Overflow floods!!! x 3 now !! Help !

johngeb

johngeb

Premium Member
Hello all,

I'm in need of HELP ASAP ! My overflow box has flooded my living room 3 times and not due to power failer!. My system is this. a 75 gallon with a 20 gallon fuge with a overflow box that runs down into a sump and gets pumped back into the fuge by a pump. Tonight was the last time it over flowered as the term says but onto my floor !!!! and carpet !!.. I'm willing to spend hundereds to solve this but a dollar here and a dollare there helps in my gas for my car! (3.25 a gallon) a little humer there but true. what is the best product I can buy to solve this. There is no way to change my setup but what i have now.
 
What kind of overflow do you have and what's the deal, is it losing syphon or does your pump overflow your tank?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9918254#post9918254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jobob
U-Tubes are the best, they never lose there syphon
Click to expand...

Funny, They can, unless you have a pump keeping siphon.
I don't trust the design, better get the tank drilled.
 
Are your U-tubes full of algae? It does not take much to restrict the flow enough to let your pump out pass it. It they are getting full of air bubbles, then get an aqua lifter pump and some airline tubing to suck out the air.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9918460#post9918460 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Icefire
Funny, They can, unless you have a pump keeping siphon.
I don't trust the design, better get the tank drilled.
Click to expand...
Absolutely not true. A properly setup U Tube overflow will run indefinitely without losing siphon.

You dont need a pump to keep siphon. In fact, adding one makes it less reliable.

johngeb, please describe what you have in as much detail as possible. Overflow type, plumbing setup for drain and return, pump used, etc. Pics would help.
 
Before we all start talkin utube vs this and that and what not....lets see what his setup is, then go from there.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9918655#post9918655 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
Absolutely not true. A properly setup U Tube overflow will run indefinitely without losing siphon.

You dont need a pump to keep siphon. In fact, adding one makes it less reliable.

johngeb, please describe what you have in as much detail as possible. Overflow type, plumbing setup for drain and return, pump used, etc. Pics would help.
Click to expand...


I think the key phrase is properly setup U tube overflow. I have a U tube that no matter what i do it develops an air pocket in the top of the tube and will overflow the tank if i don't catch it in time. I've been told this can be avoided with a more powerful return pump.
 
Drill the tank. Once drilled you can set the water level in the sump to hold the drain off in case of a power failure. You will sleep better.
 
I plan on drilling my tank when i move it in about a month. I'm trying to get the nerve to do it while it's still partially filled.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9919349#post9919349 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by unclereefer
I think the key phrase is properly setup U tube overflow. I have a U tube that no matter what i do it develops an air pocket in the top of the tube and will overflow the tank if i don't catch it in time. I've been told this can be avoided with a more powerful return pump.
Click to expand...
Likely the case. You need a little more flow. Sometimes you can do this without getting a new pump.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9919349#post9919349 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by unclereefer
I think the key phrase is properly setup U tube overflow. I have a U tube that no matter what i do it develops an air pocket in the top of the tube and will overflow the tank if i don't catch it in time. I've been told this can be avoided with a more powerful return pump.
Click to expand...

I've also got the 37 with a return pump rated at 650GPH 0' and over-flow box using a single 1" u-tube. The water runs so fast the bubbles that do get sucked in get flushed out the other side. Its been months now and I've never touched it since it was installed.

With regard to the main post:

If your sump was properly setup the baffles should keep water out of the return chamber and have the pump run dry (of course not a good thing, may want to get a pump saver) when the over flow gets blocked. The water that does flow to the tank from the sumps return chamber is just enough for it to fill to the display tank to the top limits and stop once the return runs dry. I've tested for both power loss and from blocked over-flow with no issues.
 
a return pump rated at 650GPH 0' and over-flow box using a single 1" u-tube. The water runs so fast the bubbles that do get sucked in get flushed out the other side. Its been months now and I've never touched it since it was installed.
Click to expand...
This is what Im taking about. Im sure eventualy it will lose its syphon, but with proper flow it wont lose it during a power outage. The C-type will.
 
You only need ~ 200 GPH or so through a U Tube to keep bubbles from accumulating. A Mag3 without overly restrictive plumbing will be enough.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9920387#post9920387 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jobob
The C-type will.
Click to expand...

When I decieded to go with overflow I chose u-tube instead of the c-type, its called KISS and from my readings here much more reliable. C-type is too complex and it needs to have another accessory that can break the airlft pump.

I've calculated my tanks limits, in the display the water level is just at the start of the black plastic top, about 1" or more to the top, the calculated volume it can hold is 1.5 gallons if the over-flow gets blocked. The sumps return pump chamber volume is less than 1 gallon. The sump is aso able to keep an over-flow of 5 gallons from the main tank if the power were to go out, but to minimize the siphon from the return pumps tube I have a 1/4" hole on the tube near the top of the water level. Air gets sucked into the reverse flow when power goes out.

Hope that helps you a bit from having flooded floors/carpet. The latter sucks the worst.
 
johngeb stated that his overflow has flooded his living room. So maybe he is talking about the overflow itself overflowing? Only way that could happen is if the overflow pipe / hose down to the sump gets clogged / kinked or if it isn't large enough to handle the flow of the U-tubes themselves. Or, is it possible that maybe an air pocket is occassionally developing inside the pipe/hose that goes from the overflow to the sump? That would maybe be possible depending on how it is set-up. Or I just could be missing something. Happens alot.
 
how is it that some say they do not fail, and some say they do.
Its one or the other which one is it?
what does propperly setting it mean?
 
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