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Unread 12/09/2017, 09:22 PM   #26
ca1ore
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I have the output of my main siphon above the water level of the sump, and it IS loud. But it's a basement sump room so I don't really care. I have a secondary siphon that has great difficulty in restarting dues to a long horizontal run. It will eventually run, but takes a while. I'll fix it eventually, but it's not critical to the system.


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Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones!

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Unread 12/10/2017, 06:20 AM   #27
der_wille_zur_macht
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shaginwagon13 View Post
Any power failure while I am away or at work would be a nightmare when the power kicks back on
Then something is definitely wrong - a Beananimal by design should be 100% fault tolerant on the main siphon. Even if it flows zero water because it's totally plugged, you should never end up with a disaster. But beyond that, you should be able to get it to start normally. Like others have said, we need to see your system to diagnose. Air not purging can be from backpressure due to the lines being submerged too far in the sump, but it can also be from wonky pipe routing (leaving high spots or horizontal runs where air can easily pool), valve placement (having the valve higher up means air can pool behind it), or having piping that's oversized (a 1" pipe with a mostly open valve will clear air much more easily than a 1.5" pipe with a valve that's mostly shut).


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Unread 12/10/2017, 08:35 AM   #28
shaginwagon13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by der_wille_zur_macht View Post
Then something is definitely wrong - a Beananimal by design should be 100% fault tolerant on the main siphon. Even if it flows zero water because it's totally plugged, you should never end up with a disaster. But beyond that, you should be able to get it to start normally. Like others have said, we need to see your system to diagnose. Air not purging can be from backpressure due to the lines being submerged too far in the sump, but it can also be from wonky pipe routing (leaving high spots or horizontal runs where air can easily pool), valve placement (having the valve higher up means air can pool behind it), or having piping that's oversized (a 1" pipe with a mostly open valve will clear air much more easily than a 1.5" pipe with a valve that's mostly shut).
I agree with you, it should resume full siphon after the return pump is turned back on. I will take some pictures for you guys today and post them so we can try and resolving this.

One thing that you mentioned that did catch my eye was “having piping that's oversized (a 1" pipe with a mostly open valve will clear air much more easily than a 1.5" pipe with a valve that's mostly shut). I was sort of going for the ‘bigger is better’ in terms of overflow piping and used 1.5” pipe and gate valves thinking it would be better suited; however I do note that the gate valve on the one line that is under full siphon is almost all the way closed as you indicated in your post. This might be the source of the problem.


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Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD
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Unread 12/10/2017, 12:35 PM   #29
shaginwagon13
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Ok so I got some pictures today. All plumbing and fittings are 1.5” the plumbing in the basement is sloped and I have tried to reduce bends and waves in the flex-pipe however I still get the same issues when the return pump is stopped, the lines are cleared, and then it’s restarted. I tested it out today and it appears that the one pipe that has the gate valve dialed down (refer to the pictures below) doesn’t even start to take in water at all.

https://i.imgur.com/t68omaM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ktDr1V3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fExYwEZ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JkMn40g.jpg


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Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD
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Unread 12/11/2017, 08:13 AM   #30
shaginwagon13
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Any advice on the overflow plumbing?


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Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD
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Unread 12/30/2017, 01:56 AM   #31
Kactai
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Ok so I have a question that might help this fella out.

If I’m running a bean animal with a 3’ horizontal section and 2 90’s on the full siphon, the issue is clearing the air trapped in the horizontal section. Theoretically if your gate valve is after the second 90 just before entering the sump, could you put a small purge valve along the top side of the horizon natal run. That way when you start up, you can close the gate valve open the purge valve until a bit of water comes out, close that up and open the gate valve, your pipe should be mostly clear of air.

I thought of this solution while trying to figure this out on my current build. I haven’t tested it yet but I think it’s a solid solution. Anyone think this will work?


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Unread 12/30/2017, 02:20 AM   #32
Kactai
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Then you tune your water flow using the gate valve to avoid slurping up top. Of course if it’s a power outage and you aren’t to do the proper start up home your levels will fluctuate in the overflow box causing slurping and may not clear all the air or run silently but it will not fail or cause a flood due to the capacity of the two additional drains.


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