Lazyreefer Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 Hello my Red Sea reefers overflow doesn’t seem to be functioning right Water will only flow down the emergency drain and the water level seems high up the overflow. I tried turning the gate valve closed slowly but water just starts to bubble out and splash everywhere if I start to close the valve. Any info would be appreciated thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 (edited) How old is the tank? My Reefer XL 425 has just recently started acting up as well after one year, and I think it's due to buildup or snails in the overflow pipe and/or valve. Yesterday I completely closed the valve, then completely opened it, then fine tuned it back to a normal drainage flow. That seemed to fix it for now, but I think at some point I'm going to have to take the valve apart to clean it. I have an endoscope that can display video footage on my iPhone screen. I'm planning to put it down the overflow pipe to see what's inside. Not sure I really want to know what's in there... 😬 Edited June 14, 2019 by SuncrestReef 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 OK, this was interesting...I put the endoscope down my Reefer's overflow pipe until it got to the valve. I'm surprised it's not very dirty. There's just a bit of detritus and a few sponges. I didn't try pushing it further into or through the valve because I'm sure it would have gotten stuck. Maybe if I opened the valve all the way it would fit, but for now this sets my mind at ease because I thought for sure it was going to be a lot more clogged than that. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce00 Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 (edited) I’ve noticed a lot of reefers change out the redsea ball valve for a better one. Biggest issue is swapping the metric to standard. Seen a few how to on reef 2 reef. Edited June 14, 2019 by Deuce00 Added 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 2 minutes ago, Deuce00 said: I’ve noticed a lot of reefers change out the redsea ball valve for a better one. Biggest issue is swapping the metric to standard. Seen a few how to on reef 2 reef. I would have done that, but I don't have room for a ball valve due to the position of my refugium above the sump and right in front of the valve. That's the only benefit to Red Sea's valve...it's slim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 1 hour ago, SuncrestReef said: OK, this was interesting...I put the endoscope down my Reefer's overflow pipe until it got to the valve. I'm surprised it's not very dirty. There's just a bit of detritus and a few sponges. I didn't try pushing it further into or through the valve because I'm sure it would have gotten stuck. Maybe if I opened the valve all the way it would fit, but for now this sets my mind at ease because I thought for sure it was going to be a lot more clogged than that. Awesome video! When I took down my last tank I expected there to be a lot more things in the downpipe as well. Likewise I was surprised to discover it almost devoid of life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Very interesting, I'm surprised there isn't more detritus build up after a year. Thank you for sharing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Maybe we should set up a PNWMAS Endoscope Booking Thread like we have for the PAR meters. 🤣 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazyreefer Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 4 hours ago, SuncrestReef said: OK, this was interesting...I put the endoscope down my Reefer's overflow pipe until it got to the valve. I'm surprised it's not very dirty. There's just a bit of detritus and a few sponges. I didn't try pushing it further into or through the valve because I'm sure it would have gotten stuck. Maybe if I opened the valve all the way it would fit, but for now this sets my mind at ease because I thought for sure it was going to be a lot more clogged than that. That’s awesome! I was kind of thinking the same thing since there’s just so much flow through it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 By the way, these endoscopes are really cheap, and very handy. It even comes with a hook, so if you lose your wedding ring down the plumbing, you can recover it. 🤣 https://www.amazon.com/Lcat-Inspection-Megapixels-Waterproof-Adjustable/dp/B07PRS2CCG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 How old is the tank? My Reefer XL 425 has just recently started acting up as well after one year, and I think it's due to buildup or snails in the overflow pipe and/or valve. Yesterday I completely closed the valve, then completely opened it, then fine tuned it back to a normal drainage flow. That seemed to fix it for now, but I think at some point I'm going to have to take the valve apart to clean it. I have an endoscope that can display video footage on my iPhone screen. I'm planning to put it down the overflow pipe to see what's inside. Not sure I really want to know what's in there... [emoji51] First thing that came to mind was a clog... Never had a Red Sea tank though so I'm not at all familiar with the plumbing. On my newer 50 Acrylic I don't have an emergency drain only one drain with flex hose so I've been obsessive about keeping it clean. At least it's easy to remove to clean, I have a Stockman stand pipe in the overflow that's easy to remove to clean too. I've been trying to think of a way to add an emergency drain to this tank but there's not much room in the overflow, it's a center overflow with the Stockman directly down the center so not enough room to add one. It's a bottom drilled tank, if it was in the back it would probably be easier to add an emergency drain. Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazyreefer Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 Another main issue is that I’ve read you’re not supposed to take apart the plumbing a bunch on Red Sea reefers and it is a used tank so I’m nervous about taking it apart and cleaning it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorW Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Another main issue is that I’ve read you’re not supposed to take apart the plumbing a bunch on Red Sea reefers and it is a used tank so I’m nervous about taking it apart and cleaning it. Maybe you could try the endoscope thing just to get a better idea of what's going on in there? If the waters going down the emergency drain something's gotta be up with your main drain I'd think but I'm no expert... Any missing fish or snails? Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 37 minutes ago, Lazyreefer said: Another main issue is that I’ve read you’re not supposed to take apart the plumbing a bunch on Red Sea reefers and it is a used tank so I’m nervous about taking it apart and cleaning it. Yes, the Red Sea pipes are brittle and known to crack if you over-tighten the bulkhead connections. That’s another reason I don’t want to take mine apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazyreefer Posted June 15, 2019 Author Share Posted June 15, 2019 2 hours ago, TaylorW said: Maybe you could try the endoscope thing just to get a better idea of what's going on in there? If the waters going down the emergency drain something's gotta be up with your main drain I'd think but I'm no expert... Any missing fish or snails? Sent from my BLU R1 HD using Tapatalk Yea that might be what I will do. 1 hour ago, SuncrestReef said: Yes, the Red Sea pipes are brittle and known to crack if you over-tighten the bulkhead connections. That’s another reason I don’t want to take mine apart. I did the whole turning it all the way closed and now I’m tightening it a little more every 20 minutes or so to get the level right but it seems like it’s the staying at the normal cup shaped overflow level and not going any higher when I tighten it. Out of curiosity is this around the amount of flow you’re seeing down your Red Sea reefer? DEAB5268-3C30-4C3D-B72C-A72CB1050D41.MOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 2 hours ago, Lazyreefer said: I did the whole turning it all the way closed and now I’m tightening it a little more every 20 minutes or so to get the level right but it seems like it’s the staying at the normal cup shaped overflow level and not going any higher when I tighten it. Out of curiosity is this around the amount of flow you’re seeing down your Red Sea reefer? Sorry, I can't say for sure what my flow looks like because my refugium sits above my sump filter sock chamber, so that blocks my view. But from my return pipe flow meter, I can tell you it's flowing at 400 gph. You're welcome to borrow my endoscope if you like, or I could stop by with it sometime since you're close by. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetVet Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 I was thinking of donating my old laparoscopic surgical equipment for this purpose. It would be interesting to take photos in the rockwork and plumbing. Plus the instrumentation would allow retrieval. I guess I could petition the board for a receipt for tax purposes? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 11 hours ago, PetVet said: I was thinking of donating my old laparoscopic surgical equipment for this purpose. It would be interesting to take photos in the rockwork and plumbing. Plus the instrumentation would allow retrieval. I guess I could petition the board for a receipt for tax purposes? Very thoughtful. Looping in our treasurer here re the receipt in case he has any details on that. @Jeremevans 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazyreefer Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 On 6/15/2019 at 3:32 PM, SuncrestReef said: Sorry, I can't say for sure what my flow looks like because my refugium sits above my sump filter sock chamber, so that blocks my view. But from my return pipe flow meter, I can tell you it's flowing at 400 gph. You're welcome to borrow my endoscope if you like, or I could stop by with it sometime since you're close by. Definitely will take you up on that if it persists, turning it all the way closed and opening it I think dislodged a big chunk of hair algae and it is working how it should now. Very nice and quiet. Thank you for the help 👌🏻 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremevans Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I haven't done a receipt for a donation since I've been the treasurer but I don't think there is any reason we couldn't explore that. I think it's probably mostly about figuring out what it's worth and then the receipt is the easy part.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 59 minutes ago, Jeremevans said: I haven't done a receipt for a donation since I've been the treasurer but I don't think there is any reason we couldn't explore that. I think it's probably mostly about figuring out what it's worth and then the receipt is the easy part. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I am tagging PetVet here so they see this then maybe we can take the discussion off line. @PetVet Thanks! Sorry for the thread jack Lazyreefer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazyreefer Posted June 18, 2019 Author Share Posted June 18, 2019 5 minutes ago, albertareef said: I am tagging PetVet here so they see this then maybe we can take the discussion off line. @PetVet Thanks! Sorry for the thread jack Lazyreefer! It’s no worries at all 👌🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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