dumb sump question

[ClownieandBilly]

can someone give me an explanation to the fact that when water evaporates from the system the level in the sump drops and the main tank level stays the same(is this right) there must be a real easy answer for this but i am having difficulty in getting my silly brain round this.could someone please explain the basics on this subject?

THANKS

 

[gcvt]

The pump will constantly pump water up to the main tank to a level high enough where it will overflow into the drain/overflow box. If water evaporates from the tank, the pump will replace it and the water will remain at a constant level up there. Therefore, the water loss will appear to be occuring only in the sump.

That make any sense?

 

[llebcire]

Strange, isn't it?

I can only assume that as the level drops, less water is available for the sump, and with the output staying constant, the level in the sump would diminish accordingly.

In my particular setup, the water flows through vertical cut-outs in the ABS plastic that forms the corner of the tank (overflow), so as the level drops, not as much water is able to flow through the opening and down into the sump.

In studying the whole setup, especially initially to determine what would happen in a power outage, I determined that the whole thing is pretty well thought out!

Confused, yet?

 

[ClownieandBilly]

so if i add water to the sump will it send it to the main tank and then settle at the previous level or will the sump level be raised by the new water???

the reason i am asking as i am having major problems maintaining water levels in my system

 

[OrionGirl]

Adding water to the sump will indeed raise the level in the sump. The level in the tank is determined by the overflow and return, as gcvt indicated. Adding water to any part of the system will eventually raise the level in the sump--but adding it to the sump will allow the FW to mix with the SW before hitting the main tank, so is the better option anyway.

During the summer, we add about 5 gallons of FW every other day to the 180 system.