Terrible morning - sump cracked!
- Thread starter ACBlinky
- Start date
Waxxiemann
New member
Agreed. Nice Lamarcks by the way, I added a tiny one about 3 weeks ago. Great fish.
ACBlinky
Premium Member
Thanks guys 
Waxxiemann - thank you, she's my pride and joy. When I got her, she was just a teeny little thing with a shredded tail. Now she's healthy and fat, and it's only been about six months. She's such a beautiful girl, and has a great personality. Enjoy your Lamarck's they're fantastic fish.
Waxxiemann - thank you, she's my pride and joy. When I got her, she was just a teeny little thing with a shredded tail. Now she's healthy and fat, and it's only been about six months. She's such a beautiful girl, and has a great personality. Enjoy your Lamarck's they're fantastic fish
.
OceanSpray
Member
Nice job!! I'm glad everything went well! Very nice looking setup!
ACBlinky
Premium Member
Hey lavith, nice to see another Torontonian here!
Honestly, I think you have cause to be a little worried if your baffles were forced into place - I thought nothing of wedging mine in and paid for it 10 months later. I figured that the acrylic would bend if there was excess pressure, but apparently that wasn't enough and when it finally broke it was rather spectacular. The three cracks cover half of one end of the sump, and it happened quickly, without any warning - I looked at the sump before going to bed after midnight and saw nothing wrong, and by 5:30am or so when I got up to make sure the dog didn't need to go outside, all the water had already drained onto the floor. As someone mentioned earlier, I'm very lucky I didn't step into an electrically charged puddle - the entertainment center has many cords at the back that were perilously close to getting wet, there's a floor lamp in the room, and SW was seeping through the wall and into the kitchen via the area under the stove.
If you think your sump is a potential time bomb, it might be worth the trouble to rebuild it. It's much easier to dismantle and build on your own schedule than to spend 24h panicking and working in haste because you have no other choice. Not to mention the possibility of ruined furniture, flooring, drywall... I got VERY lucky there, I can't believe it. Our entertainment center is a little bubbly at the bottom, but it's nothing we can't live with, and there's no real permanent damage anywhere else.
Honestly, I think you have cause to be a little worried if your baffles were forced into place - I thought nothing of wedging mine in and paid for it 10 months later. I figured that the acrylic would bend if there was excess pressure, but apparently that wasn't enough and when it finally broke it was rather spectacular. The three cracks cover half of one end of the sump, and it happened quickly, without any warning - I looked at the sump before going to bed after midnight and saw nothing wrong, and by 5:30am or so when I got up to make sure the dog didn't need to go outside, all the water had already drained onto the floor. As someone mentioned earlier, I'm very lucky I didn't step into an electrically charged puddle - the entertainment center has many cords at the back that were perilously close to getting wet, there's a floor lamp in the room, and SW was seeping through the wall and into the kitchen via the area under the stove.
If you think your sump is a potential time bomb, it might be worth the trouble to rebuild it. It's much easier to dismantle and build on your own schedule than to spend 24h panicking and working in haste because you have no other choice. Not to mention the possibility of ruined furniture, flooring, drywall... I got VERY lucky there, I can't believe it. Our entertainment center is a little bubbly at the bottom, but it's nothing we can't live with, and there's no real permanent damage anywhere else.
lavith
New member
Mine baffles are glass and there were tight fit. I guess the baffles didn't force too much onto back and front pane enough for it to fail. I should have them lose fit as melee mentioned. How long did you have had that tank going until it broke?
By the way, you current sump is looking good. Looks to me that you have Perfecto 90G RR. Can you forward a photo on how you connect the drain and return line? I am setting the same overflow system and have had time finding the right fitting.
By the way, you current sump is looking good. Looks to me that you have Perfecto 90G RR. Can you forward a photo on how you connect the drain and return line? I am setting the same overflow system and have had time finding the right fitting.
ACBlinky
Premium Member
I had the sump working for just under 10 months before it failed.
You're right, it's a Perfecto RR 90g. I got the overflow kit with the tank, and then went to a plumbing supply store with the return pump, my 'design' and the entire overflow kit in hand to ask for the correct fittings. For some reason, PVC for potable water in the size needed for a 90g is very tough to find in this city - forget all the big box stores, they don't have it. Even the specialty store I went to had to order it in (same day service, they just had to retrieve the parts from their supplier).
Here's a blurry picture of the fittings used to connect the pipes:
They're threaded on one side, and slip on the other. The slip side is attached with PVC cement, which was surprisingly easy to use. All my plumbing right down to the pump is hard PVC; I don't trust flexible tubing and hose clamps under that much pressure.
You're right, it's a Perfecto RR 90g. I got the overflow kit with the tank, and then went to a plumbing supply store with the return pump, my 'design' and the entire overflow kit in hand to ask for the correct fittings. For some reason, PVC for potable water in the size needed for a 90g is very tough to find in this city - forget all the big box stores, they don't have it. Even the specialty store I went to had to order it in (same day service, they just had to retrieve the parts from their supplier).
Here's a blurry picture of the fittings used to connect the pipes:
They're threaded on one side, and slip on the other. The slip side is attached with PVC cement, which was surprisingly easy to use. All my plumbing right down to the pump is hard PVC; I don't trust flexible tubing and hose clamps under that much pressure.
