[etbarry]

I converted an old 55 gal into a sump for my 120 gal main tank and am having trouble with getting the overflow box and pump syncronized. The overflow box (E-Shopps Model PF-800) which i just bought from DrsFosterSmith, was rated on their website to drain up to 800 gph so that being said i bought a Rio2500 plus from the same folks which on the box is listed to put out 782gph right out of the gate (already less than the drain rate on the overflow box) and at 4ft, about the height im at, to do around 529gph which is almost 300gph lower that what the overflow box supports .... so why on earth would the tank be filling too fast for the overflow to handle? Any input is appreciated. Thanks -Elliot

Oh... P.S. my drain is 1" and my return is 3/4"

 

[BrianNFlint]

Pictures could help but I beleive 1" drain is too small for 500gph.

I would wait till someone else chimes in though.

 

[remarkosmoc]

I have a 500gph pump at 4' head and the drain is 3/4. I think the 1" is enough. Does the water pile up in the overflow box or in the piping?

 

[a_c_arnold]

If your overflow box is correctly primed, then your tubing diameter is too small. Gravity is constant so the diameter of the drain tube is about all that you can change. You could put a valve in the return line coming from the pump and lower the flowrate.

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

There are lots of variables that can affect the ultimate flowrate through the overflow such as length of the drain, bends, tubing diameter, sump inlet type etc. You may find that you can increase the flow after some time and a slime coating builds up in the tubing. There is friction of the water against the tubing and the eventual slime coating will help reduce that and you should be able to increase the flow a bit.

Aside from that, I'm surprised at the 800gph claim. You usually don't see a single rated at more than 600gph. Even the lifereef, one of the finest oveflows out there only rates their single at 600gph.

 

[dreday]

yea i would say that a 1" drain can only do about 600 gph. so that rio is probably pushing a little more than that and that is what causes your problems.

also for a tank that size it would not hurt to add another overflow. i have 2 on each of my 75g. just gives me peice of mind in case one clogs or malfunctions some way. i had 2 pumps for each tank also. for about 1200gph.

also you want to make sure that you have enough flow threw the sump. if the water is not moving fast enough it will build up in the tank. what size holes do you have for the trays??

also any pics of the sump would help a lot too. opcorn:

 

[IrkedCitizen]

I just went to drsfostersmith and looked at those E-shopps overflow boxes. Does your have the sponge on the drain installed? If so, I would suggest taking the sponge off of the drain because it might be clogged and decreasing the flow at which it drains.

In your media tower you can place a filter pad on the top drip tray to catch any debris that will get sucked into the sump. and since it is a larger area than that little sponge it will not get clogged nearly as fast.

Also take out any and all low spots in the drain line and that makes the water have to rise up thus slowing the drain.

If you are still having issues put a ball valve on the return from the pump and throttle the pump back a little bit. The flow through a wet/dry doesn't need to be 7-10x hourly turnover. :thumb:

 

[etbarry]

Thanks for all the advice guys after alot of tinkering i think i have found it to be working like it should i did get rid of the sponge and i had alredy had a ball valve on there so i messed with that some too =D but i think its good for the long haul. Oh and bu the way the Eshopps overflow is very nice just watch out for that rating iu would say that it drains 500-600gph at the very most but for the cost its a fantastic product, very nicely built. -Elliot