Help! Mysterious fish tank trouble

[Roblox84]

So i'll try to explain this situation as best as I can without pictures and see if anyone can help me out. This has left me puzzled for a while. I have a 55g with a 10g sump in the bottom of the stand, there is a hob overflow (without the air pump) leading down do it and one 3/4 inch return leading out of it. I also have an ato with a 5 gallon bucket next to the stand piped with vinyl piping right into the sump. There are no reactors or any uv or skimmers hanging of off the sump.

Last night I went downstairs and saw a little water on the carpet in front of the cabinet door so I immediately shut of the whole system. I opened it up and found that the cabinet had about an inch of water inside it. Now, the sump hadn't overflowed, the ato hose, drain pipe from the overflow, and return piping was also still in place. I filled back the return side of the sump back to the fill line with new saltwater, turned the system on and everything worked fine. I then came back to see if the water level had dropped due to the sump being cracked, but the water level remained constant.

So to me, this situation could only have happened if somehow the return pump quit working and the aquarium still kept on draining water and overflowed the sump. Then my return pump would have to have kicked on and pumped all the water back. But the only problem is that once the return is turned off, the water flow immediately stops due to an anti siphon hole drilled in it and the water level in the display is not high enough for the drain pipe to keep draining any water.

So what are your thoughts on what could have happened?

 

[mikk1301]

could a snail have covered your anti syphon hole at all?

 

[Roblox84]

could a snail have covered your anti syphon hole at all?

It's possible and maybe that is most likely. The only thing that I wouldn't understand is the return pump would of had to stop for some reason and then start right back up after the water had drained out of the display because when I opened the cabinet everything was running and the return pump was sucking in air with the water. I guess in reefkeeping if you never had something flood or break it just has to happen no matter how many saftey precautions you have set up.

 

[mikk1301]

It's possible and maybe that is most likely. The only thing that I wouldn't understand is the return pump would of had to stop for some reason and then start right back up after the water had drained out of the display because when I opened the cabinet everything was running and the return pump was sucking in air with the water. I guess in reefkeeping if you never had something flood or break it just has to happen no matter how many saftey precautions you have set up.

lol if stuff like this didn't happen we would get bored.maybe a power outage caused the pump to stop?

 

[Roblox84]

lol if stuff like this didn't happen we would get bored.maybe a power outage caused the pump to stop?

The living room where the tank is and the upstairs bedroom share the same electrical circuit, so when to much is running upstairs it could blow the fuse and cut of the aquarium. It's just so stupid because so many things would have to happen so perfectly for this to happen. I mean the snail would have to be sitting on the anti syphon hole at the exact moment when the electricity decided to cut off to the aquarium. Then the electricity had to be off convieniently long enough to drain the display tank before the return pump restarted. This stuff just makes me think that no matter how much you try to leak proof your aquarium something will happen just to prove you wrong. Even if it means one day a bird flying through a room window, smashing into your tank and cracking it.

 

[mikk1301]

The living room where the tank is and the upstairs bedroom share the same electrical circuit, so when to much is running upstairs it could blow the fuse and cut of the aquarium. It's just so stupid because so many things would have to happen so perfectly for this to happen. I mean the snail would have to be sitting on the anti syphon hole at the exact moment when the electricity decided to cut off to the aquarium. Then the electricity had to be off convieniently long enough to drain the display tank before the return pump restarted. This stuff just makes me think that no matter how much you try to leak proof your aquarium something will happen just to prove you wrong. Even if it means one day a bird flying through a room window, smashing into your tank and cracking it.

ohhhh now you have set the bar......thats got to have happened lol

 

[mille239]

Could your display tank have overflowed into the stand? I.e: If a snail temporarily blocked the drain pipe to your sump, the sump pump could've overfilled the display tank momentarily, and then the blockage broke loose and the system went back to normal...?? Maybe check your overflow box, drain pipe or sump for a snail.... I dunno

good luck

 

[zmckenzie]

My first thought was that you lost your siphon. My second thought is something is restricting the flow of your overflow so your pump is pumping more up to the return then the drain can handle.

 

[Sk8r]

Got an exterior skimmer? Sometimes they'll spit water in a major way if stalled and restarted.

Hair algae clog of the intake?

Got that topoff line secured tightly so it won't buck out?

Have you tested your SG---in case it was a back and forth siphon, as happens sometimes: an ato tank will equalize with the level in the sump if the ato line hits the water and siphon break fails--- I keep my ATO reduced to an airline tube and make it spill from 2" above the water for exactly that reason.