STILL having plumbing issues. Can anyone help?

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DeanneL

Membership Expired
I'm still getting a loud popping noise from the pipe draining into my refugium. How do I fix this? It is waking me up at night.

I can post some pictures if it'll help.
 
Not sure what would be causing popping noises. I don't think I have every had those in my plumbing. But, I would make sure your plumbing it not touching any walls or other surfaces. The movement of the water may be causing the pipe to rattle. To test, simply hold the plumbing, if the noise stops, then you need to figure out where it is touching.

Another cause may be the amount of air being sucking into the drain line. If too much air is being carried into the pipe it may be burping and causing the popping noise. This burping should would also sounds like a flushing noise.

Otherwise, I am sure some of the more experienced people on the board may know.
 
I used to have this popping sound because the outlet was submerged in the water like yours. After I raised the just about 1/2 inch over the water, it's just a quiet stream now.

I think your setup will have salt spray problem, too. Having a buble tower is probably best here. See Marc's site for ideas.

HTH,
 
Yah you need a way for air to escape from the drain lines, thats probably whats causing the noise, the air escaping from under the water.
 
Thanks for the response.

My plumbing is not touching anything except water and the bulkhead underneath the tank. The popping sound IS from air pockets burping out every few seconds. But, how do I get it to stop? Should I drill a hole somewhere so air can escape?

Originally I had the pipe raised higher and then I was advised to redo it so that it was submerged under the water. See here:

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=12845&highlight=

I do have a bubble tower in the skimmer section. The tower is currently empty. Could that be causing the noise?
 
Deanne,
The best solution IMHO is to have the output half submerged/half above the water, not fully submerged, and not fully out of the water either...

Having the 90 degree elbow like you have is good (Works for me at least) and setting it so that half of it is below the water line and half is below seems to be optimal...
 
Correct. The refugium elbow should be half submerged so water pours out gently, and air breathes out.

The bubble tower should be filled with LR rubble, only as much as remains fully submerged. The drainline should be no more than 1" submerged under water.
 
Okay. I shortened the pipe a little so that it is 1/2 in and 1/2 out. It HAS fixed the popping sound. Instead, I have an airy wind-thru-pipe sound. (Much quieter, though, especially with the stand doors closed).

The water flow is not a gentle, easy flow. It kinda spits out. Is this because I didn't slope the pipes gradually?

Oh, btw, I do plan on filling the bubble tower with LR....just haven't gotten that far yet. I haven't seen any micro bubbles in the display though. So, that's good.
 
It sounds like you have some sort of suction taking place.... Maybe someone will know why? I'm thinking because the sump end is submerged deep and the refugium side is higher and is not submerged, but I could be wrong. :?
 
just curious but how many valves do you have on your plumbing? i see the one going into your skimmer section but cant tell about the refugium?
 
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