Cali Kid Corals

Petco $1/gallon sale - looking for 40 breeder

denzil said:
How do you plan on setting up your return? You can possibly do without the check valve if you use Loc-Line and then drill a really small hole on the underside of one of the connecting pieces, typically closest to the glass so that when the return pump is turned off, some water will back siphon but not enough to be a problem. It really depends on the height of the return line in comparison to the water line based on the positioning of your overflow.
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I was thinking of drilling a hole in the return as well. Figured I might as well have multiple safety mechanisms in case one of them fails. The check valve is best because it allows no back siphon, but then in case that fails a siphon break hole would only let a couple gallons of water go down into the sump before the hole was exposed and the siphon breaks.

The return is going to be a single 3/4" lockline with a flared nozzle. I positioned the bulkhead as close to the top of the tank as possible because I want the return to be close to the surface for surface agitation.
 
denzil said:
Good point about redundancy... I just thought I could get away from check valves altogether, haha.
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Yeah, they do seem like kind of a pain, but I'd really prefer that most of the time when I shut off the return if no water would flow down into the sump. My current set-up just has a hole in the return as a siphon break but no check valve and if I turn off the return pump for maintenance, the sump fills up. Its not like it overflow since I designed it to hold the amount of water that would back siphon, but having it all the way full makes it most of a pain to service all the equipment. Just seems like it would be nice to not have that happen unless the check valve failed. Plus with the true union one, I can screw it out quickly and clean it when I clean the other equipment.
 
Good job with the drilling Felicia. As much as check valves get a bad rap, it sounds like a good idea to ease maintenance. I always hated back flow into my sump -- it would raise the water level just enough to make my skimmer overflow like mad.
 
tygunn said:
Good job with the drilling Felicia. As much as check valves get a bad rap, it sounds like a good idea to ease maintenance. I always hated back flow into my sump -- it would raise the water level just enough to make my skimmer overflow like mad.
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I have always disliked skimmers that are water level dependent. I'll have to remember that if/when I start the bigger build.
 
tygunn said:
Good job with the drilling Felicia. As much as check valves get a bad rap, it sounds like a good idea to ease maintenance. I always hated back flow into my sump -- it would raise the water level just enough to make my skimmer overflow like mad.
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Thanks! I'm just so glad I didn't crack the tank! Yeah I don't want to use the check valve as my main safety mechanism for preventing backsiphon, but I think it will really make things easier. I do get sick of forgetting to turn off my skimmer before I turn off the return pump. I always flip off my return pump and then realize my skimmer is overflowing everywhere. I'd love to be able to leave the skimmer on except for when I'm cleaning the skimmer itself.
 
denzil said:
I have always disliked skimmers that are water level dependent. I'll have to remember that if/when I start the bigger build.
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Definitely something you have to think about. I just want to do a better job making sure my water level never changes to my skimmer runs well.
 
denzil said:
I have always disliked skimmers that are water level dependent. I'll have to remember that if/when I start the bigger build.
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Not to hijack Felicia's wonderful thread - great job BTW - but just what skimmers are not sensitive to water level? I'd guess external skimmers are in that category, but what else?

My solution is a controller. Any time my return pump is not powered, the skimmer automatically shuts down. If there is a power outage or I shut off the return pump, the skimmer doesn't come on till the return has been running for 5 minutes. The only time I've had issues is when the ATO goes nuts. One of these days I'll add another level sensor to cure that. One of these days! :D

Perhaps a simple relay would do the job. Have a float valve open a circuit the skimmer is connected to. Water level goes up, skimmer power goes off. I think the autotopoff.com relay would do the trick.
 
Felicia, maybe rename this thread as your tank build or start new one? It's more than a petco 40b tank discussion :)

Would love to follow progress on your new setup...
 
Check valves have another advantage.
Even if they fail to seal completely, they slow down the flow a lot.

That gives you time to notice, or time for controller/float switches to shut things off.

But also remember that siphons can be powerful, and actually pull quite a bit of air
down before it truly breaks siphon.
So that little hole you drilled ... that also gets full of crud ... may not be quite enough.
But with very low flow in the siphon, it is.
 
aqua-nut said:
Not to hijack Felicia's wonderful thread - great job BTW - but just what skimmers are not sensitive to water level? I'd guess external skimmers are in that category, but what else?

My solution is a controller. Any time my return pump is not powered, the skimmer automatically shuts down. If there is a power outage or I shut off the return pump, the skimmer doesn't come on till the return has been running for 5 minutes. The only time I've had issues is when the ATO goes nuts. One of these days I'll add another level sensor to cure that. One of these days! :D

Perhaps a simple relay would do the job. Have a float valve open a circuit the skimmer is connected to. Water level goes up, skimmer power goes off. I think the autotopoff.com relay would do the trick.
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No worries on the hijacking. I love when threads I start turn into really good equipment discussions :) Gives me great ideas!

Yeah, I just do not have the budget right now for a controller. A float switch hooked to the skimmer is a great idea though. I have a float switch from Autotopoff.com hooked to my return pump to shut it off in case the siphon breaks on my overflow box. I don't want the pump running dry and burning up, or pumping enough water up into the tank for it to overflow. Works great! Maybe I'll get another one for the skimmer if the check valve doesn't prevent my sump from filling up when the return pump is off.
 
Nav said:
Felicia, maybe rename this thread as your tank build or start new one? It's more than a petco 40b tank discussion :)

Would love to follow progress on your new setup...
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Yep! I need to start a tank thread. Thanks for the reminder...give me a few minutes and I'll make one :)
 
rygh said:
Check valves have another advantage.
Even if they fail to seal completely, they slow down the flow a lot.

That gives you time to notice, or time for controller/float switches to shut things off.

But also remember that siphons can be powerful, and actually pull quite a bit of air
down before it truly breaks siphon.
So that little hole you drilled ... that also gets full of crud ... may not be quite enough.
But with very low flow in the siphon, it is.
Click to expand...
Good point! I just like the idea of having several things in case one of them fails. Can never be too safe. Especially since I'm on the second floor of an apartment building, so a flood would be awful!
 
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