? about my sump overflowing

[CEverii]

Ok so I have my rubbermaid Sump all ready to go. On a lot of videos ive watched ive heard they say something about drilling a small hole in your plumbing somewhere to prevent overflow when the power goes out. No do i drill that hole above or below the water line, and do i drill it on the return line or the intake line? thanks

 

[CaptainAhab]

In a normal setup the hole is drilled in the return line just below the normal water level. When the power goes and the tank begins to drain into the sump the siphon will be broken when the level hits the hole and break the siphon.

As I remember it you went with a DIY setup.. so I can't speak to how your setup may drain/back drain in a power loss for sure.

 

[BigJim]

Drill it on the overflow line below the waterline in the display tank.

 

[CEverii]

In a normal setup the hole is drilled in the return line just below the normal water level. When the power goes and the tank begins to drain into the sump the siphon will be broken when the level hits the hole and break the siphon.

As I remember it you went with a DIY setup.. so I can't speak to how your setup may drain/back drain in a power loss for sure.

Yep its a normal setup, just instead of using an aquarium i used a bug plastic bin lol. Thanks for the info btw!

 

[thincat]

Be sure to drill two holes. One opposite the other in case a snail happens to be blocking one of those holes when the power goes off.

 

[CEverii]

Lol does that actually happen?

 

[CaptainAhab]

It's a risk/reward proposition.. How many holes shall I drill? The profesionals will tell you to take the number of snails you have divide it by 7.25 then multiply by your specific gravity then multiply that by the number of days you feed (doubled). Then take that number multiply by the number of snails you have (round down) and add 1.

You got snails that could clog it, crap from your tank, algae, etc.... 2 is a safeguard but no guarantee. Unless you want the math behind the guarantee too.

 

[thincat]

Hahaha ha. to funny. Great advise....It only happen to you!!!!!!!!!!!! and your tank...

 

[CichlidWrangler]

on mine i just fastened my water return line so that is just at the surface, i had it well into it at first, and while messing with it i unplugged it and it definately started back siphoning very quickly! putting just at the surface seemed to remedy this... if you put holes in it won't it spray out?

i just set up my first sump three days ago, so i can't say i know much yet. works very simply though once i got it set up.

 

[CaptainAhab]

" if you put holes in it won't it spray out"?

under the water.. the water level will never get below it unless the tank is draining...and in that case the water is flowing out and not being forced in...

 

[ilostnemo]

so this hole goes in the return plumbing inside the DT right below the water line? and how will it gain syphon back once power is back on

 

[jsoong]

I think people are using confusing terminology in this thread .... lets see if I can clear this up:

You do not drill holes in the lines from the tank to the sump. in a HOB overflow, this line needs to maintain siphon & normally should never be empty (between the 2 boxes of the overflow.)

The return line people are talking about goes from the sump to the tank. This line is driven by the pump, so has no need to maintain siphon. Normally, you drill 1 (or 2, or 3) very small hole so the majority of the water from the pump goes through the normal outlet (the least resistance).

When the power goes out, water will drain down both sides. From the overflow box side, the water will drain to the level of the bottom of the rakers. In the pump side, it will drain to the holes. Basically, you need to have room in the sump to take in all the water that will drain to whichever level is lower.

 

[ilostnemo]

I think people are using confusing terminology in this thread .... lets see if I can clear this up:

You do not drill holes in the lines from the tank to the sump. in a HOB overflow, this line needs to maintain siphon & normally should never be empty (between the 2 boxes of the overflow.)

The return line people are talking about goes from the sump to the tank. This line is driven by the pump, so has no need to maintain siphon. Normally, you drill 1 (or 2, or 3) very small hole so the majority of the water from the pump goes through the normal outlet (the least resistance).

When the power goes out, water will drain down both sides. From the overflow box side, the water will drain to the level of the bottom of the rakers. In the pump side, it will drain to the holes. Basically, you need to have room in the sump to take in all the water that will drain to whichever level is lower.

so basically if my overflow is one inch below water i should have the drilled hole in the return one in below also?

 

[jsoong]

The overflow has a min tank water level. (on some models this is adjustable). This is the level the tank water will drop to if the return pump is off (and there is no siphoning in the return pump line.) Usually, this is at the bottom of the raker teeth.

When the pump is running, the water level is a bit higher than this min level (the thickness depends on your pump flow rate & the overflow box size.) If you drill the holes between the working tank level & the min tank level, water will never go below the minimum tank water level from siphoning of the return line, and there will be no splashing of water when the pump is on as the holes are under water with the pump running.

 

[ilostnemo]

still confused....

 

[jsoong]

Let try a picture.

In the pic, the blue line is your tank to sump line, red being the overflow box. Green is the return line from your sump to your tank.

When the green line is closed (pump off, line not siphoning), water will drain down to the dark blue line. This level is determined by your overflow box. During use, the water level rises to enter into the overflow (light blue). You want your holes in the green return line between those 2 levels.

 

[ilostnemo]

thank you so much lol i get it now!!! you sir or madam get rep