Third Flood in a month!

[casshoward]

I have check valves coming from my return pumps but THEY AIN'T CHECKIN' NOTHIN'! At some point this morning, the power went out and yep, another 30 gal flood for Cass to clean up at 0600! (You know that sucker punch you feel in your gut when you enter the room housing you tank and it is way too QUIET....i.e. ain't nothing powered up!..That was me dudes and dudets!)

So, when I get up the nerve and let things dry out a bit (and before refilling my sump), I am going to remove the "non-checking" check valve to see if I can fix the problem. It is a white PVC device but for the life of me, I cannot recall if I ever looked inside it before doing my initial set-up. I am not sure I will be able to see the guts of the valve to even fix anything!

The adhesive label reads " 1"PS PVC Swing Check Valve ". Any advice before I go buy more plumber's tape and begin destroying stuff?!?

Cass

(yes, the one with the wet socks!)

[sperry]

Set the water level in your sump so it will hold the drain off from the tank in case of a power outage and dont worry about the check valve.

[scarson61]

Check Valves will get encrusted with all the gunk and critters that are in your tank and fail. Your overflow should only drain so much out and not overflow your sump. You can test this by filling your tank while the power is off, making sure to not overflow your sump. (Filling the sump while return pump is off is ok but still leave yourself some room). When you turn your return pump back on the tank should equalize and then you can mark the water height on your sump. This will let you know how much water you can add without overflowing the tank. If you turn your return pump back on and your sump runs dry then the returns need to be raised so that it won't drain as much water. It sometimes takes a couple of tries to get it right but once its there its pretty much foolproof (unless your cat goes underneath the aquarium stand and knocks off your pump hose that is connected to the skimmer which in turn transforms your sump into a fountain) Somebody should write a fable to teach us to never ever promise our spouse that we can make a flood proof tank!

[casshoward]

Thanks for the advice....before I took anything apart! I had this level marked before but the volume that darined back into the tank clearly exceeded my estimates. My tank is acrylic and has a pre-filter box in the center. I always thought once the water level fell below the fenestrations in the pre-filter box, no more would drain into the sump. But, as you've suggested, I think water from the four centipede returns back-flowed due to my defective check valves. These returns are angled much lower into the tank (in an attempt to increase flow distribution,....no successful) which allowed much more water to back fill and over flow the sump.

Did I get that right? Interestingly enough, this AM I powered up to the return pumps to take the excess water from the sump back into the tank and the return pumps ended up sucking in air. When I turned both pumps off, I expected the sump to fill back up to the overflown level it was this AM. Instead, the water drained from the prefilter (not completely as I have silencers in the pre-filter and the water only drains below their intakes) and barely raised the water level above the intake for my return pumps! This makes me doubt my understanding of my flow issues because I have not adjusted my centipede returns which are still buried in water and no additional back-filling or flooding has occurred (No, I have not replaced the water that was lost). It would appear that the current water level in the sump would be my "Magic" No Flood Level but I must add more water so my return pumps and protein skimmer can run and not take on water.

Signed,

Somewhat confused

[scarson61]

Any hose that runs from your main tank to the sump can be a siphon. It does not happen every time but it will happen most of the time. The way I break the siphon is to drill a hole in the return line (about an 1/2 inch below the aquarium water line) to suck air and break the siphon when you do have a power outage. These do get dirty with algae as well so you have to clear the hole every once in a while.

[casshoward]

How do you keep it from leaking while the system is running?

[scarson61]

I'll post a pic tonight when I get home

[sperry]

Originally posted by casshoward
fenestrations

Main Entry: fen·es·tra·tion
Pronunciation: "fe-n&-'strA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows and doors in a building
2 : an opening in a surface (as a wall or membrane)
3 : the operation of cutting an opening in the bony labyrinth between the inner ear and tympanum to replace natural fenestrae that are not functional

WOW!!!! Learn something new all the time around here. Yep you need a siphon break. As usual Sanford is much better with the details than me.

[MarineFlake]

Heres another tid bit...Consider relocating any circulation pumps whose output will be near or above the water surface during an outage. If the pumps input is below the water line and the output is at or above the water line it will redecorate your light fixture, walls, anything in the vicinity of the new born 'spring'...taken from the school of hard knocks as well...

[Cabin3tGuy]

Cass if you need any Help PM me and I will swing by your house and help you get it sorted out

[bshumake]

I think you should look at getting some on the clear PVC swing check valves from Kermit's or Marine Depot. You can see into them to see if theres any buildup, and their also true union's meaning their removable for cleaning and service (to a point). Basically, its a good idea to check your system's "critical failure" parameters once a year. If you have redundancies of any kind, i.e. check valves, its good to know they work during a test than not work in a real situation.

[casshoward]

Jason,

See ya' tomorrow night! Call me,....I'm sure you want to see your baby. (phone # PM'd)

Does this make you a "Baby Daddy"?

Sperry:

By the way, I actually deleted the word "fenestration" to avoid any heckling (but I didn't have one of those fancy word books to find a better word).

[Cabin3tGuy]

Ok here is the math ..... 170g tank + 8" locline on both returns pointed 6" down into the aquarium + power outtage = 30g on the floor

Solution: Point locline in a fashion that 1/3 of the water in the tank cant back siphon into them

She is all fixed up now ... Crisis averted

[casshoward]

Jason,

Thanks again for the house call and I'm sorry you did not get to play with your toys (drill and stuff).

So far, so good. Rearranged the cords (likely bad GFI strip after the first flood) and no more circuit interruptions and no more flooding. I did get nervous and shut the system down before leaving the house (to be sure no flood would occur)! The floor remained dry all weekend and the mop and bucket, and oscillating fan have be put away.

Thanks again. I haven't said it in a while: "Boy, I love this club!". With that said, I better mail my dues check to Cathy!

Cass