Overflow noise

[UD Flyer]

I am setting up a slightly larger tank than my nanocube and i am getting a horid noise coming from the return. No matter what i do about every 5-6 sec there is a surge of water that comes down the drain to the fuge/sump and is getting very irritating. And no matter what i do the surge keeps happening.

I have a 3/4" drilled drain on the back wall and 1/2" return hose. There is no salt water in the tank just fresh water while im trying to get all the plubing figured out.

Thanks

[Baggerhog]

Can you post a pic of the drain? It sounds like it is air locking.

[UD Flyer]

Heres a pic, sorry for the quality it's from my phone.

[JoeAyers]

Drill a small hole in the cap on the standpipe outside of the tank. slowly work your way up in size until it stops. You're getting an airlock and when the pressure is enough it flushes.

[UD Flyer]

Ive tried that too. I can take the entire cap off and the water still surges every 5-6 sec.

[JoeAyers]

Is the exit of your drain under water? Try bringing it close to the surface or out of the water. Might be the back pressure.

[UD Flyer]

I've even tried that, the only difference is i dont hear gargling in the water: i hear the surges hit the top of the water and splashing.

[slandis3]

what gph is your return pump and how much head height do you have?

[UD Flyer]

The pump is rated for 290 and the return is going about 3 1/2 feet.

[MechanicalEngineer]

Could it be that the pump isn't pumping up enough water to fill the top fast enough to compensate for what is flowing down?  So, there's a surge of water when there's enough water built up?

(I honestly have no idea...I've never had this problem...and I don't mess with plumbing.  Just a guess.) 

Oh, I also had something similiar happen...there was a snail stuck in the plumbing that was blocking the water...until the pressure was high enough, the snail was moved by the water so the water could pass...the snail would upright itself...and repeat.

[slandis3]

it should handle it. hum... i would almsot need to see it in action. Usually its not getting enough air or the return pump is pushing to much water.

[Amstar]

what about installing some type of ball valve on the inlet and return line. then you could "tweak" the incoming or returning water to tune in the whole process.

or since i am new at this whole plumbing thing.. that may not help at all

[MSUJenn]

Mine made that flushing noise too when I first set it up. I ended up sticking a piece of rigid tubing in the hole on top of my durso. After playing with it for awhile, I think it finally found the right spot because it stopped flushing. I think it releases trapped air in there or something. I also had to use a ball valve on my return line to dial back the pump a bit. I think it talks about using tubing in your standpipe in this link http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pbnoisefaqs.htm .

[UD Flyer]

When i get home i am going to try the rigid tubing, and probably go to get a ball valve later tonight. On that wetwebmedia page they tell many people to drill bigger holes. Would it hurt to drill another 3/4" hole on the other side of the tank? If the tubing and ball valve doesnt work that would be the cheapest route since i already have the drill bit.

[JoeAyers]

Jen's idea is a good one and has worked for me in the past.

Would it hurt to drill another 3/4" hole on the other side of the tank? If the tubing and ball valve doesnt work that would be the cheapest route since i already have the drill bit.

That would probably help quite a bit. If you slow the water flowing through the pipes it should stop the flushing.

[UD Flyer]

I have tried all the suggestions above. Even though I don't have a ball valve yet i used my hand to restrict pressure to the return hose.

The rigid pipe alone worked for the surging. And with the drain being restricted the pump now wants to overflow the tank because it can’t handle the return water.

Next i tried crimping the return hose with my hand. This worked but now the drain made a different noise, not as loud but still irritating.

This is when i realized the little black 90 degree fitting, that you can see in the picture, has one end that fits into the 3/4 bulkhead and the other end is only about 1/2 in diameter.

I made some adjustments by taking the black 90 off putting pvc pipe directly in the bulkhead with a 90 on the end and the black drain on top of it. This and crimping the return hose seems to work with the least amount of noise possible.

My last question is do they make a ball valve for 1/2" rigid pipe?

[Midwest Express]

They should sell the ball valve at Home Reap-o or Blowes.  I was in the plumbing section today getting some 3/4" valves and I am pretty sure I saw 1/2".  I was at Blowes.

[slandis3]

menards has the best price on them and there in tipp city so pretty close to you

[ohioreef]

I would not put a ball valve on the drain line! I would restrict the return line.

[UD Flyer]

How do I restrict it without a valve?

[ohioreef]

I would never restrict the drain line. If you need to slow the flow restrict the return line.