Power outtage scare

[24 hours? NE!]

It's not an emergency (yet), but with the power going out around me today, I'm a little uneasy.

My sump (and pump) is working well, but if the power goes out and then comes back on- my overflows (for the sump) don't immediately catch up with my pump- which leads to an overflow of the tank.

In order to partially set my mind at ease, I've got an APC UPS (battery backup) connected to the tank. This will work for a little while and keeps pesky spikes and half-second outtages from affecting anything, but not if the power goes out for longer than an hour or two.

Is there anything I can do to keep my pump from coming back on if the power comes back on after the juice in the UPS has been spent (without me being there)?

 

[EL Diablo]

thats scary, the other day my power went down, it was only for a half hour but you never know when it's going to come back up.

I am going to pick up a air pump back up.

your power could be down while you are at work for hours and hours and you might never know it.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Thats a good question. Just last night my power went out, and fourtunalte I was able to unplug my pump and wait for it to come back one. I would hate to think what would happen to the pump if it came back on unprimed when power resumed and I did not notice it for a few hours.

 

[24 hours? NE!]

Yeah, I'm not worried at all when I'm home- I'll hear the alarm on the UPS.

I'm double checking what I have plugged into the battery part right now to weed out the unnecessaries.

 

[indy]

I used to use a regular siphon line down to my sump, had to be restarted manually if it ever lost prime. I had my power go down last winter for about 3 hours. I turned on all the lights in my bedroom so it would wake me up when the power kicked back on so I could get the tank running again. "twas not fun.

 

[AndySmithers]

Erm... Am I missing something here?
In the "nowheresville", TX location that my tanks at, the power goes out, dips etc. all the time. Never has this caused me a problem. A combination of a Lifereef (= completely idiot-proof) overflow and enough space in the sump to accomodate backflow until the siphon breaks gives me total peace of mind. Of course a long power outage may need some battery pumps for aeration but I never worry about floods.
Am I doing something different from you guys???

 

[24 hours? NE!]

Mines a different dilemma. I won't have any problems with overflowing the sump. I've got overflows (2) drilled into the top center of my tank. They're simple guards screwed into bulkheads. This only allows a limited amount of water to come down the tubes if my sump quites. This works great because I've got enough extra room in my sump. (I think I've got pictures in my photogallery that you can see them in the background.)

My problem will occur when the power comes back on. My pump will start back up and then the water starts draining into the overflows in the tank to the sump. It takes a little longer to get suction on their own than happens naturally before the tank starts overflowing. I usually have to squeeze the overflow lines (which go into the sump) a little bit to get the suction.

Is that clear as mud? I'm still new at this sump thing, so I may be missing something.

 

[loganj]

I'm not sure I understand the problem. The overflow drains should start flowing as soon as water reaches a level that it can flow into them. Are they airlocking? The air lines you installed in the drains should prevent this. Can you post a pic of the plumbing as it is now?

 

[24 hours? NE!]

I guess the whole thing has had me wondering what it was doing since it started.

I'll get a couple pics by tomorrow.