suemvb

Do I just turn off the pump and break the siphon in the overflow and then restart everything after I do the partial water change?

I've seen people mention that the sump wet/dry makes water changes easier but I'm not sure how.

aquarist48

Hello Sue! How are you?
I have a wet/dry or trickle down filtering system but I'm not sure my information can help you. I don't see how having either will make your water changes easier. Maybe I'm missing something

All I do is pull the plug on the pump and do a water change like everyone else. My out flow tubes that hang over and inside the tank have a hole drilled in each one to prevent an over flow in the tide pool area. By having the hole in the out flow tubes allows air in so it doesn't suck all the water from the tank and into the tide pool. I'm not sure if a sump does this.
I wish I could help you more and I'll be looking forward to more responses as well. I'd hate for you to just unplug it and have a disaster so please wait for more responses.
Ken

suemvb

Thanks Ken!

I knew you had an overflow and sump so I was hoping to hear your opinion : )

Maybe we are both missing something lol.

I do need to drill a hole in the return line. It siphons back to the sump everytime I shut the pump off. Is the hole supposed to be just above the water level in the tank or below?

I can shut the pump and break the siphon in the overflow u-tube then just restart it when I'm done. I just was not sure if the usual method was to drain the water from the sump somehow. Seems kinda silly though to do it that way.

I finally got the overflow to stop sounding like a giant flushing toilet in my living room so that's a good thing

pepetj

Drill a small hole near the water surface, it doesn't matter much if a bit below the water line as long as Wet/Dry sump filters since you should have plenty of volume of air in the return chamber to accept a bit of water being siphoned back once the pump is off. Once the water level in the main tank reaches the small drilled hole, some air will enter there and brake the shipon.

The overflow siphon should be left undisturbed. Once the water in the outside box (where usually there's a sponge as prefilter) reaches the intake level that feeds the Wet/Dry sump filter (usually falling into a tray) it will keep some water on both boxes and the inverted U will keep the shiponing effect in stall.

After you are done with your partial water change, turn the return pump on. If the return fails (that could happen when using a pump in the upper threshold of its head pressure) simply lay down the return hose (use a bucket to collect some water and avoid a mayor spill) to allow the air trapped inside to get out. This should not happen unless the height of the tank return and the output of the pump are quite close to the pump height lifting capabilities.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

PS I perform water changes as with any other tank in my tanks with sump, as aquarist48 stated, I just turn my pump off, perform maintenance, turn it back on. Quite the same way I work with tanks with other filtration systems (e.g. HOB, Canister, Internal, Sponge filters).

suemvb

I will go ahead and drill the hole. I've been putting it off because I'm worried about having water spraying out of the hole in the wrong direction. I also don't want to add the sound of spraying water to the set up since it's loud to begin with. If I drill it slightly below the water line hopefully I can avoid both.

I see what you mean about not having to break the siphon in the overflow. I had not thought of that before. If I turn off the pump the water in the tank will only drain to the point of the intake on the overflow and the siphon should still hold.

It's not difficult to restart it anyway though.

aquarist48

Hello Sue. Great info from Pepetj. The holes I drilled in my hang on out flow tubes are just barely below the water line when the pump is running. Once the pump is turned off and the water starts to drain the hole is exposed to the air. It gurgles really loud when draining. If you don't hear the gurgle sound you know the hole is too low and still under water. Even if you've drilled the hole above the water line you shouldn't hear any additional noise while filtering because the hole is so small. Check to see exactly how your hang on out flow is resting on the tank. With the pump turned off, mark your spot for the hole a little above the water line to make sure you won't be squirting water out of the tank once it's turned back on.

Hope this helps you Sue. Let us know if you have any problems. Nice to see your text as always!
Ken

wbmstrmjb

I think the wet/dry makes it way easier. No need to break the siphon, no need to turn off pump. I just pull the wet/dry input out of the filter and plop into a bucket until the water level in the sump is just barely down to the pump intake. Then put the hose back into the wet dry to keep the system going. I add new water (4-5 gallons) and dump the 4-5 gallons I collected. Then repeat a couple of times. Water changes on my 75 gallon take about 20 min, but that's because it takes a while to fill up 20 gallons of water (4-5 buckets).

suemvb

Ken and Pepe, Thanks for your help guys!

I did the water change yesterday the old fashioned way. I didn’t get the hole drilled yet though. When I restart everything I usually have to do it a few times to get the levels in the tank and sump right. Yesterday was no exception.

I only overflowed the sump once! So further evidence that everyone is right and I need to get it drilled asap. The problem is that no one sells the return piece locally. It’s only $5.99 on Fosters and Smith but the lowest shipping is $9.99. It’s kind of hard to undrill a hole so I don’t want to screw it up.

Wbmstrmjb

Welcome to FishLore! Thanks for your help

I’m going to give some thought to what you suggested today while I’m at work. I’m normally a somewhat intelligent person (I think lol) but I am having a hard time getting my mind around this overflow system. Like what happens in a power outage, getting the flow right etc.

I’m picturing if I take a bucket full of water from the hose that drains from the overflow then won’t the level in the tank drop and the overflow will stop draining? (I get that the siphon would be maintained) If the overflow stops draining and the pump is still going won’t it empty the sump before I can get a bucket of water back in the top of the tank?

Like I said I have some sort of a brain block on this thing lol