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My herbie style drain is surging after pumps tuned off and on


NAL

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I have a 40 breeder with a 20 gallon pump. I have 2 1" drains coming out the back of the tank with an internal surface skimmer. I have a ball valve (I now know I should have got a gate valve) on the standpipe and the emergency drain does not have a valve. I have a 90 degree slip fittings in the overflow box and the standpipe is pointing down and the emergency is pointing up. For a return, I have an ocean runner 2500 that is t'ed off to my refugium, then goes up a 3/4" hose to a scwd then then to the tank.

 

The system is silent when up and running, but if I turn the pump off and turn it back on, I have to open the ball valve on the drain all the way up and slowly dial it back down to get it to be silent again. I have let it run like this for 10 mins to no avail. The overflow will fill up and drain, fill up and drain causing water to surge into the sump. What can I do to fix this? I was wondering if I should put in a air siphon on the standpipe.

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bdevillier19

I wish I knew the answer but I am looking at doing a Herbie on my new tank so I'm looking forward to seeing the answer. I read that the full siphon line needs to be a good bit lower than the emergency drain and water level. Maybe this is the reason for not starting the full siphon automatically after power loss? Hopefully someone will chime in who knows.

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I would definitely do the main drain (full siphon) at least 6 inches lower than the emergency drain. I use this on my 90g and the siphon kicks in automatically after the pump is turned back on.

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Maybe trapped air? Can we get a pic?

What exactly do you want a pic of? I will take some tonight and post them.

 

Sounds like air is getting trapped and there isn't enough flow to flush it out

So you think I should increase the flow?

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The fact thart you have Tees on the back isn't a good idea since that is where air will be trapped and also they simply aren't under enough water. My herbie has about 5-6" of water above the standpipe so there is enough pressure to push any air that gets trapped out. Also, the smaller the drain the more open the valve can be which means there will be less air.

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bdevillier19

I read in another thread that another important thing to check is that the drain line is only 1" or so below the water level in your sump or it makes it harder for the water to flush the air out.

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I read in another thread that another important thing to check is that the drain line is only 1" or so below the water level in your sump or it makes it harder for the water to flush the air out.

That might be it, it's 2 1/2". I'm going to redo that section when I order a gate valve.

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bdevillier19

let us know how it works. the tank i am getting ready to setup is going to be a herbie and i've never done one, so i'd like to know what to look out for as far as possible problems go.

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kriskristofferzen

I just set up my herbie, however, I have a corner overflow.

I used the website below for my design. A little different but maybe give some insight. Mine is completely silent! . I saw you ordered a gate valve, if your not using it, is needed. I agree with above, might be the T caps or the fact that the siphon is not well below the water surface area. This website below speaks to that. It is a good read. Then again, I'm sure there is someone else who will chime in with some info regarding the setup that may be more valuable. Good Luck :)….check out the photos on the website below for the "main siphon standpipe height". It may give you some clues...

 

http://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-reef-tank-plumbing-method-basics/

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