plumbing help!!

jcam714 · 10/01/2012, 12:29 AM

hey guys first post and new to this whole reefing thing. i just bought a 110T tank and a proflex 3.Im really new to sumps so i need some info on how to make my set up flood safe in case of a power outage.My tank has a internal corner overflow box and is drilled from the bottom side of the tank for the drain and return.All ive done so far is plumb the drain.installed the durso standpipe the tank came with and put a 1.5 to 1inch slip reducer at the bulk head to accomadate the proflex 3s 1inch inlet and plumbed them in. its the return side i dont feel comfortable with.any help/input woud be appreciated.Thanx

Deacon · 10/01/2012, 03:35 PM

I'll give it shot...
In order to help make the plumbing flood safe you need a siphon break on the return line. For mine i drilled a small hole just below the water line on the pipe that returns water to the tank. In the event of a power outage the return line acts like a siphon and siphons water back into the sump...the siphon break will stop that siphoning action therefore preventing the sump from overflowing.

Does that answer at least one of your questions?

sleepydoc · 10/01/2012, 05:19 PM

Before you go too much farther, decide whether you want a traditional/durso overflow, or a herbie/bean animal. The latter require two drain holes, meaning you would likely need to run the return as a separate pipe up the back, but have the advantage of being a lot quieter. I don't have the link handy, but there are threads on both here on RC.

As far as the flood-proofing, in a nutshell, you need to make sure your sump has enough excess capacity to handle all the water that drains down from the DT when the power is cut. There are 3 general approaches to this:

1. Use a check valve. These work in theory, but in practice they have a tendency to start leaking after several months when they get built up with crud, snails, and whatever else finds it way into the pipes. Since most of us are not disciplined enough to clean them on a regular basis, I (and many others here) don't really recommend them.

2. Drill a hole, as Deacon suggested. If you do it above the waterline, it is less likely to get clogged, but will tend to splash a lot, make noise and cause a lot of salt creep. If you do it under the waterline, it won't splash, but suffers from some of the same problems as a check valve - they tend to get clogged with time and if clogged, they are useless.

3. Position the return nozzles and size the sump so that it can hold everything that back-siphons down when the power is cut; this siphon break is actually the return nozzle. This is the most fail-safe and preferred method in my opinion. It may require placing one of the return nozzles a bit closer to the surface (or angling it, so one edge is closer,) but will not fail if debris clog a hole or valve. You can get a rough idea of how much space you need at the top of the sump by comparing the ratio of the surface are of the tank to the surface area of the sump (i.e. tank is 2'x4', sump is 1' x 2', so 8/2 = 4; for each inch that the DT drains, you would need 4 inches in the sump)

jcam714 · 10/01/2012, 06:01 PM

Thanx guys I now have an idea of what to do now

10/01/2012, 12:29 AM	#1
jcam714 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 12	plumbing help!! hey guys first post and new to this whole reefing thing. i just bought a 110T tank and a proflex 3.Im really new to sumps so i need some info on how to make my set up flood safe in case of a power outage.My tank has a internal corner overflow box and is drilled from the bottom side of the tank for the drain and return.All ive done so far is plumb the drain.installed the durso standpipe the tank came with and put a 1.5 to 1inch slip reducer at the bulk head to accomadate the proflex 3s 1inch inlet and plumbed them in. its the return side i dont feel comfortable with.any help/input woud be appreciated.Thanx

10/01/2012, 03:35 PM	#2
Deacon Premium Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Sioux Center, Iowa USA Posts: 838	I'll give it shot... In order to help make the plumbing flood safe you need a siphon break on the return line. For mine i drilled a small hole just below the water line on the pipe that returns water to the tank. In the event of a power outage the return line acts like a siphon and siphons water back into the sump...the siphon break will stop that siphoning action therefore preventing the sump from overflowing. Does that answer at least one of your questions? __________________ "A billion here, a billion there, sooner or later it adds up to real money." - Everett Dirksen, U.S. Senator (deceased) Current Tank Info: 125 gallon and 65 gallon

10/01/2012, 05:19 PM	#3
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	Before you go too much farther, decide whether you want a traditional/durso overflow, or a herbie/bean animal. The latter require two drain holes, meaning you would likely need to run the return as a separate pipe up the back, but have the advantage of being a lot quieter. I don't have the link handy, but there are threads on both here on RC. As far as the flood-proofing, in a nutshell, you need to make sure your sump has enough excess capacity to handle all the water that drains down from the DT when the power is cut. There are 3 general approaches to this: 1. Use a check valve. These work in theory, but in practice they have a tendency to start leaking after several months when they get built up with crud, snails, and whatever else finds it way into the pipes. Since most of us are not disciplined enough to clean them on a regular basis, I (and many others here) don't really recommend them. 2. Drill a hole, as Deacon suggested. If you do it above the waterline, it is less likely to get clogged, but will tend to splash a lot, make noise and cause a lot of salt creep. If you do it under the waterline, it won't splash, but suffers from some of the same problems as a check valve - they tend to get clogged with time and if clogged, they are useless. 3. Position the return nozzles and size the sump so that it can hold everything that back-siphons down when the power is cut; this siphon break is actually the return nozzle. This is the most fail-safe and preferred method in my opinion. It may require placing one of the return nozzles a bit closer to the surface (or angling it, so one edge is closer,) but will not fail if debris clog a hole or valve. You can get a rough idea of how much space you need at the top of the sump by comparing the ratio of the surface are of the tank to the surface area of the sump (i.e. tank is 2'x4', sump is 1' x 2', so 8/2 = 4; for each inch that the DT drains, you would need 4 inches in the sump) __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

10/01/2012, 06:01 PM	#4
jcam714 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 12	Thanx guys I now have an idea of what to do now