do you plan for an overflow bloccage??

[izzy123]

Hello,

maybe a weird question, but I am setting up my first tank and it hit me....
I've tested that the overflow of the display tank doesn't overfill the sump if the pump fails, but do I need to take the opposite into account also???

I mean, do you plan for the overflow pipe of the display tank getting clogged???
It's a drilled tank by the way ( don't know if that makes any difference tho)

thank you again for all your help

[Hermes`]

IMO yes, Never too safe for the unforeseen. Many will have an extra overflow drain just in case the main overflow gets clogged. There not required but I like knowing I've taken precautions.

[izzy123]

IMO yes, Never too safe for the unforeseen. Many will have an extra overflow drain just in case the main overflow gets clogged. There not required but I like knowing I've taken precautions.

ok' but this is a glass tank, so drilling a second hole is not much of an option....
at least, not for me.

any ideas on how to prevent disaster without a second overflow?

Thanks

[Mavrk]

Yes and no. Some people have emergency drains in their systems. But these tend to be on the siphon style drains. The way I handle this on my 90g is that my return pump is not rated close to the maximum flow rate of my drain. This takes care of most of the potential problems. For my 40 breeder, I am planning on a drain that is twice the capacity of the flow. This in itself gives some redundancy.

If you are really worried, then you can turn your return pipe into either a second drain or an emergency drain and just bring the return over the back instead. The emergency drain would be a little higher than the water line so it would only be used if the water got high enough. If you are going to do that anyway, then you might look into a Herbie overflow setup which will give you a silent overflow. Heck, you might like that anyway :D

[jeff@zina.com]

ok' but this is a glass tank, so drilling a second hole is not much of an option....
at least, not for me.

any ideas on how to prevent disaster without a second overflow?

First, drilling a tank is not a big issue. Your local reef club probably has members who can help. One other option is a float switch that kills the pump if the water rises too high. Bottom line is that you really want a backup for everything to prevent disaster and, when that isn't an option, you really need to pay more attention to it. Clean the overflow, check for kinks, leaks, potential blockages, etc.

Jeff

[izzy123]

I was thinking of a killswitch, but then I thought that you guys maybe were taking the maximum waterlevel of the DT into account to determine the height of the water in the last compartement of the sump?

Better a dry running pump than a raging spouce??:D

thanks... again

[izzy123]

Yes and no. Some people have emergency drains in their systems. But these tend to be on the siphon style drains. The way I handle this on my 90g is that my return pump is not rated close to the maximum flow rate of my drain. This takes care of most of the potential problems. For my 40 breeder, I am planning on a drain that is twice the capacity of the flow. This in itself gives some redundancy.

If you are really worried, then you can turn your return pipe into either a second drain or an emergency drain and just bring the return over the back instead. The emergency drain would be a little higher than the water line so it would only be used if the water got high enough. If you are going to do that anyway, then you might look into a Herbie overflow setup which will give you a silent overflow. Heck, you might like that anyway :D

what is a "herbie" overflow......:confused:

but I don't have a problem with the drain being too small, because in my initial testing, the overflow has about three times the capacity that the return pump has.

the overflow is 32 mm (I believe that's about 1 1/4 inch) and the returnpump is about 600liter/hour ( about 150gallons an hour)

I just want to avoid my wife throwing things at me :)

[RocketSurgeon]

I just want to avoid my wife throwing things at me :)


Better bail out of this hobby while you are ahead! :spin1:

I'd drain it and drill it, making sure it's not tempered, of course!

[ecomdesign]

I wish I has something setup on mine! My tank has 1 drain and a few months ago a goby got down it and slowed the drains ability down greatly. The return pump however kept pumping water at its normal rate... Wanna take a guess what happened???

Water overflowed my DT all over my brand new hardwood floors!!! I figure I lost about 7 gallons of water. The floors were a mess. In my basement below the tank I have a finished rec room. All the water went through the floors and my couch in the basement was even water logged! The hardwood has just about fully recovered since then. At first all the boards had cupped, but have since settle back down for the most part. The flood happened over night. I awoke to it in the morning before work.

They should make a electronic failsafe that can attach to the top rim of the tank. Once it is tripped, it can cut power to the return pump and sound an alarm to alert the aquarist.

[asianer]

I wish I has something setup on mine! My tank has 1 drain and a few months ago a goby got down it and slowed the drains ability down greatly. The return pump however kept pumping water at its normal rate... Wanna take a guess what happened???

Water overflowed my DT all over my brand new hardwood floors!!! I figure I lost about 7 gallons of water. The floors were a mess. In my basement below the tank I have a finished rec room. All the water went through the floors and my couch in the basement was even water logged! The hardwood has just about fully recovered since then. At first all the boards had cupped, but have since settle back down for the most part. The flood happened over night. I awoke to it in the morning before work.

They should make a electronic failsafe that can attach to the top rim of the tank. Once it is tripped, it can cut power to the return pump and sound an alarm to alert the aquarist.

that really stinks!

[RichardJ]

They should make a electronic failsafe that can attach to the top rim of the tank. Once it is tripped, it can cut power to the return pump and sound an alarm to alert the aquarist.

Home Depot in the USA now sells an inexpensive 120dB (A) alarm that operates when the sensor get wet.. it's designed for use in domestic laundry rooms but is also ideal for fish tanks.. If I remember correctly its approx. $20 US..

Sorry to hear about your 7Gal nightmare... I had the mixer/delivery tube from the 600GPH pump I use for mixing my new saltwater flip upright in the 12Gal "trash-can" I use for mixing saltwater last week. Even with the lid on it dumped 4Gals onto my basement floor.. luckly the floor is covered with vinyl-plank and held the water.. only loss was one extension cord.. I feel for U.

[ecomdesign]

Home Depot in the USA now sells an inexpensive 120dB (A) alarm that operates when the sensor get wet.. it's designed for use in domestic laundry rooms but is also ideal for fish tanks.. If I remember correctly its approx. $20 US..

Sorry to hear about your 7Gal nightmare... I had the mixer/delivery tube from the 600GPH pump I use for mixing my new saltwater flip upright in the 12Gal "trash-can" I use for mixing saltwater last week. Even with the lid on it dumped 4Gals onto my basement floor.. luckly the floor is covered with vinyl-plank and held the water.. only loss was one extension cord.. I feel for U.

it was hard... I was so paranoid that I listed it for sale. I was getting up during the night to check on it. I wanted out of the hobby. Luckly the tank didn't sell and I changed my mind after 2 weeks. I love the hobby to much... I still need a fail safe though.

I have seen a sensor similar to what you have mentioned above but an ideal failsafe would have the ability to cut the power in the event that I am not home.

[izzy123]

Better bail out of this hobby while you are ahead! :spin1:

I'd drain it and drill it, making sure it's not tempered, of course!

hahaha, too late for that!!:lmao:

It is already drained by the way... I'd show you a picture, but I don't understand how to "paste the url" to a thread ( I opened a photobucket account) :blown:

[izzy123]

it was hard... I was so paranoid that I listed it for sale. I was getting up during the night to check on it. I wanted out of the hobby. Luckly the tank didn't sell and I changed my mind after 2 weeks. I love the hobby to much... I still need a fail safe though.

I have seen a sensor similar to what you have mentioned above but an ideal failsafe would have the ability to cut the power in the event that I am not home.

I was thinking of using a simple float switch for that.....
wait.... i'll try to insert a link...... not my area of expertise tho.....
here it is: http://shop.conrad.be/componenten/sensoren/doorstroom-vulstand-sensoren-schakel/155092.html

sorry for the language... but you get the picture.... I think it would work great....
I'm planning of setting up my RO/DI unit the same way.... but then using an electric watervalve from a washing machine.

Really sorry to hear about your floor by the way :sad1: , THAT is why i want to be prepared!! :lol:

[ecomdesign]

thanks for the link. I want to make something similar to a DIY ATO, but I am not sure how to make it so that it will shut the pump off when the sensor is tripped instead of turning it on. I will have to search! Adding a alarm that sounds for when the pump is off would be cool to!

[Palting]

I have two overflows, either one can take the full load of the return pump by itself. So, no worries.

Anyway, I think the best option for a single overflow is what Mavrk suggested. Convert the return pipe into an emrgency drain, and just bring the return over the back.

[Jeff000]

Even if all drainage to the sump failed is there enough water in your return section of your sump to actually overflow your display? I know my pump will suck air before water goes over the top of my display.

[cmbspd]

Here is an easier alternative. The extra drain is a great (probably best) solution, but this will work if you are okay with potentially sacrificing a return pump. Keep the return section of your sump small enough that the entire volume can be pumped into your display without overflowing. I have a 125g with a 55g sump. The section with my return is small enough that it only holds about 5 gallons, which still leaves some room to spare in the display. Most of my sump is devoted to a fuge and the drain with my skimmer.

Remember that you are essentially determining the water volume in the return section of your sump each time you top off with RODI. So even if you have a relatively large sump you could set the water level lower.

[seege]

Drilling the tank is easy, seriously! If its already drained then just add a second overflow and problem solved. Check glass-holes.com, easy and cheap. No more floods. Good luck.

[ecomdesign]

My tank only has 1 drain. the return is already run over the top of the tank. I am the second owner of the tank. It is a custom tank and I dont know if the bottom of the overflow is tempered or not. I'd rather not drill it.

I understand the reason for putting the float swtich in the sump, but I'd feel better if it was locted right at the point where the problem is out of fear for this happening again. I want this failsafe to work regardless of the water level in my sump. I thinking in KISS terms here!

How can a float switch be installed to turn power off when tripped? Do you wire the same and then just flip it upside down?

[seege]

My tank only has 1 drain. the return is already run over the top of the tank. I am the second owner of the tank. It is a custom tank and I dont know if the bottom of the overflow is tempered or not. I'd rather not drill it.

I understand the reason for putting the float swtich in the sump, but I'd feel better if it was locted right at the point where the problem is out of fear for this happening again. I want this failsafe to work regardless of the water level in my sump. I thinking in KISS terms here!

How can a float switch be installed to turn power off when tripped? Do you wire the same and then just flip it upside down?

Yes, flip it over.

[seege]

After further thought, you'll need to confirm the duty cycle on whatever float switch you get. They're probably designed to run part time, you'll need one one rated to run continuously.

[izzy123]

My tank only has 1 drain. the return is already run over the top of the tank. I am the second owner of the tank. It is a custom tank and I dont know if the bottom of the overflow is tempered or not. I'd rather not drill it.

I understand the reason for putting the float swtich in the sump, but I'd feel better if it was locted right at the point where the problem is out of fear for this happening again. I want this failsafe to work regardless of the water level in my sump. I thinking in KISS terms here!

How can a float switch be installed to turn power off when tripped? Do you wire the same and then just flip it upside down?

NO!!.... most of these float switches have two ways of connecting them, witch means that you can choose if it is open or closed when tripped (most microswitches have this option too) but that float switch in perticular (from the link) you can rotate the float itself on the... euh..."axal" and it works the other way around.

if your float switch has this double connection, then it's easy to stop your pump AND make an alarm sound.... but I'm not an electrician tho.... I just fiddle around with stuff ;)