Joe M check valves fail all the time look at all the junk in the lines of a sump or cansiter filter that build up is in those check valves yes they can fail and will fail wether its sooner or later you should never rely on check valves in a power outage a properly set up sump will have enuogh volume left over to hold a back siphon in the event of a power outage
New tank, first real monster, need advice/help (pics)
- Thread starter AOmonsta
- Start date
89must;4748888; said:
Check valves absolutely fail....ask any plumber that's been in the business longer than 6 months. Gunk build up (have you seen the inside of the vinyl tubing we use for the piping????), snails, deteriotation of materials, etc.
On the return side, drill a small hole (think toothpick size hole) in the piping just below your water line. With a sump, your water line will stay the same while the system is running....one of the advantages of a sump. If the power fails and pump stops, once the water goes beneath that pin sized hole, the back siphon will break and the water will stop flowing. This should limit the water return to just a few gallons. When you do your water changes, clean the hole out with a toothpick whether it needs it or not (it's a good habit). I keep a bent paper clip in my stand just for this purpose.
That method is full proof and doesn't rely on any mechanical stoppage.
watercrawl;4748982; said:
Of course check valves fail, as does any other mechanical type device without proper and timely maintenance. I remove and check the valves every 2 to 3 months to ensure they work and aren't clogged. And my returns have hole to break the siphon in the event that the valves fail. The valves are just to prevent any water from leaving the tank, and if they don't, the holes break the siphon after about a half inch drains out. A half inch of water in a 8x2 tank is still a hell of a lot of water though, so to attempt to avoid that, i have check valves.
AOmonsta;4749825; said:Will a setup like this work?
Thats almost exactly what mine looks like. That should work fine.
^^^^ good to know I'm doing something right. Few problems I think though: may switch from the ball valve to a stop valve, because the ball is super hard to turn and I don't want to have anything break because of me turning it.
Also the barb is way too small for my pipe. Didn't even realize it till I got home.
Also the barb is way too small for my pipe. Didn't even realize it till I got home.
Joe M;4744168; said:
Joe M;4749389; said:
So, which is it? No way to fail, or definately possible to fail?
You should really make up your mind.
As for how a piece of driftwood can get in there it's quite simple. Floating through the overflows, and through the return pump. Even with a prefilter it's amazing what can get through.
If you're really keen an wasting money on extra equipment and wasting time maintaining it, by all means do so. I'll stick with a proper setup and keep extra work out the picture so I can actually use that time for enjoying the aquarium from the front.
You can get several different sizes of barbs, just bring a piece of the tubing you have with you and make sure it's the right size.
Get the ball valve wet and then see how it turns. They tend to be a bit stiff at first, but I've yet to break anything while turning one.
Get the ball valve wet and then see how it turns. They tend to be a bit stiff at first, but I've yet to break anything while turning one.
JamesF;4750109; said:
Name something that works forever without maintenance................
That's what i thought. They don't fail if you take care of them which is exactly what I said. I thought you would be able to decipher that, but apparently not. There is 0 chance something gets through my filter sock, the foam pad i have wedged inside my sump, and my prefilter. It just wont happen. My sump is built to take things out of the water, not allow them back into the tank. I don't understand what your problem is with the way i set up my ****, but it works great. What are the chances that that piece of driftwood gets stuck in the type of check valve with the flap that flips to the side while water is running? Very small, if not zero. Stop taking what i say out of context, and don't tell me my setup is wrong. As i said earlier, my 300s return lines do have holes drilled in them, about 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch below the water level. In an 8x2 tank, that 1/4 inch of water could be the difference between a wet and dry floor with the relatively small sump i have on it right now. So i put in an extra safety feature. I don't even use driftwood so it doesn't matter anyway. My Pbass would just knock it over. It works for me, and i was trying to help somebody else, so is there a reason some idiot with 13 posts, and about 5 of them on this thread, keeps trying to poke holes in everything i say? If there is, let me know. If there isn't, then find somewhere else to annoy people.
