Reef Discussion

jart

Member
Apr 10, 2015
207
106
Herbie Overflow Gone Crazy
Hoping for some help please. Tank is going great with the exception of the issue below.

Since the beginning my tank has had a Herbie Overflow and I have always managed to tweak it in the past until stable and 'silent'. However, in the last month or so Herbie is no longer happy (and neither am I!)

Setup - tank actually came to me second hand with 4 drilled holes, but I decided to set up as:
* 1" siphon
* 1.5" overflow
* return
* drain for cleaning weir

Normal procedure - to setup I close siphon pipe using valve until the siphon establishes itself, then I tweak the valve until the water level is just allowing a tiny trickle down the emergency pipe. This has always resulted in a "silent" system in the past.

Current scenario - did all of the above, but much harder than normal to get the balance exactly right. Finally achieve a silent result, works for 1-6 hours, then either the water level drops in the weir by 10-15cm or it rises by a few millimetres and I get the loud running water down a pipe noise. An unwelcome side effect is that when the water drops in the weir it sets off my ATO too high sensor beep, so can't run my ATO at the moment. I have checked both siphon and emergency pipes are free of blockages.

Recent changes (not sure if any have contributed to issue, as some preceeded the issue by a week or two and others were made after):
* replaced a dead wavemaker with a new one (smaller)
* added a few new corals and fish
* first water change (NSW) in over a year (same supplier and collection point as previous)
* change of macro Algae in fuge from Caleurpa to Chaeto
* minor rescape and addition of one new large piece of dry rock

Pulling my hair out here. Hoping for some wisdom shared. Thanks. J
 

Buddy

Member
Mar 13, 2012
3,142
1,526
Something stuck in the valve? Like a snail or something possibly.
 

jart

Member
Apr 10, 2015
207
106
Something stuck in the valve? Like a snail or something possibly.
Thanks @Buddy for the msg. It was the nudge I needed...

When I previously staed no blockages in the plumbing I confess I cheated and made a false conclusion. I removed the easily accessed upper pipes in the weir to check, then flushed my siphon a few times by closing the valve waiting until we it completely full then opening valve fully open quickly. The rush of water has been sufficient IN THE PAST to knock out small snails and crud buildup.

This morning I actually dismantled the under tank plumbing and visually checked. And look what I found stuck above the valve....

as26.postimg.org_tp1lie2kp_20180406_094758.jpg


A never before seen crab of a size that I didn't even know I had in the tank LOL! Managed to somehow get in the weir, then climb the slick PVC pipe and leap to death down the siphon!

Crab removed, problem solved, overflow back to being 'silent'. :)
 

Buddy

Member
Mar 13, 2012
3,142
1,526
Woohoo! So happy you got it fixed :D You would be surprised at the amount of things living in our tanks that you never thought were there!
That crab looks to be in pretty good shape after being stuck in there for that long... I would have though it would be decomposing.