pump question

[mench]

I set up a 90 gal and am using a 20gal high as my sump..this is the first time that I have used a sump...we drilled the tank for the overflow...I got a pump, filled everything with water started the pump and it works ok,except for the LOUD sucking noise from the overflow pipe..a friend said to cut back on the flow of the pump,well I have it almost shut off and it still makes the noise,ya can hear it all over the house,as ya would think,the bride is not to pleased...she said why didn't just use the sponge filters that I had in there before..and I told her that the sump was the easy way to go..yea right she says...now do ya think the pump is to large...I think it is rated at 940 GPH..I really need some help,I hate to go back to the old setup after going to the trouble and expence of the sump.I also uas going to use a sump on my 125 wild tank..

mench

[Ed13]

The noise is coming from the plumbing not the pump itself.

What's the plumbing like? Pipe? # of drains? etc.

[mench]

the noise is coming from the 1in overflow pvc that comes through the top corner of the tank,that is connected to a 1in hose down to the sump.the water flows into the pvc pipe and that is where the noise is
mench

[Ed13]

Just to be clear
-1 drain hole, 1"in diameter bulkhead
-water goes down through 1" vynil hose?
-940 gph pump

Thrthling it back might help, but the sucking noise is air making it's way through the piping, does the pipe have a vent hole? Does the water in the tank gets high enough for the drain to create a syphon. Is the output from the drain hose below the water level in the sump?

Is there an actual overflow attached (glass or acrylic) or is there only the bulkhead?

You could always add a second or third drain.

[underwaterforest]

Hi Mench, I just recently setup a sump on my 92 gallon corner tank. I too initially had the same problem with the sucking noise from the outflow tube. I found that my problem went away entirely when I sized my pump down to a 500 gph mag drive.

Another thing you may try is putting a valve on the pump to lower the gph coming out of the pump, it should lower the noise level. Another another idea is to make a small cap type thing on the outflow , you can check on my thread called "help 92 gallon tank sump" in the tank section of the D.I.Y. In there you will find a post, I believed, posted by jhhnn about the gargle buster. Good luck, the sucking noise is a common problem with sumps.

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

I set up a 90 gal and am using a 20gal high as my sump..this is the first time that I have used a sump...we drilled the tank for the overflow...I got a pump, filled everything with water started the pump and it works ok,except for the LOUD sucking noise from the overflow pipe..a friend said to cut back on the flow of the pump,well I have it almost shut off and it still makes the noise,ya can hear it all over the house,as ya would think,the bride is not to pleased...she said why didn't just use the sponge filters that I had in there before..and I told her that the sump was the easy way to go..yea right she says...now do ya think the pump is to large...I think it is rated at 940 GPH..I really need some help,I hate to go back to the old setup after going to the trouble and expence of the sump.I also uas going to use a sump on my 125 wild tank..

mench

The 1" overflow pipe....you didnt mention if it had an overflow silencer on it of any sorts. From your description it is just a normal 1" pipe where water flows into. The sucking noise you hear is the water flow sucking air (obviously). It sounds like you need to build an overflow silencer.

Google: "durso stand pipe" or "Hoffer Gurgle Buster". That will get you plans on how to build a very simple overflow silencer to prevent the sucking noise. Build/install one of the above devices and noise is gone.

-Ryan

[mench]

thanks guys I will have to try something...my overflow fitting is about 1/4in below the top of the tank..the 20gal sump is filled about 1in from the top...the overflow tube goes into a a Beenie Baby plastic box that is attached to the top inside of the sump..It has a 11/2 in hole in the bottom and has filter floss filled about half way....Himmm maybe I should put something to raise the floss and keep the drain hole clear..this morning I lowered the sump level to about 3/4 full...the pump has a flow adjustment and I have it almost closed off,it still has a lot of flow....so I turned on the pump and it proceeded to overflow the tank...water every where..of course the bride was right there to give me her thoughts on what I could do with my "new easy system" not sure if I could get around if I put it where she wanter it...
So right now everything is at a stand still untill I can have someone that knows more about the system than me..I guess I will go and Google those items that Ryan talked about
More to follow,I love trying new things!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mench..wet in NY

[jeffh2]

mench, you are 2 miles from Caribbean Forest store who are the sump experts in Rochester LOL. A 1" overflow can give you about 600 gph flow. That is why I use the overflow syphon box with 2 1" pipes to get a true 1000 gph flow and a Mag 95 pump. The system is balanced and very quite. Your pump is oversized but can be adjusted to work. I will try stop by Monday night after work to help you or you can call me @ 690-6461 anytime. It has been a very hectik Irish weekend. Jeff