Mega Overflow Problems

[The Shan Man]

Ok I have finally got my 90 gallon upgrade up and going but I have a problem. I have the dreaded gruggling sound in my mega overflow. I bought the all glass mega overflow kit for it. I have tryed adjusting the drain tube up and down trying to find the sweet spot but no luck. It is sucking too much air. Has anybody else had these problems with their all glass RR tanks??? I have heard of opening the hole at the top of the drain pipe. Will this help???

[einsteins]

Yes
Making the hole a bit larger should help you with the sound.

einsteins

[Mavrk]

What return pump do you have?

[The Shan Man]

I am using the mag 9 for my return pump

[Mavrk]

Oh, and is it "flushing", or just gurgling?

[Mavrk]

Originally posted by The Shan Man
I am using the mag 9 for my return pump

The AGA Mega Overflow has a 1" drain pipe. A 1" pipe is only rated for 600 gph. If your Mag9 is in the cabinet below, then it wil be too strong for the drain. You should get a ball valve on the return line or get a smaller pump. I believe this may be the source of the gurgling. Is the water level in the overflow staying at the same level, or is it rising and falling?

[gsxunv04]

if you have two 1" bulkhead drains can you run a mag 9.5 with 5 feet of head pressure. i wanna run it wide open flow.

[gsxunv04]

if you have two 1" bulkhead drains can you run a mag 9.5 with 5 feet of head pressure. i wanna run it wide open flow. but opening your durso pipe should quiet it down.

[johndonaldson3]

I had a mag 24 on my other AGA 90 gal with no problem. I should not be that the pump is too large.

[Mavrk]

Originally posted by gsxunv04
if you have two 1" bulkhead drains can you run a mag 9.5 with 5 feet of head pressure. i wanna run it wide open flow. but opening your durso pipe should quiet it down.

Yes, if you have two 1" bulkheads, then you are fine. However, most 90's only have one. I do not recommend putting 2 drain pipes in one overflow for a drilled tank. It is difficult to "tune" the two pipes to flow together exactly.

I had a mag 24 on my other AGA 90 gal with no problem. I should not be that the pump is too large.

What size pipe did you have? For a Mag24, two 1.5 inch pipes would be recommended.

The point is that a 1" pipe is rated for 600 gph. Yes, you can go a little higher than that, but you risk a flood.

[reefergeorge]

I have a mag 9.5 on my 90 wide open, and it has always seemed week.

[NealNano]

A mag 9 is fine on a 90 mega flow. Are you using soft or hard piping for your pluming to the sump?? If you have a loop in a soft drain line it will hold and air bubble. This will cause it to be loud.

[Mavrk]

Originally posted by reefergeorge
I have a mag 9.5 on my 90 wide open, and it has always seemed week.

It is not a matter of whether the pump seems weak or not. It is a matter of safety. Like I said, it may not solve the gurgling (but it may). If you are getting "flushing" where the water in the overflow rises and falls, then the solution may be different.

Go to the head loss calculator and put in your plumbing. Then go to Drain/Overflow Size Calculator and put in your number to see what size pipe you need.

If your gph with head loss is more than 600, then you need more than a 1" bulkhead. I have heard people say that you are safe up to 700 gph even though it is rated for 600. But I do not recommend that. One solution is to T off your return pipe with a gate/ball valve and run one line to the return and one back to the sump. Of course that is a lot of flow across your sump.

Remember that the turnover flow in the tank is from the return plus powerheads.