sump tank

[koss]

Hi folks have just finished setting up fish tanks in my cellar the tanks have all been drilled at the bottom so I have connected them all up together to come out of one pipe.
I have a large tank left over that I want to put underneath to use as a sump tank.
I have a very large heater and pump that I will be useing inside the tank will it be okay to connect the pipe of the tanks into the side of the sump tank connected to a float valve to fill the sump tank up,so if the power goes off this should stop the flow.
Also the outlet pipe I have rigged up passing over the top two tanks then down over the last two with an end cap
I have drilled holes over each section of pipe over each tank
Will this idea work any comments will be welcome as I have a breeding pair with fry which will need seperating soon.

Thankyou

[partypalooza5]

I think the float valve will cause too much restriction (not letting enough water through even if its fully open) But if the sump is big enough there shouldn't be an overflow of water.

[koss]

Hi thanks for the reply
there are four 4 foot tanks running and I have a 4 foot tank as the sump tank So I need to stop the tank overflowing if there is a power cut any ideas
thanks

[AMDPhenomX4]

Is their an overflow build it? If not you need to make one. Can you get a picture of the tanks that are hooked together? If their isnt an overflow then you can use a pvc pipe to make one.

[jsoong]

You do not want to fill the sump up to full. You need space in the sump to accept all the water that can drain down into the sump with a power failure. You should have standpipes in the overflows to limit the amount of water draining down into the sump, and also small holes drilled in your return line inside the tank to break the siphon. Location of holes & standpipe height will determine the water level when your pump is out. Use that to figure out how much room you need to leave in the sump to accept all the water.

You should test your setup by unplugging the pump & make sure there is no flood. <Be ready to turn pump back on in case you miscalculated & the water get too high!!!>

Melevsreef.com - What is a Sump?
This is a drawing of a no-flood sump setup. He is using a HOB overflow. Same principles apply to drilled tanks.

[koss]

Hi thankyou all for your advice
its not the sump tank im worried about because all of my tanks were drilled at the bottom if the power goes off they would just empty I need to stop that is it possibe to get a electric flow valve that I could conect on the sump inlet pipe so if the power was cut it would shut off.
thankyou

[jsoong]

I would never trust a valve to keep water in your display. You should use standpipes in your tanks to limit the amount of water that would drain down to the sump, and leave room in the sump to catch the little bit that will drain.