Please help with my plumbing!!!

chris.hampton · #1 08/09/2007, 02:49 AM

Hello everyone, i am having a bit of trouble with my plumbing!! I am getting micro bubbles so i am guessing that air is getting in before my pump, i can hear it hitting the propeller!! It's not all the time just every once in a while i will hear it just for a couple of seconds and then the tank fills with bubbles then it stops again every thing clears then a while later it does it again! It's not really constant, i can be sitting in front of it all night and it won't happen and then the next night it could be every hour or so, it has only just started to happen. I have tried the find the leak and even replaced the pump because i noticed salt creep on the bar that goes from the motor to the propeller so i thought air was getting in there, i have also put putty on every join in the plumbing on the way down to the pump and put lube on the joints that need to be removed for cleaning but nothing seems to work!! You gatta help me. I've tried nothing and i'm all out of ideas!! Thanks in advance!!

chris.hampton · #2 08/09/2007, 02:53 AM

Sorry forgot to say the input to the pump is on the left hand side of the last pic and the output is on the right via a wavysea unit.

electricbluelizzy · #3 08/09/2007, 09:37 AM

Just a thought - might not be possible with your setup though--- works great on a CLS, but maybe not an overflow.

with my microbubble problem, I put my hand over the intake, creating a vacuum on the pump. If you get a lot more microbubbles, then at least you know the leak is before the pump, see...

Won't help you fix it, but might help you locate it.

Best of luck, I ended up taking my whole plumbing apart. Yuck.

Also, try wiping down the pipes once a day really well and checking for salt creep at one of the joints / bulkheads...

chris.hampton · #4 08/09/2007, 09:47 AM

Thats a good idea!! I will see if i can do it tonight! Thanks for the help

bureau13 · #5 08/09/2007, 09:57 AM

It might not be a leak at all...how high above the pump intake is your water level, and is it constant? The way it comes and goes reminds me of my sump if the water level gets low...it starts drawing in air (and the water level itself doesn't have to be below the intake, if its even close sometimes the suction can create a vortex and suck air in that way) and you'll get that air-sucking sound, tons of bubbles in the tank, and that causes the pump to stop pumping water and the level in the return chamber goes back up and its OK for a bit.

jds

chris.hampton · #6 08/10/2007, 02:24 AM

Hi bureau13, thanks for the help!! The water level is quite far away (sorry i'm at work now so can't measure it!!) but if you look at the last pic on the left hand side behind the heater is the pump intake, there is a straight piece of pipe that goes behind the rock which has slats cut into it and just above that (the bit that bulges out) is a straight connector which is solid and then the rest of the plumbing goes from there. So it's only the bit with the slats that should have a hole in it, do you think that is far enough away from the water surface? I'm sorry if i didn't explain it very well!!

bureau13 · #7 08/10/2007, 08:03 AM

That does in fact look like its deep enough

Look for little "tornadoes" forming in the water though...not sure if a vortex like that would suck enough air to cause this, but if it does you may want to throttle back the pump a bit and see if the problem goes away. Actually, since you've already got the ball valves on there, that may be a good idea to try anyway.

jds

Husky_1 · #8 08/10/2007, 08:16 AM

Hey, I had a similar issue when I 1st setup my CL plumbing. To fix the issue I moved my pump higher, and that seemed to stop the cavitation. Also, I used bigger plumbing than the intake all the way down to right before the pump. I put a reduce to fit the intake, right at the pump. This helps to make sure that the elbows don't restrict the flow. I am not sure if this will fix your issue, but if all else fails it may be worth the shot.

Alto · #9 08/10/2007, 12:42 PM

I noticed that you have an air gap at the top of the intake line as it comes over the top of the tank. Is it possible that there is a large bubble of air in that area that from time to time gets large enough that some gets sucked into the intake of the pump. I would try removing that and see if it doesnt fix your problem. I really dont think its necessary anyway.

chris.hampton · #10 08/11/2007, 11:26 AM

Hello, thanks for the help!! I put the bit at the top so i could prime the pump, do i not need it?!!

chris.hampton · #11 08/13/2007, 02:35 AM

Hello, just a little bump for the question above!!