DIY or cheap level control

emonemo420

New member
Since im probably one of the most paranoid people u will ever meet (many years of doing stupid things as a teenager definately didnt help this) but i need something to kill my return pump if my tank gets to high....i sooooo dont trust this sump yet...it ran fine last night for a few hours then in the middle of the night an act of god happened and a friend rudely called me cause he was bored and i hung up on him mad, tired, and ready to get back to bed when i peakedat my tank to find it probably 20-30 minutes from overflowing another words i woulda woke up to a mess....so i want something that i can either build or buy for cheap to help stop this problem....let me know plz
 
I had the same problem with an OTB overflow. If the pump returned more water then the overflow or if the overflow lost sunction it would overflow. I built this item to allow me to sleep at night. It works well. It is a float switch and a relay that turns off the ac outlet that poweres the pump. When the water level drops the pump comes back on.
 
are you sure you got the entire air bubble out of the syphon U-tube? the bigger the bubble, the less it syphons. I dont understand it. dave used that same pump and overflow and sump together for several years without problem. my mag 7 and SOS overflow has run for 8 years and no problem . perhaps try setting the in tank overflow box on a diferent level peg.
 
maybe i can have dave come over and look at it....idk i think im gonna try the 3 from the skimmer on it and maybe get another three if it works on my sump because if i dont have the ball valve on it it floods in minutes...its really bothering me but um how did u build that overflow with relay...any links to stuff i need or directions or something?
 
I think the basic idea for the relay can be found on <A HREF="http://www.melevsreef.com/plumbing/auto_topoff.html">this page</a>. If you haven't seen it already take look around that site anyways. He is using the float switch for a different application, but the general idea of how it turns on and off the pump is still there. <A HREF="http://www.aquahub.com/store/diygaquarium.html">Here is a second site</A>. If you plan on ordering a float switch let me know so we can see if combining shipping will save us money. I need to get one soon as well. (BTW be VERY careful if you ever decide to use an auto top of with fresh water in it and put very little water in the bottle your pulling from)
 
actually i got my sump working so i do not need one....i just need a new pump for my skimmer if the 7 wont work on my sump i gotta ops check it tommorrow and see what happens...the 3 works great on my sump though water level hasnt changed at all:rollface:
 
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