Sump plumbing

[ejaustin]

Hi, Rohn,

Yes, in theory, the siphon should be maintained, but on the inner side of the overflow box in my tank, that water is barely high enough to keep from breaking the siphon, assuming that the siphon tube has not been bumped so it's at a slight angle or any other variable. I just want more assurance than that. I'd rather put in an extra safeguard or two than come home to a flood, even a minor one.

I think I'll continue with the powerhead set to restart the siphon, if necessary, *and* invest in an float switch to kill the sump pump in the event that the tank threatens to overflow. Probably unnecessary, but worth it for the peace of mind it will give me.

ej

PS. Welcome to Austin Reef Club, Rohn.

[rohnds]

For assurance, you should do what I did when I first started. Set the tank Up and then shut the pump down to simulate a power failure.

If you accidently pull the siphon tubes and cut the water flow, the pump in the sump will only pump the amount of water in your sump to the tank (since no water is flowing to the sump via the overflow box). Many of us make sure that the amount of water in the sump can be handled by your tank (i.e. don't fill your tank all the way up to the top ... that would be disaster).

In my tank, the difference between the water level are less than a 1/4 inch and yet this is more than enough to manitain 1,000 GPH flow rate to the sump.

If it is peace of mind you want, the best method is to use uninterrupted powere suply. You can easily get one of these from an old computer.

It is a matter of trusting your setup and constantly doing PMs.

Rohn