Check valves?

[HBtank]

I have read that these fail often, to prevent flooding if a return pump failed are you forced to make your sump large enough to accomodate the extra water?

If you have drilled returns, is there any other way to have another safety check? I don't know whre I would put a siphon break...

 

[Laakmann]

I have a similar problem I have right now because my returns are below the water line. Is there any fool proof method to prevent back siphon without a siphon breaking air hole?

 

[EnderG60]

just depends what valve you go with.

yeah those $3 home depot PVC check valves do suck, I tried a more expensive weighted stopper valve, which actually wound up getting gunked up after running for a few months and didnt close when i needed it. So untill i get a replacement i just do a test once a month when doing a water change to make sure its not gunked solid.

there are some that are little flapper door valves, made of all clear PVC that are the best ive found and range from $20-$40. they work very well.

 

[ChickenCannoneer]

A siphon break is just a small hole drilled in the return just below the water line. Why don't you have room for that? I would have to say though that the flapper valves work very well. There is basically nothing that can really go wrong just a flapper that gets closed. HTH, Tim

 

[HBtank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7863319#post7863319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChickenCannoneer
A siphon break is just a small hole drilled in the return just below the water line. Why don't you have room for that? I would have to say though that the flapper valves work very well. There is basically nothing that can really go wrong just a flapper that gets closed. HTH, Tim

Because my tank is drilled on the back for the return lines and that means I would have to have the portion inside the tank setup unlike I planned to accomodate a hole closer to the surface. If your tank is not drilled, it is pretty straight forward to do this on the PVC that will be running over the top of the tank anyways.

I was planning on angling them down, but I may install a small T with a cap on the top before the modular pipe I have so I can put a hole on its side at the top.

I will make a decision when I have them setup of whether I can get another inch or two of height by installing a small hole...

I was just wondering if there was any solutions I missed.

I already have a new flapper check valve from Dr Foster's. It wasn't a cheapo one, but also not the most expensive I saw. I want to run my sump high and wanted some sort of redundancy in safety precuations...

I will make sure to test any valve I have periodically for proper function...

 

[Laakmann]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7863319#post7863319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChickenCannoneer
A siphon break is just a small hole drilled in the return just below the water line. Why don't you have room for that? I would have to say though that the flapper valves work very well. There is basically nothing that can really go wrong just a flapper that gets closed. HTH, Tim

No part of my return is just below the water line. If I did that another 2in of the tank would drain after the overflow. I think a figured out a solution though.

 

[HBtank]

Any other solutions people have used or am I hoping for to much?

 

[chalowolf]

drill a small hole on you return and attatch some airline tubbing. At the end of the airline tubbing install a small check valve . The water will not come out thru it , but once the pump stops, it lets it suck in air, thus breaking the siphon. Put the end of the airline tubbing out of the water.

 

[CoolUsername]

Just for clarity. Which type of return are we talking about? My feeling is that everyone is talking about different things. I could be wrong.

 

[HBtank]

Return #1.

I understand the standard approach is to oversize the sump to handle the extra water, but the sump I have is just a little to small for my liking to do so. So I purchased a check valve and wanted to see if there are any other solutions for safety...

The check valve on airline tubing is interesting, but then again, I would have to rely on check valves not failing... And ones that would be under constant pressure... If one failed it might start watering my lights, or not work during a failure anyways...

 

[DHyslop]

Return #1 is bad news for anything but a closed loop.

I also run my return through a bulkhead, but I did so consciously to make it difficult for octopus to escape.

Instead of a check valve (asking for trouble IMO), I just ran a spray bar up to the water level so there isn't much back-flow when the pump is off.

 

[ChickenCannoneer]

Honestly all of these ideas are good. I think that they should all be combined so that you don't have problems. I don't run my sump high because I think that it is asking for a problem. I only run the sump at the highest level that can still hold all of the water from the tank and refugium. Good luck and HTH, Tim

 

[HBtank]

Thanks for all the input, I will come up with something that will be sufficient from the guidance.

Thanks again.

 

[chalowolf]

Correct, we cant rely on just one option.