PVC Butcher?&@$%*!

[DSA65PRO]

I started having this problem a month ago. I had a short Power Failure and decided to check on my Aquarium after the restore. My Danner 12b was Air Bound. I still don’t understand why this is now happening. At the top of my riser pipes in the internal overflow, on the Loc Line slip Elbows I have vacuum break holes drilled at 8:00 positions, they are always open, there are no valves or checks in my returns. I had to install a “pisser,”

closer to the pump. It works, but this is the third one I’ve done. I have a problem with splashing. Any suggestions? See pictures. Reactors shown in second picture. 

[mcarroll]

On 2/27/2020 at 3:06 PM, DSA65PRO said:

I started having this problem a month ago. I had a short Power Failure and decided to check on my Aquarium after the restore. My Danner 12b was Air Bound. I still don’t understand why this is now happening.

It could be my own bias, but that reads like the origin story of an electrical problem.  BUT...

 

If you didn't take it apart for a full cleaning yet*, IMO now is the time.   

 

Could be debris backwashing into the impeller well.....Mag pumps are normally strong for the amount of GPH they deliver, and don't seem very susceptible to this in general.   A little calcium precipitation in the pump's impeller well sapping power would make it more likely though.

 

On 2/27/2020 at 3:06 PM, DSA65PRO said:

At the top of my riser pipes in the internal overflow, on the Loc Line slip Elbows I have vacuum break holes drilled at 8:00 positions, they are always open, there are no valves or checks in my returns. I had to install a “pisser,”

closer to the pump.

I can't see the pump in any of your pics -- is there anything unusual about how it's plumbed?  Looks like a ball valve and maybe a Tee before the water goes up vertically?  Can you get a better pic that shows the lower part of the return setup, including the pump?

 

There's also a slight chance that maybe the pump could have been damaged somehow in the power outage or during power restoration so that now there is a weak spot somewhere on the rotor.  (A motor expert might have other ideas.  😆)

On 2/27/2020 at 3:06 PM, DSA65PRO said:

It works, but this is the third one I’ve done. I have a problem with splashing.

Now I'm confused....are you talking about the drains or your return that's getting "airlocked" or whatever?   Which section is not working properly?

 

"Too much splashing" or noise is often caused by too much flow for the size of drain...if that's part of what you meant.

 

Tell me if I'm on the right track and hopefully with some direct pics of the problem areas -- drains, if they're a part of it. 

 

How do the reactors enter into the problem?

 

*vinegar in the impeller well for up to an hour; soak, scrub; dry; observe...you can see any film from precipitation after it's fully dry.  Til then it's clear.  You can only see really bad calcium precip. in the wet state.

[DSA65PRO]

I had someone over, and they think the "T" connection is where the problem is at. "Second Picture, 'top left of center,' the Tubing has relaxed and is dirty on the inside, causing a restriction, trapping air." I'm looking for a "Y" or I may redo it, with the water entering the top of the "T" rather than the bottom of the "T" Also I ordered a new impeller. 

[mcarroll]

If that's the location where the problem is, then the barbs are the actual obstruction....the inside diameter is usually VERY small compared to the IN of the tubing itself.

 

It makes a natural source of turbulence and can definitely put a cap on your maximum flow.  (There might be some debris too, but that's not a requirement for the behavior.)

 

If this is a drain, I would try to eliminate all of that tubing and replace it with hard PVC of the same size or one size up from the tubing....hopefully simplifying a little bit in the process.  If it's a return, then using hard PVC of the same size should be fine.

 

Any chance of getting a picture that shows the whole sump at once?  Still hard to visualize where all that plumbing is going.