uneven overflow water levels

[salt creepette]

my right overflow has a higher water level than the left. the right side's water level is 13 inches from the bottom of the tank (measuring from the bottom up) and the left side is only 9 & 3/4 inches. is this anything to be worried about? what could be the cause of this? remember, I am plumbing-impaired so speak in one syllable words!

(I can post pics if that's helpful)

[Doug1]

is there any difference in the size of the respective overflows, any bends, loops or kinks in the plumbing, need pics

[salt creepette]

well the left side has a shorter distance to go to the sump than the right side, might that be it? will post pics tonite.

[salt creepette]

PS darn you men copying our BRW logo! while looking at yours for a second I thought, "why is doug a member of the BRW?!" then I caught the nuance difference!

[icebear]

Originally Posted by salt creepette

PS darn you men copying our BRW logo! while looking at yours for a second I thought, "why is doug a member of the BRW?!" then I caught the nuance difference!

thats funny, its been like that for a long time


and i agree, if one waterline is longer than the other, the extra length would likely be the reason>>>? some sort of drag coefficient thing that i cannot articulate

[Doug1]

I will reticulate what Heather said prolly line friction from longer hose or a bend in it, do you have adjusting valves in the drain lines?

You are just now noticing my logo, it either shows my neutrality or I have issues

[salt creepette]

i remember it from a long time ago but had forgotten, and then when i saw it again it threw me off.

[tdwyatt]

In addition to the length of the drain lines, the amount of air allowed to break siphon (especially with downturned overflow apparatii like the Durso or Stockman overflow mufflers) will affect water levels in overflows. Even the overflow itself will lend some variability to the water level inside the weir, as the length and width of the strainer teeth, the number of teeth and the presence of additional netting (like gutterguard) will affect weir water level in the overflow.

Diameter of the pipe, the length of the pipe, the number and angle of abrupt pipe direction changes (i.e., elbows), pipe drop, and the presence or absence of surface anomalies of the pipe interior will all affect the ability of a fluid to flow through a given pipe configuration. Somewhere I have a program that predicts actual flow dynamics of a given pipe configuration where all you do is plug in the specs of the pipe (diameter, length, number of elbows, etc.) and it will give you the flow rate based on either drop or beginning flow rate and pipe rise. With gravity (pipe drop) being the only pump for drains at 2 to 3 feet, these pipe criteria become significant at the rates of flow that we often use in aquaria. If it becomes a problem, go with a larger diameter pipe.

hth

[icebear]

just plug in some ball valves and tweak.....


i was going to try a dual overflow, but decided against it, cause there would be twice the chance that i'd skru something up.... and its bad enough i got one Rio... gun would be truly loaded with 2 forget the icebear/murphy's law syndrome

considering putting together some sort of gravity fed above tank fuge at some point....

[SaltBlock]

Good to hear you got your overflows up and running Ms. Creepette. A pic for good measure would be great

Just a single question...as long as both are skimming and draining fine, is there a problem with them operating at different levels.

I'm not implying anything...just curious

AEB

[tdwyatt]

so long as they are quiet and don't fluctuate on a minute to minute basis, will be no problem .