Overflow Failure!!

kbaker721 · 04/29/2008, 05:40 PM

Last night my CPR overflow stopped working causing my main tank to overflow about 25 gallons of water all over my garage - it was a great night!! (sarcasm....)

Anyway, after drying everything out overnight, I tried to get it all working again to no avail. The tank has been running for about 1.5 yrs with no problems. I don't know what caused the failure. My aqualift appears to be working normally, but I can't get it the overflow to work again at all. I cleaned it up, switched the clear tubing to the overflow, and filled it with water again. I turn the pumps back on and the aqualift, but I cannot get the overflow to start again. I have to turn it all back off so as to not overfow again.

Do overflows ever just "fail" or is there something I am missing. It sucked last night with all that mess going everywhere and don't want to deal with it again. Any suggestions would be great, since my tank is sitting pretty still right about now... THANKS!!

bertoni · 04/29/2008, 05:48 PM

If the overflow isn't cracked, I suspect the pump is not pulling enough pressure. I would add a few powerheads to the tank, in any case, as a safety measure.

Toddrtrex · 04/29/2008, 05:50 PM

Ones that are designed in such a way to require something else ( an aqualifter pump ) to work are known to fail.

May want to look into a U-tube type overflow box. I have a Lifereef one that has been running for 5+ years with out issue. Others have had the same/similar experiences.

kbaker721 · 04/29/2008, 05:54 PM

I will take a look at the pump (do you mean the return pump or the aqualift pump?) and see if it needs to be cleaned out.... maybe that will help. It just seems weird to me that it would all of a sudden fail out of the blue and not work again

bertoni · 04/29/2008, 05:56 PM

I think the AquaLife pump is shot. It might run, but I doubt it's building up much pressure. Of course, there could be a blockage along path somewhere to or from the pump. That should be tested, too.

bertoni · 04/29/2008, 05:57 PM

Ooops, meant to add that this type of failure is fairly common for CPR overflows. I don't think much of the design, personally. The flow rate is too slow to purge the siphon of any bubbles that happen to accumulate.

sjm817 · 04/29/2008, 06:01 PM

Yet another post of a CPR failure. To get it working in the short term, be sure the aqualifter pump will pump water when disconnected from the CPR. Take a paper clip and poke it in the air nipple in the top of the overflow. The air nipple clogging is a common failure. Be sure all the airlines are good and try it again.

Long term fix: replace it with a good overflow that is not reliant on an external pump to maintain a siphon. The Lifereefs are the best out there.

SkyPapa · 04/29/2008, 06:03 PM

I had one for years. Switched to a lifereef..
For your CPR.
With the pump disconnected from the cpr, will it lift water out of a glass . If so check the nipple.
If it won't lift water it is fairly easy to disassemble and clean it with vinegar. I would clean mine occasionally by running it as a closed loop with a glass of vinegar.
Is your nipple on the top of the cpr clogged?
Use a split toothpick or small rigid wire and jig out the nipple.

If/after you get it working get a Lifereef. http://www.lifereef.com/frame.html

Robgixxer · 04/29/2008, 06:12 PM

damn dude that sucks! sorry to here you had to mop up your tank. definitely get a different overflow as the cpr is a p.o.s.

kbaker721 · 04/29/2008, 06:34 PM

Good Call!! It seems like the aqualifter pump is shot. It won't suck water out of a cup.
I'll work on that and see if I can get it running again. If not I have a 30% off coupon at that fish place so I can pick up a new one. The Lifereef looks great, but unfortunately not in the budget at this point in life... so I'll have to make due.

kbaker721 · 04/29/2008, 06:37 PM

By the way, it totally sucked. I heard a weird noise, ran into the garage (tank is in my family room wall)and there was water running everywhere. The thing that made me most nervous was that the water was flowing all over the powerstrips. I had to throw them and the timers out since they filled with water. it was a miserable night....

ahullsb · 04/29/2008, 07:15 PM

I feel your pain. I have been posting about this overflow a lot lately. I wouldn't even bother fixing it if I were you. Get a lifereef. I've had two CPR overflows and have gone through 3 aqualifter pumps in a year and a half. It will fail again. If the pump isn't sucking water, then you can try to clean it. But I usually just bought another one for 10 bucks. Many powerheads have a place to insert the airline tubing and will suck the air out like the aqualifter is "supposed" to. That is what I am doing until I order a lifereef. I don't want to risk my whole tanks well being based on the reliability of a 10 dollar pump.

kbaker721 · 04/29/2008, 07:24 PM

I have a maxijet within "reach" of the overflow... would it be more beneficial to just use an airline tubing from the nipple of the overflow box into the tubing "port" of the powerjet? Would it cause bubbles in the tank?

ahullsb · 04/29/2008, 09:50 PM

That is what I did. I think it is more reliable than the aqualifter. It will only cause bubbles in the tank on start up. They go away fairly quickly. Since you likely have a ton of air in your overflow now it might take some time to get all of the air out the first time.

Salamander · 04/29/2008, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kbaker721
my CPR overflow

Well there's your problem.

Sorry to hear. I'm sure things will work out.

And I agree on the quality and reliability of Lifereef overflows. Never had a single problem with mine running for 4-5 years.

kbaker721 · 04/30/2008, 03:35 PM

THANKS for all the advice. I hooked it up to the maxijet and all is working fine now, the bubbles have gone away for the most part. I'll keep my fingers crossed....

seanb1 · 04/30/2008, 08:04 PM

design a sump that works correctly and you wont have to worry about another flood.

your return pump should only be allowed to get enough water to run the overflow.

cpr overflows work great, but theres better ones out there.

Don Z · 04/30/2008, 08:54 PM

Sorry to hear this kbaker721.

I just set my 135 up with two Lifereef overflows and now I feel much better about spending the "big bucks" for them. They do work great and with matching the flow properly you'll never get a build up of micro-bubbles causing a failure. Jeff at Lifereef can help match the diameter size of "U" tube to your system for proper "tuning" based on your plumbing, pump, headloss, etc. If/when the time comes of course..

Good luck and hope you don't have any more failures.

04/29/2008, 05:40 PM	#1
kbaker721 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancaster PA Posts: 384	Overflow Failure!! Last night my CPR overflow stopped working causing my main tank to overflow about 25 gallons of water all over my garage - it was a great night!! (sarcasm....) Anyway, after drying everything out overnight, I tried to get it all working again to no avail. The tank has been running for about 1.5 yrs with no problems. I don't know what caused the failure. My aqualift appears to be working normally, but I can't get it the overflow to work again at all. I cleaned it up, switched the clear tubing to the overflow, and filled it with water again. I turn the pumps back on and the aqualift, but I cannot get the overflow to start again. I have to turn it all back off so as to not overfow again. Do overflows ever just "fail" or is there something I am missing. It sucked last night with all that mess going everywhere and don't want to deal with it again. Any suggestions would be great, since my tank is sitting pretty still right about now... THANKS!!

04/29/2008, 05:48 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	If the overflow isn't cracked, I suspect the pump is not pulling enough pressure. I would add a few powerheads to the tank, in any case, as a safety measure. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/29/2008, 05:50 PM	#3
Toddrtrex Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Carol Stream, IL Posts: 23,162	Ones that are designed in such a way to require something else ( an aqualifter pump ) to work are known to fail. May want to look into a U-tube type overflow box. I have a Lifereef one that has been running for 5+ years with out issue. Others have had the same/similar experiences. __________________ Click my name and then "visit toddrtrex's homepage" for tank pictures Current Tank Info: 210g reef and 65g reef

04/29/2008, 05:56 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I think the AquaLife pump is shot. It might run, but I doubt it's building up much pressure. Of course, there could be a blockage along path somewhere to or from the pump. That should be tested, too. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/29/2008, 05:57 PM	#6
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Ooops, meant to add that this type of failure is fairly common for CPR overflows. I don't think much of the design, personally. The flow rate is too slow to purge the siphon of any bubbles that happen to accumulate. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/29/2008, 05:54 PM	#4
kbaker721 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancaster PA Posts: 384	I will take a look at the pump (do you mean the return pump or the aqualift pump?) and see if it needs to be cleaned out.... maybe that will help. It just seems weird to me that it would all of a sudden fail out of the blue and not work again

04/29/2008, 06:01 PM	#7
sjm817 On Yer left! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 18,777	Yet another post of a CPR failure. To get it working in the short term, be sure the aqualifter pump will pump water when disconnected from the CPR. Take a paper clip and poke it in the air nipple in the top of the overflow. The air nipple clogging is a common failure. Be sure all the airlines are good and try it again. Long term fix: replace it with a good overflow that is not reliant on an external pump to maintain a siphon. The Lifereefs are the best out there. __________________ - Scott

04/29/2008, 06:03 PM	#8
SkyPapa Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Central Florida Posts: 994	I had one for years. Switched to a lifereef.. For your CPR. With the pump disconnected from the cpr, will it lift water out of a glass . If so check the nipple. If it won't lift water it is fairly easy to disassemble and clean it with vinegar. I would clean mine occasionally by running it as a closed loop with a glass of vinegar. Is your nipple on the top of the cpr clogged? Use a split toothpick or small rigid wire and jig out the nipple. If/after you get it working get a Lifereef. http://www.lifereef.com/frame.html

04/29/2008, 06:12 PM	#9
Robgixxer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Pompano Beach, Fl Posts: 315	damn dude that sucks! sorry to here you had to mop up your tank. definitely get a different overflow as the cpr is a p.o.s.

04/29/2008, 06:34 PM	#10
kbaker721 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancaster PA Posts: 384	Good Call!! It seems like the aqualifter pump is shot. It won't suck water out of a cup. I'll work on that and see if I can get it running again. If not I have a 30% off coupon at that fish place so I can pick up a new one. The Lifereef looks great, but unfortunately not in the budget at this point in life... so I'll have to make due.

04/29/2008, 06:37 PM	#11
kbaker721 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancaster PA Posts: 384	By the way, it totally sucked. I heard a weird noise, ran into the garage (tank is in my family room wall)and there was water running everywhere. The thing that made me most nervous was that the water was flowing all over the powerstrips. I had to throw them and the timers out since they filled with water. it was a miserable night....

04/29/2008, 07:15 PM	#12
ahullsb Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: sacramento, ca Posts: 2,729	I feel your pain. I have been posting about this overflow a lot lately. I wouldn't even bother fixing it if I were you. Get a lifereef. I've had two CPR overflows and have gone through 3 aqualifter pumps in a year and a half. It will fail again. If the pump isn't sucking water, then you can try to clean it. But I usually just bought another one for 10 bucks. Many powerheads have a place to insert the airline tubing and will suck the air out like the aqualifter is "supposed" to. That is what I am doing until I order a lifereef. I don't want to risk my whole tanks well being based on the reliability of a 10 dollar pump. __________________ Andy Sacramento, CA Current Tank Info: 55 gallon reef w/20 gallon sump/ER135/ 75 pounds of live rock, 4 in sandbed, 2 b&w ocellaris clowns, yellow watchman/pistol, rosy scaled wrasse, Mystery wrasse, Copperbanded Butterfly, Lighting 48" outer orbit 2 150 mh/ 4 t5 actinics

04/29/2008, 07:24 PM	#13
kbaker721 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancaster PA Posts: 384	I have a maxijet within "reach" of the overflow... would it be more beneficial to just use an airline tubing from the nipple of the overflow box into the tubing "port" of the powerjet? Would it cause bubbles in the tank?

04/29/2008, 09:50 PM	#14
ahullsb Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: sacramento, ca Posts: 2,729	That is what I did. I think it is more reliable than the aqualifter. It will only cause bubbles in the tank on start up. They go away fairly quickly. Since you likely have a ton of air in your overflow now it might take some time to get all of the air out the first time. __________________ Andy Sacramento, CA Current Tank Info: 55 gallon reef w/20 gallon sump/ER135/ 75 pounds of live rock, 4 in sandbed, 2 b&w ocellaris clowns, yellow watchman/pistol, rosy scaled wrasse, Mystery wrasse, Copperbanded Butterfly, Lighting 48" outer orbit 2 150 mh/ 4 t5 actinics

04/30/2008, 03:35 PM	#16
kbaker721 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Lancaster PA Posts: 384	THANKS for all the advice. I hooked it up to the maxijet and all is working fine now, the bubbles have gone away for the most part. I'll keep my fingers crossed....

04/30/2008, 08:04 PM	#17
seanb1 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: bettendorf, iowa Posts: 668	design a sump that works correctly and you wont have to worry about another flood. your return pump should only be allowed to get enough water to run the overflow. cpr overflows work great, but theres better ones out there. __________________ he who knows how, will always work for he who knows why..... David lee Roth. Current Tank Info: 125 reef/29 gal sump/29 gal fuge 3- 175w 20k xm mh/4 65w actinic, octopus nw-200 skimmer3 k-4s mag-12. 2 returns. 2 phosban reactors, GFO/carbon.

04/30/2008, 08:54 PM	#18
Don Z Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dryden, MI Posts: 136	Sorry to hear this kbaker721. I just set my 135 up with two Lifereef overflows and now I feel much better about spending the "big bucks" for them. They do work great and with matching the flow properly you'll never get a build up of micro-bubbles causing a failure. Jeff at Lifereef can help match the diameter size of "U" tube to your system for proper "tuning" based on your plumbing, pump, headloss, etc. If/when the time comes of course.. Good luck and hope you don't have any more failures. __________________ Don Z Current Tank Info: 135G DT w/40g sump/refugium, 5ea. 80w T5's retro/reflectors driven by 2ea. Ice Cap 660's. 2-LifeReef Overflows, Deltac APF600 Skimmer, 2 ea. TLF reactors (carbon+phosban), 140# Live Rock, 2-3" Argonite SeaFloor Special. RO/DI System