What to do when your gone!!!

[N5KC]

I have been in a discussion with Gary P and have a slight problem. I work out of town and cannot take care of my 175 gallon bow front. I can either sell it or fix some of the problems. One of which: If the power goes out I will loose some water on the floor. Check valves should take care of that, but I would like to see what you guys think of a refuge verses the W/D. A refuge would take a lot more of the over flow verses the W/D. Feed back will help. Anyone who would like can call me (by PM) and I can let them know what I have in mind. Might need somone to go and see what they can do to help.

[GaryP]

Personally I would consider extra sump capacity over check valves if that is a possibility. Check valves do have a tendency to fail because of "junk" getting stuck in them. They need to be removed and cleaned occasionally and your goal here it to minimize maintenance, not add to it.

I was thinking that it would be possible to create a back up sump that would fill whenever the primary sump fills almost to the top. If this doubled as a refugium so much the better. It would just depend on the relative heights of the two vessels. The secondary sump would be gravity fed whenever the primary sump was almost overflowing. I'm sure one of the plumbing gurus around here could figure out how to set that up. It would require the fuge being ran at a fairly low level (50% capacity) under normal circumstances though.

The other thing to to keep in mind about power outages is "sticky pumps." All it takes is a little sand or scale build up to prevent a pump from spnning back up when the power comes back on. I normally recommend tearing down pumps and impellers and cleaning them in vinegar every 3-4 months to prevent this. This will greatly lengthen the life span of the pump and impeller as well. They are fighting a lot less friction. This is especially true in reef tanks that have high clacium and alkalinity levels. Scaling has a tendency to start in the pumps first. The pressure change as water goers through the pump head can catalyze scale formation.

[LoneStar]

OK I guess you have a wet/dry filtration system. What are the dimensions of the wet/dry?? If you are worried about water spilling out of it when the power goes off, you could always get a large rubbermaid containter and set the wet/dry inside of it. That way if it overfills, the rubbermaid will catch the excess water.

Another thing, what kid of return plumbing are we talking about? Locline or something similar? Do you have a anti-siphon hole near the top of the return spout? By drilling a small hole, facing to the side or downwards, that will stop the siphoning when the return pump shuts down due to a powerloss. Depending on the dimensions of the tank, that will determine how much water will be drained. So if the anti-siphon line is 1 inch below the top of the water line, that should be how much will drain into your wet/dry or sump. Its almost recommened to have about twice the amount of free space in the sump for the water that will siphon back down. One of those 'just in case' measures.


Oh and one more thing, what kind of return pump do you have? Some of the check valves require a decent amount of flow/pressure to keep them open. I would not advise using them, like Gary said.

[N5KC]

I have syphon holes drilled in the return. The tank is a 175 gallon reef. The return pump is a Blueline HD 100. There is not enough room under the stand to put the W/D in a container. I am thinking about getting the W/D out and put in a refuge, that will take the amount of water without over flowing. The problem is I am not home and this is the stormy season. I cannot expect the wife to do this. Some things you just have to do alone. Thanks for the suggestions.

[GaryP]

If you are going to take the W/D out, I would suggest slowly removing the bioballs from it now. By doing so it will start to shift the load from the bioballs to the LR for processing of waste. Bioballs are more efficient, but most tanks have so much LR that there is plenty of capacity to handle the waste. Its a matter of quanitity vs. quality.

[LoneStar]

Yeah I would really consider a larger sump with a refugium section. There are members on here that could help you out and build one near cost, either out of acrylic or glass.

[N5KC]

How about a refugium with the W/D inline? Will that help and keep the tank a little healthier? I ask my wife what water she put back in and she said the water from the RO/DI unit. well that is fresh so I am concerned about the SG, DKh, Ca and whatever it will change. I know I have lost most of the corals but here again I am not there and looking to make it less "Science" for her is the task at hand. I don't think it is an emer situation right now but it could end up being.

[LoneStar]

Is she adding RO water because a bunch has spilled already? or from evaporation?

How many gallons does your W/D hold now? You might be able to add 1 or two bulkheads to the W/D and connect it with another glass or acrylic box. That should give you more volume. If you do, make sure they are large enough to keep up with the flow of water, once the pump shuts off. If they are too small in diameter, the W/D would fill up faster than the new refugium would. Middle to low placement of the bulkhead would help out too.

If you add a refugium that overflows into the W/D, you might not add that much volume. The refugium would be filled (most of the way) and would not help in collecting water that would be siphoning back down.

[brewercm]

Another option and one I did with my last tank because I couldn't fit a larger sump under my tank was just to add on to the existing. I just drained my W/D as far down as possible and drilled a hole in it and a hole the same hight into a second sump and attached both with a couple of bulkheads and PVC. You may want to either use a large diamter like 2" or a couple of 1" to make sure the flow is fast enough from the W/D to the sump.
The drilling should be easy since we are probably talking about acrylic or plastic of some sort, regular hole saw will work.

[LoneStar]

Another option and one I did with my last tank because I couldn't fit a larger sump under my tank was just to add on to the existing. I just drained my W/D as far down as possible and drilled a hole in it and a hole the same hight into a second sump and attached both with a couple of bulkheads and PVC. You may want to either use a large diamter like 2" or a couple of 1" to make sure the flow is fast enough from the W/D to the sump.
The drilling should be easy since we are probably talking about acrylic or plastic of some sort, regular hole saw will work.




You might be able to add 1 or two bulkheads to the W/D and connect it with another glass or acrylic box. That should give you more volume. If you do, make sure they are large enough to keep up with the flow of water, once the pump shuts off. If they are too small in diameter, the W/D would fill up faster than the new refugium would. Middle to low placement of the bulkhead would help out too.


Thats what I was getting after. Great DIY minds think alike... ;)

[N5KC]

You guys gave me a lot of good ideas. Now just getting home for a weekend to do this would work. I wonder if anyone has a plastic or acrylic tank. I bet Felipe does. I like the ideas. I might combine them and see if I can get the problem solved. Now to get my tank back to health and start getting some new corals and a hood made.