pump too powerful??

[mike90]

hi everyone.
how high should i be keeping the water in my sump? should it be covering the first layer of bio balls or should it always be under the grate that holds them? Also my pump for my return that i have I leave fully open (full suction) and will suck water out too fast therefore causing air to be sucked in, i had to put a T-valve on the return so I could cut down on the return pressure or it would empty my sump too quickly. Anyone else ever had this problem?

 

[WRASSER]

mike90,
what size tank, sump and pump do you have? it may help in answering your questions :wink:

 

[ChrisRD]

Putting the valve on your return pump to control flow rate is a common solution to that problem, so no worries there. I assume the valve is on the outlet side of the pump - don't restrict a pump on the intake side.

As for the water level in your wet/dry, it's not all that critical whether you run right at the grate or have some bioballs submerged - either way it will still function normally. Just make sure you've got plenty of room in your sump so that when your return pump is powered off and water drains down from the main tank your sump doesn't overflow.

HTH

 

[mike90]

oh yea. sorry. i have a 90 gallon tank with a 150gallon wet/dry system with built in protein skimmer.

Chris, thanks for the info. Yes the valve is on the outlet side of the pump inline with the tubing.