Final fill before the final fill

S

Sirius76

New member
Hey everyone,

So, everything is set up and I conducted one last freshwater fill up before I put in the rock, sand and salt water. I wanted one final check of all of my plumbing and fittings before committing. Everything looks great! No leaks of any kind and a full simulated power outage reveals no unwanted siphons. Plus the sump has enough room to cover any drainage.

But here are my questions to the group and please forgive me if they're stupid questions. ( I just need to know the answers)

How do I know I've filled the system enough? ***I've filled it to what seems as if though its full enough. I still have plenty of room during a power failure. No overflow of any kind***
How do I make my initial Herbie overflow adjustment? Initial skimmer adjustment? Manifold/media reactors?
My Herbie is making a pretty significant draining sound. How do I minimize that?

Forgive my very asinine questions but this is the first setup I've ever built that incorporated a sump. I'm just a bit unsure about how to go about the initial fill up and set up of all the gear.

Thanks everyone! If you're wondering, here's my system http://www.chicagoreefs.com/forums/showthread.php/23930-Dragans-250g-reef-build
 
Last edited:
Ok, never mind on the Herbie. I've got it figured out and its absolutely silent!! :D

What do you recommend about my other questions?
 
The layout of the sump can affect how full you fill your tank. You want to be sure that you have enough space for a power outage (as you did) and that the height of the water for your skimmer is right. Aside from that, I generally try to get as much water volume as possible without overflowing. When I kill power, I like the water level to settle at the plastic rim on my glass aquarium sump, which gives me about and inch and a half of wiggle room before overflow.

Skimmer - might depend on the specific skimmer as some have adjustments that others don't, but start by making sure the water is the correct level for your skimmer or you will never get it to work right. If it's a new skimmer, it's going to take a while to break in and may fluctuate a lot during the first few weeks. I've only had a few skimmers, but generally, you adjust the bubbles one to a few inches above the junction of the body and the collection cup. Once it starts producing foam, it will push up through the neck into the collection cup.

For a manifold, start with the valve furthest from the return pump. Set it, then work towards the pump for additional valves.
 
Jeff,

Exactly the kind of info I was looking for! Thanks for taking the time to reply.

morleyz said:
The layout of the sump can affect how full you fill your tank. You want to be sure that you have enough space for a power outage (as you did) and that the height of the water for your skimmer is right. Aside from that, I generally try to get as much water volume as possible without overflowing. When I kill power, I like the water level to settle at the plastic rim on my glass aquarium sump, which gives me about and inch and a half of wiggle room before overflow.

Skimmer - might depend on the specific skimmer as some have adjustments that others don't, but start by making sure the water is the correct level for your skimmer or you will never get it to work right. If it's a new skimmer, it's going to take a while to break in and may fluctuate a lot during the first few weeks. I've only had a few skimmers, but generally, you adjust the bubbles one to a few inches above the junction of the body and the collection cup. Once it starts producing foam, it will push up through the neck into the collection cup.

For a manifold, start with the valve furthest from the return pump. Set it, then work towards the pump for additional valves.
Click to expand...
 
I like to break my new skimmers in before I put in take so I can set it right away. I do so in a bucket. I generally like to keep n inch above my shortest baffle as well. All other options for me are similar to preceding post.

Going to take a few to get everybody.g dialed in. Give stuff time to settle before adjusting. Imo
 
Thank you Jay.

I'm going to let the whole system run as it is for about a week or so. I figured if anything is going to break, it'll be early on. And it'll give my skimmer a chance to break in a bit. (albeit in fresh water not SW)

Thanks for the comment on the depth of the sump. I didn't think of it like that. I'll shoot for your suggestion.

Lastly, do you or anyone else reading this have a Herbie overflow on their system? I have a question more out of curiosity than anything else. My tank has 1.5" overflows with a gate valve. How "open" is a valve typically on a Herbie? I mean physically open. I ask because it seems like my valve is barely open yet the oveflow has a full siphon and the water is up to the emergency drain. I don't feel like its open enough but everything is working great. Am I getting the full flow of the return pump through a barely open gate valve? Seems like I shouldn't be, ya know?

Thanks!

jayjerk said:
I like to break my new skimmers in before I put in take so I can set it right away. I do so in a bucket. I generally like to keep n inch above my shortest baffle as well. All other options for me are similar to preceding post.

Going to take a few to get everybody.g dialed in. Give stuff time to settle before adjusting. Imo
Click to expand...
 
I'd be concerned with n almost closed valve...eventually something will get in there and clog it completely.

I personally don't have a Bernie but I use a valve to control my drain I once a month open it all the way let it run for a while then close back up...I've worked up twice to an almost overflowing tank
 
I have a herbie with dual 1.5" drains and my gate valve is not very open either (I also had a similar concern about this). How much your valve is open is directly proportional to how much water your return is putting back into the tank. If you expect to be able to open the valve more, you'll need to increase the return because it only takes a couple of seconds for the full siphon to completely drain the overflow box and start sucking air, breaking the siphon until the overflow is full again. This gives you a pretty good idea of just how much a single 1.5" drain can flow at full siphon.

Probably the most important thing with a herbie is to make sure you put a strainer on the drain line and check it often enough so you know it's not clogged. My emergency drain is really noisy if the main drain is at all clogged, so it's easy to hear for me. I haven't had to touch my herbie since I got it dialed in over the first couple of weeks.
 
well like I stated I open it up whey do often to clear it...I don't have a spears style valve either. I'd be less inclined to do so with that valve due to how it functions
 
morleyz said:
I have a herbie with dual 1.5" drains and my gate valve is not very open either (I also had a similar concern about this). How much your valve is open is directly proportional to how much water your return is putting back into the tank. If you expect to be able to open the valve more, you'll need to increase the return because it only takes a couple of seconds for the full siphon to completely drain the overflow box and start sucking air, breaking the siphon until the overflow is full again. This gives you a pretty good idea of just how much a single 1.5" drain can flow at full siphon.

Probably the most important thing with a herbie is to make sure you put a strainer on the drain line and check it often enough so you know it's not clogged. My emergency drain is really noisy if the main drain is at all clogged, so it's easy to hear for me. I haven't had to touch my herbie since I got it dialed in over the first couple of weeks.
Click to expand...

Well my return is a 1321gph submersible so when I had to dismantle my Herbie due to a small leak and I saw just how little the valve is open it really got me thinking. I just can't imagine 1300 gallons flowing through that little opening! But then again, what the hell do I really know! I guess it really comes down to the size of the tube itself.

Well, if your valve is not much different, I'll assume mine is where it should be as well. It is running how it should afterall.

Only time will tell

Thanks!
 
Read the article from RC. Full siphon will drain way more than your pump could push. Below is for a 1"

A 1" siphon rate. It depends on the length of the drop. With a 36" drop the max theoretical flow through a 1" bulkhead would be 2041 gph, however with friction loss, fittings, valves etc. you could expect ~ 1500 gph maybe a bit more.

Cut from this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2232307
 
Siebo said:
Read the article from RC. Full siphon will drain way more than your pump could push. Below is for a 1"

A 1" siphon rate. It depends on the length of the drop. With a 36" drop the max theoretical flow through a 1" bulkhead would be 2041 gph, however with friction loss, fittings, valves etc. you could expect ~ 1500 gph maybe a bit more.

Cut from this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2232307
Click to expand...

Now I'm wondering if I even have enough flow through the DT. My pump is rated for 1320 gallons per hour. With the head loss I calculate it to be closer to 880 gph. Maybe even less if you include a fudge factor in my math.

Whatcha think? Am I now running enough water through the tank?
 
imo you should worry to much bout creating flow with return pump. You great desired flow via power heads. I have always advised folks you shouldnt flow more water through your sump than your skimmer can in take
 
jayjerk said:
imo you should worry to much bout creating flow with return pump. You great desired flow via power heads. I have always advised folks you shouldnt flow more water through your sump than your skimmer can in take
Click to expand...

I've got a RO Regal 200SSS as a skimmer. Their website gives me a flow rate of 1200LPH or 317 GPH. So is my skimmer undersized for my tank?? I 1-up'ed it thinking I'll have enough skimmer. (I'm planning a med to med-heavy bioload.)
 
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