Emergency occurance

[JMorris271]

Posters have talked about the danger of a flood in the event that the emergency drains both become clogged or with just one open drain.
Can someone please explain what is in a tank that could cause such a disaster besides the obvious snail or a dead fish getting over the wier. I am speaking of a tank that is well maintained and monitored. Right off the bat,I know that snails can climb ok? What are other dangers in there?
Thanks.

[hbrochs]

Anemone

[MidwesternTexan]

How big are your snails? I never see a 'snail', my larger fish aren't going to get to that area either and end up clogging my 1.5in secondary drain.

[JMorris271]

Originally Posted by hbrochs

Anemone

Can they mover 35 inches in 9 hr? Wow that is fast .

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by JMorris271

Can they mover 35 inches in 9 hr?

The question is: Do you want to bet that they cannot?

[mcgyvr]

snails..fish..crabs.. turf algae.. bubble algae..,etc..
does "well maintained" include running a brush down all your plumbing routinely?
Amazing to see what can collect in PVC plumbing over the years..

99.999999% of the time it won't be a problem.
Same thing with GFCI outlets..
same thing with ato float protection,etc...
same thing with car airbags.. life jackets...seat belts...guards on power tools, etc...

Recommendations are based on an attempt to eliminate any "possible" areas for failure/danger/injury in the event that something does happen..

If you want to drive around without your seatbelt thats your problem.. But warnings are there and yes some seem "over kill" but thats just how it is.

Its all about "what if"

[gone fishin]

I noticed last summer my flow seemed to be diminished. After checking many things I started taking pipe apart. Lo and behold I found a collection of about 25 or so cerith snail shells in an elbow. Flow problem solved.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

I noticed last summer my flow seemed to be diminished. After checking many things I started taking pipe apart. Lo and behold I found a collection of about 25 or so cerith snail shells in an elbow. Flow problem solved.

From their perspective they were simply exploring new frontiers. The snail version of Interstellar.

[CuzzA]

Besides what's been mentioned, sponges would be my biggest fear. They don't need light and they love a ton of flow. You would never know that sponge is growing in your plumbing until one day it comes loose or something else gets in your plumbing and clog... flood.

[wcarterh]

I've had a bubbletip move 36 inches in a few hours. On the substrate mind you, or a sea hare.

[JMorris271]

Originally Posted by snorvich

The question is: Do you want to bet that they cannot?

No I don't care to bet because I have no idea about the way they can move.
That is why I asked the question.

[JMorris271]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

I noticed last summer my flow seemed to be diminished. After checking many things I started taking pipe apart. Lo and behold I found a collection of about 25 or so cerith snail shells in an elbow. Flow problem solved.

I'm glad you checked out the symptom.

[JMorris271]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

snails..fish..crabs.. turf algae.. bubble algae..,etc..
does "well maintained" include running a brush down all your plumbing routinely?
Amazing to see what can collect in PVC plumbing over the years..

99.999999% of the time it won't be a problem.
Same thing with GFCI outlets..
same thing with ato float protection,etc...
same thing with car airbags.. life jackets...seat belts...guards on power tools, etc...

Recommendations are based on an attempt to eliminate any "possible" areas for failure/danger/injury in the event that something does happen..

If you want to drive around without your seatbelt thats your problem.. But warnings are there and yes some seem "over kill" but thats just how it is.

Its all about "what if"

A "well maintained" system means just that. I suppose it is subjective and people could split hairs all day about what "well maintained" means. My question was about other inhabitants that can cause problems with emergency flow stand pipes and there is nothing between the lines here

Your little "seat belt" allegorical comment was not necessary.
We are talking about reef tanks here. So there is no need to be rude.

[JohnoL]

Ultimately it's all about the level of risk the individual wants to accept.
I've had my tank for 5years now, and haven't had a blocked drain yet.
If it did get blocked my tank/sump design has an allowance for this.

Do I worry about the 0.000001% chance "something" might happen? No.
Better chance of being in a car accident.

[JohnoL]

P.S. I actually think it's a good question from Morris. Does anyone really have the facts/figures or is it all anecdotal?

Anecdotally, of the people who have commented in this thread thus far, how many have actually experienced a 100% blocked drain vs how long they've had the tank?

[lllesley]

hi,
We run the bean animal, the 90%, slowed down the 10%then the original 10% picked up the rest, thought we will sort that out when we get home tonight, by the time we got home emergency had kicked in.
Found our abalone don't the first pipe and a huge snail in the second pipe. The snail had got stuck at the ball valve.

[CuzzA]

Originally Posted by JohnoL

P.S. I actually think it's a good question from Morris. Does anyone really have the facts/figures or is it all anecdotal?

Anecdotally, of the people who have commented in this thread thus far, how many have actually experienced a 100% blocked drain vs how long they've had the tank?

Well, there you go JohnoL.

Originally Posted by lllesley

hi,
We run the bean animal, the 90%, slowed down the 10%then the original 10% picked up the rest, thought we will sort that out when we get home tonight, by the time we got home emergency had kicked in.
Found our abalone don't the first pipe and a huge snail in the second pipe. The snail had got stuck at the ball valve.

A simple search will return plenty of results of people reporting floods due to clogged plumbing. And then consider how many hobbyist who don't participate on forums to share their experiences. These are not freshwater systems where not much grows besides what's been deliberately added to the tank. We all know macro algae, sponges, etc. can pop up from anywhere and find their way into our plumbing.

And I think perhaps we should define anecdotal... "not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research."

I would say in the case of clogged reef tank plumbing we can take the many personal accounts of a clog and the fact that we know obstructions clog pipes and come to the conclusion that it is in fact, fact.

Just saying.

[JMorris271]

Has anyone ever rigged up a grid to shield the overflow chamber from whatever ? It seems that it could be fashioned easy enough.
With all of these tremors the earth has been having lately, perhaps it is time to put shock absorbers under the tank stand. (Just kidding there)

[CuzzA]

Originally Posted by JMorris271

Has anyone ever rigged up a grid to shield for overflow from whatever ? It seems that it could be fashioned easy enough.

Absolutely. It's done all the time. Get some zip ties and plastic gutter guard. Egg crate works too.

[JammyBirch]

Originally Posted by JMorris271

Has anyone ever rigged up a grid to shield the overflow chamber from whatever ? It seems that it could be fashioned easy enough.
With all of these tremors the earth has been having lately, perhaps it is time to put shock absorbers under the tank stand. (Just kidding there)

The wall between my refugium and return has two fittings with mesh to keep fuge dudes in the fuge. The mesh gets built up over time, lot of surface area. So i would say if you're going to use a mes to protect the drains then it should be easily accessed so you can clean them.

I have ball valves in my drains to maintain waterlevel in the DT to eliminate noise, having this is a big issue for clogs because i have a restriction. My sump is designed to handle a clog though. I know this is not popular and leads to much arguing and much flooding so i won't get into it. The only other thing that plays with this topic is ATO. If you have a restriction in a drain then your DT fills up and activates the ATO system which can cause a flood as well. If the water pressure increases enough to flush and your ATO is already filling then you flood the sump. If you have a clog in your drain the return chamber starts to empty as your water fills the DT, the ATO just keeps filling the return chamber and you flood from the DT...

I bought the Smart ATO for this reason and i love it, it alarms when things are not right.

[Shawn O]

I suppose you could add guards to your drain pipes to keep larger things like snails and fish from getting into your drains? Something such as this:

[JammyBirch]

Originally Posted by Shawn O

I suppose you could add guards to your drain pipes to keep larger things like snails and fish from getting into your drains? Something such as this:

This is exactly what i use, they are really nice...need to be cleaned though once in a while.

[gone fishin]

Originally Posted by JMorris271

I'm glad you checked out the symptom.

I noticed that the water level in my display was higher than usual. Once you have your tank set up for awhile and you pay attention it can tell you many things just by observing it.

I used some scrap screen mesh to go around my drains.

[JMorris271]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

I noticed that the water level in my display was higher than usual. Once you have your tank set up for awhile and you pay attention it can tell you many things just by observing it.
I used some scrap screen mesh to go around my drains.

I have a 10 K gal koi pond I put in. Like you with your tank,usually I can spot something out of order so fast that sometimes I surprise myself.
I was wondering about covering the inside top of the whole chamber supposing that that cover would not be blocked by floating bubble algae, snails, sponges and the like with proper inspection while not reducing flow. Kind of like checking an ATO reserve.

[gone fishin]

some do cover the top, if I had enough of the mesh lying around I would have done so.

BTW my wife has been asking for me to dig her a koi pond. I got her some landscaping software last year for Christmas she has designed her self up a pond and surrounding gardens. I guess I know what my summer project is going to be.