Guest Rileyporter August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 So I had my first freak out I am going to flood the 2nd floor omg omg omg my wife is going to kill me moments tonite..... setup my sump... for some reason (I HAVE NO IDEA) it just started overflowing from the top.. maybe the overflow got clogged err god hates me err something. But the reason for the post is... Is the benefit worth the risk of flooding? I mean is there a full proof way to have a sump and not flood? I have heard of auto switches etc.. I guess I just dont understand the physics of the "safe" method anyone want to enlighten me... Honestly though.. .I dont remember ever feeling as paniced as I was when the tank started to overflow... needless to say the sump has been disconnected and awaits further understanding before I try that again. Riley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 Riley, How are you feeding the sump? How are you pushing back into the tank.? Typcially there are two parts: 1) Overflow from the tank to the sump. Most people with overflows have them draw water from close to the surface in such a way that once the water goes down a certain amount in the tank water doesn't flow into the overflow any more and therefore doesn't drain into the tank. Then you just need to make sure your sump can handle this amount of water. 2) Return to the tank: However this is done it must also allow for a way for the water not to drain back this way (typically small holes can be drilled in return pipes just below the water line that will cause the syphon to break. A picture here would be worth a thousand words I now. Dave And a properly designed sump will have min and max lines (min the minimum amount of water your want in your sump so that there are not problems. Max (level which if the power is shut off and everything drains to your sump that it won't overflow. Is that clear? Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squiddly August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 My condolences on your flood. It happened to me as well, but mine was because of a reverse siphon. The overflow skimmer was fed by a siphon from the main tank. When the pumps quit, the water continued drawing into the sump through the siphon, but the pumps were not pumping the water out, hence a carpet that had to be sent out (to Restortek who had a manager who is also a hobbyist so he understood... they did a great job, by the way) and a LOT of clean up on aisle 7. Don't get discouraged. There are lots of great people here who will help you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 Man, sorry to here. Are you using a syphon overflow box of some sort? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rileyporter August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 Yah i was using a overflow box. Yah trying not to get discourged. My overflow is near the top and that was working.. The water went over the top of the tank... it worked fine for like 20 mins all the sudden.. it didnt.. lol.. Dandy is suppose to help me drill my tank in a few weeks. So tell me if this sounds like a good reduncancy setup. I have a 55g 48inches.... so I drill multiple holes (3ish) so that if one gets clogged or 2 of them do one can still drain.. Then combine the sump with a autoswitch on/off. Sound ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 Think of it this way. Is it worth the risk of your wife killing you to use your skimmer for 2 weeks? 2 holes in my opinion is enough. 1 overflow and 1 backup. You use a durso on your main and nothing on your backup. Also you leave your backup line mounted above the waterline of your sump. Doing this you can be sure when your main starts to fail you will hear your backup slurping and gurgling away. Are you using other circulation, powerheads? What are your livestock plans? You need to look at some nice reef pictures to make you feel better It's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rileyporter August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 Think of it this way. Is it worth the risk of your wife killing you to use your skimmer for 2 weeks? 2 holes in my opinion is enough. 1 overflow and 1 backup. You use a durso on your main and nothing on your backup. Also you leave your backup line mounted above the waterline of your sump. Doing this you can be sure when your main starts to fail you will hear your backup slurping and gurgling away. Are you using other circulation, powerheads? What are your livestock plans? You need to look at some nice reef pictures to make you feel better It's worth it. LOL I know right! You need to drill two small 1/8" holes in your return line, 1/2" below the water's surface when the tank and sump are running normally. These holes are referred to as a siphon break. I think this was my problem. Well at least one of them... When I removed power to the pump (testing) I wanted to see if my sump could handle the excess water. The oveflow box equallized but for some reason the sump kept filling. I now know it was the return line that when the power faded started a reverse syphon. As far as the overflowing from the top maybe the overflow syphon broke... ? Thanks guys for the moral support! Riley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsaavedra August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 LOL I know right! You need to drill two small 1/8" holes in your return line, 1/2" below the water's surface when the tank and sump are running normally. These holes are referred to as a siphon break. I think this was my problem. Well at least one of them... When I removed power to the pump (testing) I wanted to see if my sump could handle the excess water. The oveflow box equallized but for some reason the sump kept filling. I now know it was the return line that when the power faded started a reverse syphon. As far as the overflowing from the top maybe the overflow syphon broke... ? Thanks guys for the moral support! Riley Hey dude call me tomorrow and if you can't find me leave me a vmail and i'll get a hold of you to figure out what's wrong. Raf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 This will make you feel better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 Make sure when you start up the sump it's completely empty, if you haven't seen any of my posts yet, you will realize that I'm being plauged with issues too! But that's why this club is so awsome!! 3 things (already been said before except one) 1, Make sure the teeth of your over flow box are close to the waters surface so the tank can olny drain so much before the siphon is halted 2, if not already there, where the water return hose enters you tank, about half and inch or so below the water level put a hole in that hose, so no siphon can stay formed that would cause your out put hose to pull water back down into your sump 3, never fill your sump before starting the siphon on the over flow box, let the over flow box once the siphon is started to pull enough water into your sump to cause the overflow box to stop taking in water... after that engage your return pump then begin topping off olny enough water as it takes to get your display tank back to it's desireable water level, this will prevent you from having enough water to over flow your sump again no matter what you do. AS FOR THE FLOOR, I had a 55 gallon tank, crack spilling it's contents across and though the 3rd floor of a town house.... so dont feel too bad, you're in the company of other unfortunate tards such as myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rileyporter August 31, 2006 Share August 31, 2006 guys getting a beer then into bed. Thanks for all the support... Raf I will give you a call tomorrow homie. Dandy.. omg.. dude thats insane!! Jason thanx for the tips.. only about 4 hours too late lol! Riley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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