Return Pump Fail = Wet Carpet

salt e

salt e

In Memoriam
Return Pump DIED this morning... wet carpet... first stray voltage in my tank (STILL) now a dead return pump... talk about a bad luck streak...one thing after another :lol:
 
Perhaps the stay voltage and failure were linked . . . or at least contributed to the failure . . . :(

This is why I am glad I have no carpets and my flat is a giant cement box. I am sure you can guess what I was thinking when I moved in to an old brewery. :)
 
siphon breaks more like it... i have a large sump already... it was filled... lucky its large enough to hold MOST of the wter that came back down that way... it seemed that even when the return pump was plugged in the current was still FELT in the water... im going to target to get some more power strips and an extention cable and run some tests.... hope i can solve this one. :rolleyes:
 
you gotta make sure your sump has enough room for when this thing happens....i had power outages a couple of time...no flood
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8352776#post8352776 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Corriander
This is why I am glad I have no carpets and my flat is a giant cement box. I am sure you can guess what I was thinking when I moved in to an old brewery. :)
Click to expand...

i need to move into such a place. old apartment in hollywood with old wood floors, not a level spot to be found.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8353347#post8353347 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoLurker
i need to move into such a place. old apartment in hollywood with old wood floors, not a level spot to be found.
Click to expand...

The 65ft x 40ft room used to be part of the chilling room. It has 1.5ft thick reinforced concrete floors with walls made from a foot of concrete, a foot of cork and a final 1in layer of concrete on the interior. The whole place is on a 2degree slope towards the 'slop' hallway. The 16ft ceilings are high enough my wife can train on her trapeze (yes, I said trapeze) and is the OTHER reason we moved in to the place.

I am building a fish room (the only enclosed space aside from the bathroom) that is 12ft x 15ft. The first wall is already up and has a 150gal (6ft l, 1.5ft w, 2.5ft h) facing the 270sqft yoga/training studio I am finishing tonight or tomorrow. A 100gal Rubbermaid sump with a DIY 35gal Roughneck trashcan wet/dry filter makes up the heart of the system. An 80gal divided tank (old petco display) will be going on line as the first refugium and will provide snacks for a pair of propagation tanks below. The main display is going to be a 600gal monster built on site with an additional refugium overhead to feed it. We should start construction on the remainder of the room next week and on the tanks itself in early November.

Fortunately, there is a lovely bar/restaurant in the building right across from mine; so good beer is only one flight of stairs and short stumble away. :D
 
wow - sounds like a great place. i insist upon a tour :D

i'm stuck with my terminte infested, but very affordable, hole-in-the wall apartment :)

sorry about your problems salt-e :(
 
forget the check valve..it may slow it down but the chance of it sticking is pretty high. just use the regular failsafes...

drill 2-3 siphon break holes in the return tube so that if a snail can cover 2 at the time of the power loss there is still one left.
dont fill the water more than the sump can handle when the power is off...fill the display, fill the sump to the brim then turn it on. when it hits equillibrium mark the water level. you shouldnt fill past that or the same thing will happen again.
Make sure your overflow box isnt leaking allowing more water to trickle in and in turn more water to drain.


please do NOT shortcut these things. power goes out all the time here and i have never had water overflow. you shouldnt be having these problems either.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8354284#post8354284 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rscott76
forget the check valve..it may slow it down but the chance of it sticking is pretty high. just use the regular failsafes...

drill 2-3 siphon break holes in the return tube so that if a snail can cover 2 at the time of the power loss there is still one left.
dont fill the water more than the sump can handle when the power is off...fill the display, fill the sump to the brim then turn it on. when it hits equillibrium mark the water level. you shouldnt fill past that or the same thing will happen again.
Make sure your overflow box isnt leaking allowing more water to trickle in and in turn more water to drain.


please do NOT shortcut these things. power goes out all the time here and i have never had water overflow. you shouldnt be having these problems either.
Click to expand...

good advice


remember that any water loss will be replaced by your auto top off when\if the pump restarts. I sure hope your not using a kalk reactor feed by a powerhead;)
 
Sorry about your carpert. I have the same problem everytime the power goes off. I just can't figure out how to make the siphon break. I was going to replace my check valve because it is not closing anymore. Any pictures of what you guys are talking about? Ty
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8355237#post8355237 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rtwodtwo99
Sorry about your carpert. I have the same problem everytime the power goes off. I just can't figure out how to make the siphon break. I was going to replace my check valve because it is not closing anymore. Any pictures of what you guys are talking about? Ty
Click to expand...

no pictures but ill do my best to describe it....

determine the water level when the tank is running
in the RETURN piping on the INSIDE of the tank you want to drill a couple holes either close to or below the water level depending on the level of your drain. you want the holes to be as high as possible without being out of the water because some water will spit through the holes. If your return outputs are higher than your overflow level, the siphon will break automatically once the waterlevel stops at the overflow. Otherwise, the holes will allow the pipe to suck in air as the water level drops. the air will break the siphon and stop the water draining into the sump.

as far as pics go...its just holes in the pipe. make them just a tad under the water level and youll never know theyre there.
 
very good advice...check valve...
i will be doing that tomorrow... i have a Dremel tool that will be put into effect...

thx much NanoLurker & rtwodtwo99...
the pump i have is a Little Giant Series3 (little giant = lotta noise :p )... i somehow got the pump running again by pulling it apart and manualy spinning the turbine slowly till it caught again and its up and running....just hope it dont fail again tonight... what a frustrating day! (not the first time i had to do this, manual start up) thx for all the help and advice again guys... i think that my sump is about 20-30 gallons... not sure... but the way its built will prolly only hold 20 MAX of overflow... the carpet was all cleaned and all seems ok now... if any of you have kept up on my other thread running... the pump might have failed from a grounging electrical issue i have ben going through...i cant really say for sure though... but i found the electrical isue and removed the source (my PCs....YES...you read correct...my PC'S!) now im out on lights and little money to search for a used MH set with... but i will be starting a WTB MH tomorrow... hope for good results. hate to see my corals suffer :(
 
i have 2 returns in the tank... one in each corner w/ 2 flex tubes on each set... i just lifted 1 flex more toward the surface on each to help prevent the siphon from happening... this will also help the gas exchange on the sufrace as well... eather way... this was a good idea if not the best idea possible for me and the fish :)
 
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