embarrassing question

[duke1231]

lol I know no such thing as a stupid queston, but this weekened I am going to be filling up my tank and was wondering when you have a tank, overflow, and sump whats the best way to fill them up, by that I mean is there a specific order. I was going to go tank, sump, and then overflow.

[wwest]

IMO its doesn't really matter how you fill them. When i did mine i filled the sump first getting it to a level that i wanted and then i filled the DT. After checked all plumbing and electrical one last time i turned it on. Now what you want to do is keep a close eye on your sump. when you turn the tank on and everything will be flowing the sump will be he one that looses the most water. Also spend a few minute running tests. i let mine run for about 10 minutes and when i was happy with the water levels i unplugged everything and watched what happened. Then i made corrections and repeated my steps. Its better to know what will happen when the power goes before the power goes out.

But to answer your question no it doesn't matter in what order you fill

[duke1231]

oh great thankyou for the input, I will be doing that exact thing

[Rob]

yep, wes is on the money, i will only stress that you need to be care with how much you put into your sump, and make sure you have siphon holes in your return line.
make sure that there is enough room in your sump to take the water back when you shut off the pump, as some of that will siphon back down until that tank level goes below the siphon hole and breaks the siphon
hope that makes sense

[duke1231]

AHHHHH. I see yes that makes perfect sense thankyou. I forgot to drill that hole and will do so promptly.

[f1504b4]

Originally Posted by Rob

yep, wes is on the money, i will only stress that you need to be care with how much you put into your sump, and make sure you have siphon holes in your return line.
make sure that there is enough room in your sump to take the water back when you shut off the pump, as some of that will siphon back down until that tank level goes below the siphon hole and breaks the siphon
hope that makes sense

I've just got my tank running with test water just to make sure everything was right
Make sure your siphon holes are RIGHT!!!
Already had one flood LOL.....don't want another.
Phil

[Rob]

yes, its best to use 1/4" holes about 1/4" to 1/2" below the operating level of the water in the display

if you use holes smaller than 1/4" they may not break the siphon
i started mine with 1/8", and when i tested, the surface tension of the water droplets in there cause the siphon break to be delayed, then after a week o so, there was enough algae build up to not allow the break to occur reliably, i found that 1/4" holes that are cleaned semi regularly are the safest way to go

[duke1231]

oh ok thats really good advice Thats why I donate money, it's well worth it.