesn’t get enough head pressure to run full siphon (depending on your overflow box) so generally needs more capacity than the siphon, not less. The whole issue is what led to the creation of the bean animal overflow to make sure there was actually enough capacity to handle a plugged siphon.

Answered my question without even asking it thanks. I thought it wasnt the greatest idea to switch to something like that due to size differences.

 

[Amantijt]

Honestly if your durso is siphoning you will know it. The water level will build up in the overflow then when the siphon establishes it will rapidly draw down until the open end of the pipe is exposed then make a loud sucking noise as the air is pulled in and breaks the siphon. The cycle will then repeat. You know it when you see it, it’s like a toilet emptying with the same suck at the bottom end of the cycle. I stand by my earlier assertion that you just need to slow your pump and remove some water from the sump to bring the water back to normal. I really think you should try this before altering your plumbing too much.

I can say this does not happen..my level in the back doesnt change every now and then ill get a bubble in the sump but thats it theres no huge suction or super quiet area its just a constant gurgle with a bubble once in a while.

 

[Amantijt]

So my drain isnt glued together im pretty sure i can pull it apart fairly easily...how do i go about reducing it and make it fit with the bulkhead correctly? Its 1 1/4" piping at the bulk head fitting which is screw type because i cant find a slip anywhere.

 

[snowhite]

Looks like you need to lower that larger Durso tube a couple inches or more and get a good real Suction that never see's air. Then you'll use the Gate/Ball valve to adjust flow coming out so it stay just under the top emergency pipes, but well above the main Durso.

 

[Albertan22]

So my drain isnt glued together im pretty sure i can pull it apart fairly easily...how do i go about reducing it and maike it fit with the bulkhead correctly? Its 1 1/4" piping at the bulk head fitting which is screw type because i cant find a slip anywhere.

Just get a 1 1/2 inch to 1 1/4 inch reduction fitting then use that into the bulkhead. Rebuild the rest of the drain inside your overflow box with the larger sized pipe and fittings.

 

[Albertan22]

Looks like you need to lower that larger Durso tube a couple inches or more and get a good real Suction that never see's air. Then you'll use the Gate/Ball valve to adjust flow coming out so it stay just under the top emergency pipes, but well above the main Durso.

Absolutely not. A Durso doesn’t have an emergency drain and isn’t designed to work as a siphon (no air). You are talking about a herbie drain which is a completely different type of drain design.

 

[Amantijt]

Just get a 1 1/2 inch to 1 1/4 inch reduction fitting then use that into the bulkhead. Rebuild the rest of the drain inside your overflow box with the larger sized pipe and fittings.

This looks like best option honestly lol lowes here i come!

 

[Amantijt]

So thanks to everyone for their input, I went and rebuilt the durso drain with 1.5" piping and reduced it down to 1.25" at the bottom slowed the return pump speed to 60% and seems to have help alot! Still watching it but i think that fixed it. Thank you!