is there a trick to matching return flow on a herbie?

[Milad]

this is proving to be impossiable!! anyone got any tricks in matching the return flow on a herbie?

[xtreme]

It should just be a matter of tweaking the gate valve. Or are you trying it with a ball valve?

[trilinearmipmap]

It depends on your setup.

The first thing is you need a standpipe with holes in it, the holes should cover a good range of the length of the standpipe for example 12" with as many holes as you can drill in the standpipe over that length. This will give you enough room to adjust the height in the overflow box between the bottom of the holed area of the standpipe and the top. Aim for a water level about the middle of the holed area of the standpipe. Too low and it will suck in air.

The second thing is, if you have two overflow boxes, it will be more tricky, it can still be done but it can take more adjusting to get both overflows flowing silently.

The third thing is, you need a gate valve, not a ball valve.

The fourth thing is, if you have a wavemaker, Tunze wavebox or various powerheads on a timer, this will throw everything off and you may not be able to achieve silent Herbie overflow.

[04scoobysti]

The only problem i could see (looks like you have a gate valve) is that your herbie is located in 2 different overflow boxes. That might make it more difficult to tune. Also the wavebox is running in the same direction as the overflows, this would make more noise if the wave trough drops below the overflow teeth. Almost a surge of water when the wave crests back at the overflow.
My 2cents.

[rjengen]

A gate valve is the only way if you ask me. I attempted my Herbi with a ball valve, and it worked...ish, then I tried a knife valve, which worked, but was very tempermental...Finally sprang for a gate valve, and I've never looked back. What I did was have my gate closed and that filled the tank up and had the water moving through the emergency overflow. I then slowly in 1/4 increments started opening the gate valve. Once I got the water level close to where I wanted it in the overflow, I would start tweeking it in 1/8 of a turn increments. It might take a day to get it fully adjusted and tweeked, but you should be good once it's set. I have noticed once my filter sock started to get clogged, my overflow will raise, which is a good indication that it's time to switch socks. Hope that helps

[Dez]

I have a wavebox and overflow on the same side like yours. I have no standpipe on the main drain and a full length standpipe on the emergency drain. It wasn't bad to adjust. Slowly close the gate and wait about 10 minutes to make sure everything is equalized. I have my water level in the overflow box slightly below the emergency standpipe. With the surging and changing water levels, my system is still quiet. The wave box is probably the noisiest part of the system and thats the hum of the constant on/off of the wavebox pump. Hope this helps.

[Milad]

well i was trying to tune it with the wave box on which proved bad

i do have a gate valve, two seperate overflow boxes. no stand pipes in them. basically the overflow boxes are the stand pipes.

what do the holes do in the stand pipe?

[Dez]

If you are planning on running your wavebox, then I would tune it with the wavebox. That's what I did and no problems. If you tune it without the wavebox on, then once you turn the wavebox on the surging water could potentially surge in and out of the emergency standpipe (which is what happens if I run my overflow box water level too high, then it gets loud). Hope this helps.

[viperfish]

Two standpipes in mine, emergency overflow is 3" higher than the main. I have the water level adjusted just below the emergency overflow and runs whisper quiet.

[trilinearmipmap]

OK here is the reason for a perforated standpipe and how you can make it work with the wavebox.

If there were no wavebox then tuning the Herby would be easy, just slowly adjust the gate valve until the water level in the overflow is just right to give no sound.

Now the perforated standpipe is to give you a margin of error where the Herby will function properly whether the water level is a little higher in the tank (top of the wave at the overflow box) or a little lower in the tank (bottom of the wave at the overflow box).

You want the bottom of your standpipe to be full at all times, to have enough water pressure to to this the water level within the overflow box will have to be x number of inches above the lowest perforations. The exact amount of inches will depend on the amount of flow through the overflow, the diameter of your standpipe and drain pipe, and the surface area of your perforations. But lets say 6" above the bottom perforations in the standpipe.

You also don't want the water level in the overflow to be too high or it will start to come down the emergency drain and make noise too.

By having a large height of perforated standpipe, you can set the water level in the the overflow box to about the middle of the perforated area. When the wave is at its lowest, less water flows into the overflow box, the water level in the overflow drops a bit, but it is still high enough to provide enough pressure to completely fill the bottom of the standpipe. When the wave is at its highest, the water level in the overflow goes a little higher but still not high enough to go down the emergency drain.

You can do this with no standpipe at all, however there are two drawbacks. Anything large getting into your overflow can hang up at the gate valve and partly block your flow. And the drop from the overflow weir down to water level in the overflow will be high enough that it will make some splashing noise.

In addition using a standpipe allows for a permanent area of protected water to form in the overflow box ie. a non-lighted refugium which can be a benefit for diversity.