lizbeth Posted February 16, 2003 Share Posted February 16, 2003 Ok I'll try again and type slowly. If your overflow piping clogges and your return pump keeps going can your main tank hold the volume of water your sump is going to hold? If not you might want to make a partition for your return pump to sit in to limit the volume of water it can pump into your tank. Gosh I hope that make sense. It hard to explain things when you can't talk and draw on napkins. Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 16, 2003 Author Share Posted February 16, 2003 Call me...lol Just kiddin... I was thinkin about the other post you made with the question and I figured out what you were saying. I'll make a baffle to put the return pump in. I know exactly what you were talking about now. Thanks for the help. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Either that or use one of those float switches to turn off the pump if the level in the sump goes down. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 That still leaves the problem of the return pipe letting about what looks to be almost 5 gallons of water backflow into the sump in the event of a power failure. Perhaps a check valve would be in order as well...unless the water is kept at a lower level. Link to comment
lizbeth Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Wet, he's going to put in an acrylic corner overflow box. So all that will flow in is down to the bottom of the cuts in the "tower". Which by the way he has to account for in sump room....... Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 17, 2003 Author Share Posted February 17, 2003 I will never leave my sump with enough water in it so that when backflow comes down it would overflow. Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 17, 2003 Author Share Posted February 17, 2003 I am also thinking about stepping up to a bigger sump to end all the worry. Link to comment
lizbeth Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Hey I'm not worrying, you're doing a great job! I have my own sump to worry about. Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 17, 2003 Author Share Posted February 17, 2003 No Liz.. Not you worrying, ~~> Me <~~~ Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 17, 2003 Author Share Posted February 17, 2003 I could also put and elbow on my return inside the tank to raise my spray bar up one level too. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Yes, but I'm talking about the pump outlet which looks like it is 3" below the trim of the tank. If estimate that if a check valve isnt added to the pump, about 4 gallons of water could backflow in the event of a power outage or the use of a float switch. See? Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 17, 2003 Author Share Posted February 17, 2003 Oh yeah, I knew that.. My outlets I'm gonna make inside my tank will break the siphon and not that much water would backflow down. Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 All I need to do now is order my lights and throw the plumbing together. Oh yeah, and paint the glass. Link to comment
lizbeth Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 Phreak, it's looking great. Thanks for the update. We want water! We want water! Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 ok freefphreak, I just want to make sure we are on the same page here. If your outlets are above the water line and then inside the tank were directed to output the water below the water line, then you would be worried about a back syphon if your pump were off. In your case , you have the pump outlets drilled below the water line, meaning no syphon is needed...if your water flow stops, it will drain the top few inches of your tank into your sump, unless you output your water above the water line...(not recomended >>to avoid air bubbles) So I am wondering what you plan on doing because unless you were to run your water in through the holes, then up above the water at some point, and back down preferably discharging below the water...alot of ugly plumbing (with an antisyphon hole drilled in the pipe where it is above the water surface) {note: then why have drilled your holes where they are} ...what will you do? I suppose what I am trying to say is that it seems you should be looking into a one way/check valve for your pump output to prevent backflow on your pump....I dont see any other way unless you were to get complicated, no? Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 I know it may be too late for you phreak, but I was talking to a gentleman who spent many years in a glass shop doing mostly drilling... He had a few things to say about my technique at least: For cooling: use mineral spirits. It carries away heat better than water does. It can prevent the chipped up hole that is left on the break-through side ( the side you are drilling from the other side to), but not to worry... If you use a wet-dry metal sandpaper to bevel out the hole by hand after it can get rid of the rough edges if you have any (hey, after drilling 20 holes in 10 gallons I tend to get aggrivated and try to rush) Or, a $5 diamond dremel bit (& dremel $40) can be useful. He also mentioned going slower as better, especially when almost through to the other side, and keep in mind that it isny so much the pressure on the bit that causes glass to crack accidentally, but the heat. And, Ill add this: Try to drill new tanks only. Glass has a durability/elasticity to it that it looses over time due to exposure. That is why glass shops wont cut old glass>> it tanks to be more brittle and crack. One can say that new glass is 'soft' and old glass is 'brittle'. So if you are considering drilling a tank, do it now, rather than waiting a year and than doing it. It will avoid cracking. Link to comment
lizbeth Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 wet, you are tending to babble a bit here........... I think Phreak gets the idea. All he has to do is have the capacity in the sump for the drain back, no chek valves needed. I won't use them, they are not reliable Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 Here is what I did. Inside the tank is where I brought the intake a little higher and if this one doesn't work I can easily make another one because it unscrews anyway from the bulkhead, infact at work today I made a different one. So as it is now i would end up with only about 3 inches higher in my sump if power would fail. No big problem. Link to comment
reefphreak Posted February 27, 2003 Author Share Posted February 27, 2003 oh yeah, Thanks Lizbeth. I'm trying very hard to succeed at this. Your help is very much appreciated and so is Glazers. I hope everything is ok with Glazer. He was a nice guy. Link to comment
nanoman Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Originally posted by lizbeth wet, you are tending to babble a bit here........... I think Phreak gets the idea. All he has to do is have the capacity in the sump for the drain back, no chek valves needed. I won't use them, they are not reliable I like check valves Link to comment
lizbeth Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Check valves are great in theory.... Hop on over to RC and do a search with the words check valve, and failure. That why I decided not to use them with my tanks. Link to comment
quiksilver5768 Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 I mean why not use a check valve anyway just in case as a backup. Many people have had success along with many failures. Though, it always nice to have one. I would leave the plumbing and input how it is and just add a check valve to the plumbing line. I myself have had much seccuess with a check valve when I went through a poweroutage. There are many different companies thta make quality check valves, dont skimp out on somethin like this and get a good one. .. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 I just figured that having exposed PVC inside the tank, with the water output so close to the water surface (possibly causing alot of undesired bubbles), defeated the purpose of drilling the holes where they are. I would be for leaving the holes where they are, but without any additional PVC on the inside. This would help them blend in, almost invisible, and avoid surface agitation. But that would mean a check valve would have to be used. Thats all folks!! Link to comment
reefphreak Posted March 1, 2003 Author Share Posted March 1, 2003 surface agitation is what I'm looking for to oxygenate the water and get good gas exchange. I want the surface to be like a rolling boil. Link to comment
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