need help quick..thank you

Mona NJ · #1 07/22/2004, 12:58 AM

Hi;
Need Help....Bigtime.......ok, I bought a new tank 110, and also bought the Aquaclear Pro 150 wet dry to go with it....Just set up the tank and the filter........

Now, my problem is........what if the power the power goes out?
and what's the deal with the back siphoning with the return line?
there is a small hole already drilled in it......The electric goes out around here almost evertime there is a storm, only for a few seconds usually.........

My house would flood!!!! My husband is yelling at me, as usual, how could I be so stupid.......LOL, now I had to shut the filter off, fix it or sell it...........

Thanks in advance !!!!

s1xtyfe3t · #2 07/22/2004, 01:04 AM

make the hole larger in the return line if in doubt. it really doesn't have any effect on performance at all as long as it's not spraying all over the place. What kind of overflow are you using? If it's a standard u tube overflow it can be adjusted to only let a certain amount of water leave the tank... once the water level in the tank gets so low it will automatically stop flowing. I have mine setup this way and the electric has gone out several times without flooding.

Mona NJ · #3 07/22/2004, 01:31 AM

thank you for replying so quick.......Ok, that I can do, drill a bigger hole in the return line..........It came with a small hole, above the
spray bar...the oveflow came with it. but it'sa U tube (aqua clear pro 150)...........after I turned it off, and then back on (husband
lifted the U tube & the pre-filter box, as too simulate the power going out, and water level recedes.........siphon breaks and does'nt re-start .......argh.........

culdublvd · #4 07/22/2004, 01:47 AM

Have you actually set it up, ran it for a while, then just turned off the pump? It sounds like you are lifting the u-tubes out of the water and breaking the siphon.
"after I turned it off, and then back on (husband
lifted the U tube & the pre-filter box, as too simulate the power going out, and water level recedes.........siphon breaks and does'nt re-start "
When the power goes out the u-tube doesn't come out of the water.

cordell · #5 07/22/2004, 10:27 PM

Those overflows are usually made to keep from flooding the tank when the power goes out or comes back on. Like culdublvd said, when you lift the u-tube and the overflow box out of hte water, you are not simulating a power outtage. When the power goes out, the tank level drops. Once it drops far enough, water stops flowing over into the overflow box, so then it stops siphoning, but the siphon isn't broken so when the power comes back on, the tank level rises, starts to flow over into the box, the syphon starts, and all is good.
You should get the whole thing running, and then just turn your return pump off. This is the true way to simulate a power out. Just keep an eye on your sump to make sure that it can handle the back flow from the tank until the flow stops.

hth
cordell