should the tank/sump/pump suddenly start to flush and gurgle? the water levels are the same, pump output is running the same. it was silent except for the water running into the sump, but now it’s a toilet boil/gurgle/rush from the pipe in the overflow to the sump. annoying! ideas as to a fix, what i should look for.
This is a hard problem to diagnose. You will have to tinker and eliminate the possible problems one by one. When the pipes flow is reduced and flow remains the same it can start to gurgle, check for algae or a thick coating of slime in the top of the pipe. Did you remove or recently clean a strainer on the inlet of the pump? This could have increased the flow just enough to start the gurgle. Something may be in the drain slightly reducing flow causing a narrower pipe that is sucking the same amount of water.
When the flow through a pipe is increased to close to half the total amount of water that can be moved through the pipe a vortex will be created sucking air.
ex. a 1" PVC pipe can move 600 gph max. When you drain around 300 gph through the pipe the water starts to get sucked into the pipe along with air.
-use a piece of airline to remove a trapped air bubble in the tube (if there are bends)
-add a piece of airline in the drain tube to allow air to be sucked in quietly.
-add 2 street elbows to the top of the drain so that the input for the water is always below the water line.
-dial back the flow from the return pump to eliminate the noise
Check for snails or algae in your overflow pipe. Our snails like to take a long trip down to the sump every couple months, and they can be a problem.
place the hose or pipe at an angle so that the water runs down one side of it .
thanks. i do a water change today so i can try everything recommended.
porter
-use a piece of airline to remove a trapped air bubble in the tube (if there are bends) will try
-add a piece of airline in the drain tube to allow air to be sucked in quietly. have this already
-add 2 street elbows to the top of the drain so that the input for the water is always below the water line. and this also
-dial back the flow from the return pump to eliminate the noise,. don’t want to do this, as i’m going away for a week, and want to make sure the water level remains where i know it’s right for the babysitter.
Did you remove or recently clean a strainer on the inlet of the pump? yes i did, b/c the flow was really much too slow, and that’s about when it started.
Bellamy, i will do as much checking for snails as i can,
place the hose or pipe at an angle so that the water runs down one side of it . Ken, that is a great concept, but if the overflow pipe is stationary and perpendicular, how?
Usually slime builds up on the inside of the pipes and this causes a reduction in flow. The strainer being cleaned increased the flow so the restriction makes a difference when you are right at the max on flow. I once had a Mexican turbo snail go into the return tube and that really reduced the flow. Made the second overflow gurgle like a champ.
no critters, no slime. adjusted the u shaped pipe height. seems to have helped.