drain airlock

[PeeJ]

You know how in radiators, you can get air bubbles in the plumbing, and it will cuase the car to overheat. Can this happen in drains?

From the external overflow, I have spaflex hose for drain. The hose does not make a constant decent to the sump. Rather, it makes a very gradual, extruded U shape. I always wondered if this was a bad idea. just never trimmed off the excesss.

so today everything was cool, then i turned off everything, and turned it back on to free a trapped snail. next thing i know, my tank is about to overflow, and the water level in the external side of my overflow is super high as well. There is no way for things to go down the drain, as there is a bio ball grabbing all the big stuff. i shook the tube, now everything is good again...


is it just air trapped causing poor flow? i waslucky this time to be sittin near, but im worried now and wish to isolate the cause.

[Instar]

The cause is pure physics. First, cut the end of the tube off at a 45 degree angle. Second, provide a small secondary drain or a Tee near the end of the hose that will still drain where you want it but acts as a pressure release as well as an overflow at the end of the drain tube in the sump. Then, make sure the end of your 45 cut is not all the way submerged when the sump fills up during the simulated power outage. If you have a U shape, where the U has a bottom like a sink pee trap, you can capture all kinds of sediment and sponges in there that will plug the line or hold air locks. The U should be more like on the back or a C. If you have extra plumbing, take time to adjust or cut it now and avoid this later when you are away for a couple days. That would make a mess and could melt down a pump, depending on the type you use. If you have a vertical drain line, small holes in top (if you have a silencer) and end help avoid this combined with the 45 end cut and T, if necessary and not below water level all the way. You could have the 45 cut below water level to limit splashing, so long as you have a secondary drain above the water line. Thats where the Tee comes in and it will prevent an air lock. Of course it must be in the sump or you can still have a mess.

[PeeJ]

well i mean i have a wet dry filter..so its just spa flex goin down to a pvc pipe on the drip tray. everyhting has worked fine for as long as i can remember. but yea a snail got stuck in the power head so i flicked everything on and off real fast a few times so he would drop out. hopefully everything continues to work.

[Instar]

The ribs of the flex hose are great places to grow tunicates and sponges. And they are great breeding gounds for chitons too. Its possible to partially clog that hose after a while. Then all you need is for something to get caught going down and start building up a slime ball. Just like a house that has a sewer pipe backup, it all starts with a tiny little thing that really amounts to nothing that gets caught in the pipe.