Flood Proof?

OldSaltMan1 · 12/03/2008, 06:49 PM

Anyone have a tank that has been up for at least a year and never had a flood? It just looks to me like no matter how much you try there are still things that happen no matter how safe you think you are.

Slakker · 12/03/2008, 07:06 PM

Never had a flood with my 12g nano

sir_dudeguy · 12/03/2008, 07:14 PM

well my tanks never flooded/leaked by themselves...most of the time it was just me being stupid, ie pluging in the return pump without connecting any return hoses to it lol. That was fun. And then the time when i forgot my drip acclimator for like a day lol. something knocked over the table that i had the fish acclimating on, so in my hurry to get the fish in the tank, i forgot about the dripline and remembered when i stepped in water a day or so later

OldSaltMan1 · 12/03/2008, 07:16 PM

That is what happens to me just being stupid too, but how do you avoid that?

Playa-1 · 12/03/2008, 07:17 PM

Mine has never flooded. The key is to be proactive especially in the planning stage. Address potential problems before they occur and figure out solutions. It helps to have first hand experience with pumping equipment and plumbing.

mg426 · 12/03/2008, 07:58 PM

Only when I do something stupid have I had problems.

BC Sparky · 12/03/2008, 07:59 PM

I tried to be proactive by considering all the ways I could be stupid. Turns out, I'm not smart enough to predict how dumb I actually am.

I actually put a rim around the bottom of my stand and installed a rubber pond liner to catch some of the water in the event of a flood. I've "tested" it several times and it has made it very easy to vacuum up my test situations!

sir_dudeguy · 12/03/2008, 08:02 PM

lol amen to what sparky said... I've got the same problem...turns out i'm dumber than i originally thought...or just less coordinated

BC Sparky · 12/03/2008, 08:07 PM

Only way to learn man....

hey where is that water coming from.... I thought I shut everything off...... what do you mean siphoning..... oh oh..... nah- I meant to do that, the carpet needed cleaning anyway.....

noahm · 12/03/2008, 08:10 PM

They make various flood alarms, now if one of these techies can come up with way to link it to your cell, it would signal you even when you are not home. j/k Other than that just have someone who knows plumbing really look over your system and test it w/o power etc.

Playa-1 · 12/03/2008, 08:12 PM

There's a big difference between designing and building a near flood proof system and just doing something stupid. We've all been there. The problem is Like Ron White said,"You can't fix Stupid." My tank has never flooded but I can tell you that I've sure screwed up a few times and put some water on the floor

Tangweed · 12/03/2008, 08:17 PM

Had my 58 for one year 2 months... no flood. I think it was said in an earlier post just don't do anything stupid.

AZDesertRat · 12/03/2008, 08:56 PM

My 100G has been up 5 years and never a flood of any sort. All it takes is a little thinking up front and its simple to foolproof a system so you can sleep soundly at night. No drilled holes in the returns, no check valves and nothing out of the ordinary is needed.

Opes · 12/03/2008, 08:59 PM

I've had reef tanks for 10 years and never had a flood.......knock on wood!

OldSaltMan1 · 12/04/2008, 07:19 AM

Thanks for all the input. I do have a sensor on my tank that is hooked up to my house alarm which calls my cell phone, but it is too late when that goes off. My own tank is about 5 years old and I have never had a flood, but I have had water in the floor too many times. I am just looking to avoid that with my new upgrade. All my stuff for my first tank was DIY with little advice from anyone. I just am looking for all the info I can find this time. My new tank is going from a tile floor in the sun room to an inwall with little room for mistakes.

crvz · 12/04/2008, 07:40 AM

Unless you have a single tank with no hang-ons or sump, you'll be at risk of floods. Unfortunately, the only real guard against them is your diligence. Which, for me, is never enough!

AZDesertRat · 12/04/2008, 07:42 AM

My best advice would be a reef ready drilled tank with an internal overflow box. Lots of people go with two overflows or at least two standpipes, mine is single and never had a problem, and always keep the returns just below the surface so you have an air gap when power goes off and the level drops a small predetermined amount. Pretty flood proof. I cringe when i fead about drilled holes in the returns and check valves since they both fail often and both require maintenance which may or may not help. A singe grain of sand can defeat a check valve and a piece of algae or food drilled holes.

The bottom of my stand is sealed and has a full floor in it to contain any water up to 1.5" deep and the calcium reactor sits in a tub. The reactor leaked a bit once but only put 1/4" or so in the plastic tub over several days time so was not a huge problem.

I thing a squealer or water alarm of some sort would be a good investment for most of us.

tydtran · 12/04/2008, 07:48 AM

I agree with crvz on this one. If what you want is 0 possibility of flood, the only thing that gives you that is an all in one kind of setup. The total volume of the system has no where to go but within the system so therefore no matter what fails you cannot flood it. The only way would be to pour more water into the system than it can handle, so I should add that there should not be any sort of auto top-off.

Anything else, no matter how carefully thought out or designed, is subject to operating error and equipment failure. Let's say there are 20 parts of the system each of which has only a 1/100 failure rate. The failure rate for the system sums these individual probabilities, giving a failure rate for the system of 1/5. Operate the system long enough and you will have a failure.

ALH · 12/04/2008, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by crvz
Unless you have a single tank with no hang-ons or sump, you'll be at risk of floods. Unfortunately, the only real guard against them is your diligence. Which, for me, is never enough!

I bought a 180G uniquarium which has the sump and all the equipment in the back of the tank. I initially considered getting a drilled tank with a sump below, but I was intimidated by the plumbing and potential risk of a flood. My set-up certainly has limitations, but you'd have to take a sledge hammer to it to make it flood.

intenseimage · 12/04/2008, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by noahm
They make various flood alarms, now if one of these techies can come up with way to link it to your cell, it would signal you even when you are not home. j/k Other than that just have someone who knows plumbing really look over your system and test it w/o power etc.

Flood sensor connected to ACIII that sends a text to my cell phone

L98-Z · 12/04/2008, 08:20 AM

I left the RODI unit filling up a 30 gallon bucket. I planned to come home for lunch, but ended up having to attend a required lunch gathering at work. I'd estimate 10-20 gallons was spilled all over my floor. Had to pull the carpet up and dry it out. Wonderful smell for 3-4 days.

heyfredyourhat · 12/04/2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by L98-Z
I left the RODI unit filling up a 30 gallon bucket. I planned to come home for lunch, but ended up having to attend a required lunch gathering at work. I'd estimate 10-20 gallons was spilled all over my floor. Had to pull the carpet up and dry it out. Wonderful smell for 3-4 days.

Been there before!

I bought 2 flood alarms about 4-5 months ago, havent needed them yet...knock on wood.

AZDesertRat · 12/04/2008, 09:18 AM

After flooding the kitchen on more than one occasion I got smart and installed a laundry sink in the garage and moved my RO/DI out to the wall above the sink. Now if I want to fill buckets or 5G water jugs I place them in the sink so if I happen to forget, which I never do

, it goes down the drain. My wife loves me again!

crvz · 12/04/2008, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AZDesertRat
After flooding the kitchen on more than one occasion I got smart and installed a laundry sink in the garage and moved my RO/DI out to the wall above the sink. Now if I want to fill buckets or 5G water jugs I place them in the sink so if I happen to forget, which I never do , it goes down the drain. My wife loves me again!

For me it was the bathroom, which soaked into the hallway carpet, which then warped the stupid MDF door jambs (what crummy builder uses MDF?!?). I only made one easy change... I only fill buckets in the bathtub these days, so when I forget that I left it on it's only wasted water that's lost.

Chymos45 · 12/04/2008, 11:38 AM

In setting up my new 185, I put an emergency drain in the side wall of my sump. It's a bulkhead mounted at the top couple of inches of the sump, above all the water level lines. It's connected to some flex, that goes through the exterior wall of the house. Of course, it has a p-trap on it to keep bugs and such from getting through, but if my auto-fill sticks, some sort of siphon occurs, or whatever else that may raise the water level in the sump above typical operating levels, the water SHOULD flow through this drain and out to the yard.
The tak itself has 2 drains, each capable of handling the total volume independently, so a double -blockage would be the only thing I can think of that would cause a flood in my case.
Fameous last words...

12/03/2008, 06:49 PM	#1
OldSaltMan1 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 113	Flood Proof? Anyone have a tank that has been up for at least a year and never had a flood? It just looks to me like no matter how much you try there are still things that happen no matter how safe you think you are.

12/03/2008, 07:06 PM	#2
Slakker Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Southeastern Wisconsin Posts: 4,521	Never had a flood with my 12g nano __________________ -Tyler Oceanic 58RR display/20H sump/fuge thread...follow the red house. Current Tank Info: Oceanic 58g, 20H sump, AquaC EV-150, 175w Hamilton 14k + 2x39w T5HO Actinics

12/03/2008, 07:14 PM	#3
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	well my tanks never flooded/leaked by themselves...most of the time it was just me being stupid, ie pluging in the return pump without connecting any return hoses to it lol. That was fun. And then the time when i forgot my drip acclimator for like a day lol. something knocked over the table that i had the fish acclimating on, so in my hurry to get the fish in the tank, i forgot about the dripline and remembered when i stepped in water a day or so later __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

12/03/2008, 07:58 PM	#6
mg426 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 6,923	Only when I do something stupid have I had problems. __________________ I found a way to make a small fortune running a reef tank. Start with a large fortune. Unofficial President of the SEACLONE haters club Current Tank Info: 125 mixed reef 110 lbs LR, 1x250watt XM 20K MH 2x175watt XM 20K MH on Magetics 2X96 watt actinic PC, 220 watt VHO actinic, 30 gallon refugium, closed loop system powered by Sequence Dart MSX 200 skimmer 38 gallon sump, Oceansmotions squirt

12/03/2008, 08:02 PM	#8
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	lol amen to what sparky said... I've got the same problem...turns out i'm dumber than i originally thought...or just less coordinated __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

12/03/2008, 07:16 PM	#4
OldSaltMan1 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 113	That is what happens to me just being stupid too, but how do you avoid that?

12/03/2008, 07:17 PM	#5
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	Mine has never flooded. The key is to be proactive especially in the planning stage. Address potential problems before they occur and figure out solutions. It helps to have first hand experience with pumping equipment and plumbing.

12/03/2008, 07:59 PM	#7
BC Sparky Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Nanaimo- BC Canada Posts: 254	I tried to be proactive by considering all the ways I could be stupid. Turns out, I'm not smart enough to predict how dumb I actually am. I actually put a rim around the bottom of my stand and installed a rubber pond liner to catch some of the water in the event of a flood. I've "tested" it several times and it has made it very easy to vacuum up my test situations!

12/03/2008, 08:07 PM	#9
BC Sparky Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Nanaimo- BC Canada Posts: 254	Only way to learn man.... hey where is that water coming from.... I thought I shut everything off...... what do you mean siphoning..... oh oh..... nah- I meant to do that, the carpet needed cleaning anyway.....

12/03/2008, 08:10 PM	#10
noahm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,736	They make various flood alarms, now if one of these techies can come up with way to link it to your cell, it would signal you even when you are not home. j/k Other than that just have someone who knows plumbing really look over your system and test it w/o power etc.

12/03/2008, 08:12 PM	#11
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,497	There's a big difference between designing and building a near flood proof system and just doing something stupid. We've all been there. The problem is Like Ron White said,"You can't fix Stupid." My tank has never flooded but I can tell you that I've sure screwed up a few times and put some water on the floor

12/03/2008, 08:17 PM	#12
Tangweed Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Mohnton, PA Posts: 1,002	Had my 58 for one year 2 months... no flood. I think it was said in an earlier post just don't do anything stupid. __________________ Thanks! Jeremy Current Tank Info: 90 gal with 40 gal breeder sump / fuge, Octo skimmer, lights and some water.

12/03/2008, 08:56 PM	#13
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	My 100G has been up 5 years and never a flood of any sort. All it takes is a little thinking up front and its simple to foolproof a system so you can sleep soundly at night. No drilled holes in the returns, no check valves and nothing out of the ordinary is needed.

12/03/2008, 08:59 PM	#14
Opes Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Kansas City Posts: 273	I've had reef tanks for 10 years and never had a flood.......knock on wood!

12/04/2008, 07:19 AM	#15
OldSaltMan1 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 113	Thanks for all the input. I do have a sensor on my tank that is hooked up to my house alarm which calls my cell phone, but it is too late when that goes off. My own tank is about 5 years old and I have never had a flood, but I have had water in the floor too many times. I am just looking to avoid that with my new upgrade. All my stuff for my first tank was DIY with little advice from anyone. I just am looking for all the info I can find this time. My new tank is going from a tile floor in the sun room to an inwall with little room for mistakes.

12/04/2008, 07:40 AM	#16
crvz Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: houstonia Posts: 7,989	Unless you have a single tank with no hang-ons or sump, you'll be at risk of floods. Unfortunately, the only real guard against them is your diligence. Which, for me, is never enough! __________________ -Chris- You don't win friends with salad. "Look! They're trying to learn for free!" ... "Use your phony guns as clubs!" Current Tank Info: rectangluar? wet?

12/04/2008, 07:42 AM	#17
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	My best advice would be a reef ready drilled tank with an internal overflow box. Lots of people go with two overflows or at least two standpipes, mine is single and never had a problem, and always keep the returns just below the surface so you have an air gap when power goes off and the level drops a small predetermined amount. Pretty flood proof. I cringe when i fead about drilled holes in the returns and check valves since they both fail often and both require maintenance which may or may not help. A singe grain of sand can defeat a check valve and a piece of algae or food drilled holes. The bottom of my stand is sealed and has a full floor in it to contain any water up to 1.5" deep and the calcium reactor sits in a tub. The reactor leaked a bit once but only put 1/4" or so in the plastic tub over several days time so was not a huge problem. I thing a squealer or water alarm of some sort would be a good investment for most of us.

12/04/2008, 07:48 AM	#18
tydtran Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: New Jersey Posts: 853	I agree with crvz on this one. If what you want is 0 possibility of flood, the only thing that gives you that is an all in one kind of setup. The total volume of the system has no where to go but within the system so therefore no matter what fails you cannot flood it. The only way would be to pour more water into the system than it can handle, so I should add that there should not be any sort of auto top-off. Anything else, no matter how carefully thought out or designed, is subject to operating error and equipment failure. Let's say there are 20 parts of the system each of which has only a 1/100 failure rate. The failure rate for the system sums these individual probabilities, giving a failure rate for the system of 1/5. Operate the system long enough and you will have a failure.

12/04/2008, 08:20 AM	#21
L98-Z Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Warner Robins, Georgia Posts: 1,230	I left the RODI unit filling up a 30 gallon bucket. I planned to come home for lunch, but ended up having to attend a required lunch gathering at work. I'd estimate 10-20 gallons was spilled all over my floor. Had to pull the carpet up and dry it out. Wonderful smell for 3-4 days.

12/04/2008, 09:18 AM	#23
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	After flooding the kitchen on more than one occasion I got smart and installed a laundry sink in the garage and moved my RO/DI out to the wall above the sink. Now if I want to fill buckets or 5G water jugs I place them in the sink so if I happen to forget, which I never do , it goes down the drain. My wife loves me again!

12/04/2008, 11:38 AM	#25
Chymos45 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 86	In setting up my new 185, I put an emergency drain in the side wall of my sump. It's a bulkhead mounted at the top couple of inches of the sump, above all the water level lines. It's connected to some flex, that goes through the exterior wall of the house. Of course, it has a p-trap on it to keep bugs and such from getting through, but if my auto-fill sticks, some sort of siphon occurs, or whatever else that may raise the water level in the sump above typical operating levels, the water SHOULD flow through this drain and out to the yard. The tak itself has 2 drains, each capable of handling the total volume independently, so a double -blockage would be the only thing I can think of that would cause a flood in my case. Fameous last words...