Valve question

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SpeshulEd

Fire Eel
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May 7, 2009
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Is there such a thing as a valve that will close if the power goes out?

I'm looking for a valve or something that will stop the flow if the power goes out and the pump stops pumping.

My temporary sump is too small to handle all the water that might overflow if the power goes out.
 
Clapper valve. It stays open when your pump is running and when the power goes out it will close from the back wash. Never used one on an aquarium but worth a try. I always have a sump that will hold all the runoff water if the power goes out.
 
pvc check valve. swing or spring. spring can vibrate.

i use one but it doesnt seal completely, but does slow it down hell of a lot. (enough for me to get home a close the ball valve if i happened to be out when the electric went or pump blew up lol.

some people are against them, im quite happy with mine, it puts my mind at rest.

do a search in the forums as there is a bit about for them. but ill admit i was the same as you, you dont know what to look for until you know what your looking for. lol.

just one more thing, they do increase head pressure on the pump, and the spring ones can vibrate.
 
I don't think the check valve will work. I'm assuming a clapper valve is the same as a check.

My problem is before the sump. The water always flows in one direction - into the sump. I have a check valve after the external pump, so if the power goes out, the water doesn't run down my returns, through the pump and back into sump. (hope that makes sense).

Since the water is always running in the same direction (down) from the tank, I don't think the check will work.

I never thought of a float valve. That seems like it could work. I'll have to investigate though, not sure how I would hook it up, unless they make different varieties. Time to google.

Thanks guys!
 
i know in co2 setups we use a 'normally closed' solenoid. no power, no flow of co2. power on, co2 is flowing. but i have no idea if you could find something like that plumbing related. sounds expensive though :nilly:
 
Since the water is always running in the same direction (down) from the tank, I don't think the check will work.

A small hole, acting as a siphon break in both intake and return lines, is what most use.
Very effective and you can`t get any cheaper.
Some would worry over the hole getting plugged..
I guess it could happen, so make another hole, eh.
 
sorry im a bit confused, so its water from the overflow your worried about back syphoning into the sump? surely that wont be too much water? i use a durso so the water that drains when the power goes out is minimum.

in terms of the hole, i have tons of holes in my return pipe, (standing version) yet it still continues to flow, i have no end cap on the pipe simply a sponge stuffed in the end, but the water drains past the holes, so i went with the check valve.

if im correct and you are worried about water from the overflow flooding the sump, your right and a check valve wont help here as its the same direction, and also probably not enough pressure to open the valve.

do you have any pics of your setup?
 
I really need to take photos. All I have at the moment are photos of my old setup.

Basically, inside my tank I have 3 pipes that water flows into. The top of the pipes are about an inch from the top of the tank. The pipes go through the tank via 3 holes with bulkheads. Underneath the tank, I have 3 more pipes running to my sump.

Those pipes dump into the sump. This worked well when my sump was a 75g tank as it held the extra water that drained into the tank when the pump was off.

At the moment, I'm using a 55g tote temporarily while I find a better solution. The 75g was too difficult to get into and work with.

The tank only drains a minimal amount, basically just the surface area of the tank and the water that is in the pipes. However, the tank has a large surface area (450g tank). So with an already partially full 55g tote, the added water equals 15-20g (blind guess, it's probably far less) that the tote can't hold.

The obvious answer is use something besides a tote. As I said, its only temporary, but in the meantime if the power goes out, I'm still going to end up with water on the floor.

I'll probably go back to using the 75g, but I need to find a better way to collect crud. All the crud on the bottom turns the sump into a nitrate factory. And with the tanks height, it's too hard to clean out. I also need a 1.5" glass drill bit for the bulkhead.

Thanks everyone, for listening to me think out loud.
 
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