Doomed to flood?

[jck16]

Hi been awhile since I've posted. I set up a new tank pictured here before I had put water in it. The problem is I think I didn't design this well...when I shut off the pump the water drains back through the return line which is a good 5-6 inches below the waterline causing a potential massive flood...I'm just thankful I didn't have a power outage yet. Can anyone give me some advice to help prevent a flood or am I doomed? I'd very much appreciate any input.
PS: Some details: Drainage is 1.5" PVC hard plumbing to sump via overflow. Return is 5/8" vinyl tubing to hard plumbed 3/4" PVC union coupling to ball valve to piping to drilled return.

 

[Wesley]

The water will always drain back to the sump from your highest water inlet point. From looking at your picture, you can see that your water inlet is about 5-6" below the water line. An easy fix is to use a long nozzle thingy to curl back up to the top of the water line and point downward from there.

 

[NewfiDog]

You could use a check valve but yes if theres debries it could get stuck open.

 

[Jzhou]

you can get a pvc check valve from some LFS. the mechanism is pretty much a large rubber flap that slams shut when water begins flowing in the wrong direction. There are some that are large enough that you can easily pass a marble through the valve.

 

[kalapnath]

i've heard about those check valves malfunctioning from time to time best bet would be to get a longer inlet nossle that way you get to decide how much water goes back to the sump when you shut it down for maintenance or anything else..........

 

[irvp13]

I?d recommend you do both. Install a check valve, I?ve had mine for a year and works pretty good. And also extend the inlet to be closer to the water level.

At least in my case I cannot have too much water syphoning back into my sump and I?m always moving and redirecting the nozzle to get different flows, it makes it hard to keep track of the nozzle position.

 

[aznt1217]

I?d recommend you do both. Install a check valve, I?ve had mine for a year and works pretty good. And also extend the inlet to be closer to the water level.

At least in my case I cannot have too much water syphoning back into my sump and I?m always moving and redirecting the nozzle to get different flows, it makes it hard to keep track of the nozzle position.

Yes do both.

 

[jck16]

Is there a good place to get check valves locally? I feel like I spend hours looking for stuff at home depot but they never seem to have the stuff I need. I don't have enough locline to make the return curve over the water level. After posting, I researched a little more and was thinking about actually cutting the PVC tubing and rerouting it to hard plumb over the water level at the back and putting in a few siphon holes. Will try it once I find a good store to get this stuff at.

 

[Jzhou]

It might be easier for you to just make the loop with pvc. Northern Aquarium on Northern Blvd and Prince sells the valves, so does Fishtown. But Fishtown is such a rip off on that kind of stuff.

 

[ming]

I'd recommend sticking with loclines and making it longer. Once you curve it up to near the surface, you can aim it a little downward so the flow is going down, just have the outlet within 1-2" from the surface so thats all it siphons back. The checkvalve malfunctions by things growing in your plumbing, such as sponges and stuff. If it does "malfunction", it will at least slow water down mostly as opposed to nothing. If you drill a small hole in the locline (facing down), the slower siphon can easily suck in enough air to break the siphon in the event of a power outage.

 

[jscarlata]

All you need to do is drill a small hole in your return line slightly below the water line. When power gies out the water will drain past the hole and then air will break the siphon on he return line. No need for a check valve

Whoops, jus saw your pic after I posted...do both, run a longer loc line up, loop it down back to the tank and drill a hole in it about 1/2-1" below the water line. No check valve

 

[masterswimmer]

I'd recommend sticking with loclines and making it longer. Once you curve it up to near the surface, you can aim it a little downward so the flow is going down, just have the outlet within 1-2" from the surface so thats all it siphons back. The checkvalve malfunctions by things growing in your plumbing, such as sponges and stuff. If it does "malfunction", it will at least slow water down mostly as opposed to nothing. If you drill a small hole in the locline (facing down), the slower siphon can easily suck in enough air to break the siphon in the event of a power outage.

Absolutely 100% correct on all points. Couldn't agree more or have said it better myself.

Russ

 

[lfsmarineguy]

They make clear double union check valves that are easy to monitor and clean if necessary. On a tank that size your return pump shouldn't be large enough to pass any debris of a size that would be an issue. I've installed returns at the bottoms of tanks either drilled directly through or piped down from the back and never had any problems. Just use or build an intake guard for the pump but even at a 3/4" valve size you shouldn't have any debris issues, just make sure to get a clear double union model.

 

[Master Shake]

idk if its been said but i ddont feel like reading through every post to see if it has. The nozzle in the tank returning the water looks low which is where the water is flowing down too. just go to home depot and get a valve that closes when the water is sent in the reverse direction aka when the power goes off and that should do it

 

[jck16]

Here's my solution and it works...cept a lot of the weight is on the bulkhead now :\. I guess I did it the hard way...but since my tank doesn't have any real live stock it wasn't a huge deal. I had to disassemble it anyway too cuz I found out I put the gasket on the wrong side :supermad:I tried to find a 3/4" PVC check valve but no place local sold it as far as I could tell. If I find one I will hard plumb it in. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[jscarlata]

I can't tell from that pic exactly what you did...looks odd though. Some of the suggestions that were made were very simple, just get two 6"
Lengths of locline, curve it up from your bulkhead above your tank and then back in, drill a small hole in a section of locline about a half inch below the water line. You do not need a check valve...what are the hoses coming off the PVC for?

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I'm assuming the airline is acting as a siphon break but I think they are going to create a lot of splashing from that height off the water.

 

[duke62]

i would have capped that bulk head and covered it up with some rock work and redrilled the tank higher.now you have an eye soar at the top of the tank..

 

[jck16]

Yeah, I know it isn't the best looking or easiest solution...but I couldn't find a local place that sold locline and I had to take out the bulkhead anyway to put the gasket on the flange side because it was slightly leaking before.

Yes, the airline tubing acts as the siphon break and carries the water into the tank as opposed to spraying everywhere. I made two so that it would make it much less likely to fail. It doesn't produce as much splash as it would seem. The few bubbles that form just go down over the overflow immediately.

Essentially I'm just happy that it works