Return pipe help
- Thread starter Mr.JD
- Start date
one solution, is to install valves on the over flow & return, then you throttle it. its time consuming, because you have to keep an eye on your water level in the main display. water level will rise & overflow, its a lot of back & forth, but once you have it dialed in, it locks the water level & you will never have to touch it again. the other solution is to add small porous live rock in the sump chamber, where the overflow pipe is. it will crash the micro bubbles & will help as extra filtration. if you could get your hands on crushed coral, it will kind of act as a calcium reactor. good luck & happy reefing!
I have a gate valve my drain. All three actually. It ends up with a perfect balance. An last week an urchin got stuck in one drain causing excess water in my DT due to loss of drain. But it wasn't enough for the tank to over flow because I have 2 other drains that were operating perfectly. Normally people would valve 1 or 2 and leave 1 for an emergency drain in case sh1t hits the fan
actually, the live rock or crushed coral or even better, dead coral skeleton will not cause a waste build up. its the complete opposite. its an organic solution to detritus in your sump & DT. i'm passing on knowledge i acquired from a water treatment engineer, which constantly stresses to use a complete organic system. the key is finding enough dead coral skeleton, not dried up, but skeletons of freshly dead coral. according to him, they contain microbes that feed off of detritus that should be placed in the first chamber of the sump. its similar effect to bio balls or that media that looks like coco puffs, but with actual live marine microbes that lives symbiotically within the coral skeleton, which feeds off of nutrient rich water. but again, that's my experience with going more organic & advice from an engineer with tons of experience, thats what he went to school for & does day in & day out for a living. good luck & happy reefing.
