Would this work for a tank with bottom RETURNS??

[akskirmish]

Do let me tell you though Sir-
Having a tank setup this way is a total pain in the arse....Can't use sand cause when you shut the pump off it wil clog return lines and make huge mess of things like check valves and whatnots.....The pressure the water has will also slow flow of return pump.....Plus other things as well....

 

[jcardona1]

Well with the other part(I just edited in my previous post)-The ones that let water flow one way and not the other-No I am not worried about anything-My Sump is plenty big enough to hold the excess water.

I am getting a bit confused here though-this seems way more complicated than it has to be....
I'm not sure on brand of check valves....Dad works for major plumbing company up here-so I get the best of almost anything in that dept for next to nothing....I just tell him what I need and he brings it...


Anyhow my tank goes as follows-

water goes over overflow then drains into standpipes-Runs down to my sump and then back up through the bottom returns...with the (whatever the name inserted here-that only lets water flow one way and not the other) being installed right where the water returns into bottom of the tank it will not let water back siphon through pump-The only water that can get sump is what is left in tank (roughly 40 gals or so if I had to guess) and my sump will hold much more than that...

Hope that kinda made sense-
If not man-I can take some pics pretty soon to better show what I mean....

yeah makes sense, i think Check Valve is the correct name, they only let the water flow in one direction. it sounds like our setup are the same. my tank just has a actual overflow box built into the tank. i am planning on running check valves right under the bottom returns, but i wanted to do something like this as a safety measure just in case the check valves were to get stuck open and the power would be shut off....all the water would drain out, flood your house and kill all your fish! see what i mean?

check valves are the first line of defense, this would be a backup just in case the check valves failed

 

[jcardona1]

Do let me tell you though Sir-
Having a tank setup this way is a total pain in the arse....Can't use sand cause when you shut the pump off it wil clog return lines and make huge mess of things like check valves and whatnots.....The pressure the water has will also slow flow of return pump.....Plus other things as well....

yeah man i here ya! it seems like a massive headache. ive been contemplating just plugging the damn things up and just running regular returns over the top! but i kinda like the idea of a reverse flow system....oh hell i dont know what im gonna do yet!

 

[akskirmish]

yeah makes sense, i think Check Valve is the correct name, they only let the water flow in one direction. it sounds like our setup are the same. my tank just has a actual overflow box built into the tank. i am planning on running check valves right under the bottom returns, but i wanted to do something like this as a safety measure just in case the check valves were to get stuck open and the power would be shut off....all the water would drain out, flood your house and kill all your fish! see what i mean?

check valves are the first line of defense, this would be a backup just in case the check valves failed

I see and this is the reason why one can't use a fine gravel nor sand in tank----Hence why I have huge river rock in my setup...
I too have overflow built in-it is 18 inch wide by 1 foot deep angled..it is quite big and is 3 foot tall....This is on my 500 as well...

I do use a high quality brass fittings though-So I'm not worried about the failing one bit-----That and like I said my sump is plenty big enough to handle the water----

But yes-If something terrible was to happen to them valves-I too would 500 gal of water on the floor......
I also have another return in bottom of tank-This one is plumbed for draining of the tank as well....


I think (and could be totally wrong) you are going overbored-But I guess better safe than sorry...

 

[akskirmish]

yeah man i here ya! it seems like a massive headache. ive been contemplating just plugging the damn things up and just running regular returns over the top! but i kinda like the idea of a reverse flow system....oh hell i dont know what im gonna do yet!

It works well-quite well actually-Just can't have the benefits of sand and other substrate choices is all....

Thats is the other option as well-Just plugging and do it like your thinking.....I didn't want to op for that look-I wanted a clean look myself....

Look forward to seeing what ya come up with...

 

[houie925]

ok, so if i do it this way, and the spillover pipe is above water, how will it break the siphon? wont a check valve create an air tight seal that will allow the water to siphon out anyways?

the check valve should only create a seal one way, if I understand this setup correctly, in this case it prevents the water from going through the spillover unless the valve fails. when power goes out the valve allows air to go into the system preventing a siphon from forming. As shown in your diagram the plumbing is below water level which will allow water to drain until water level reaches the bottom of the horizontal pipe so raising the horizontal pipe will prevent draining

 

[JakeH]

Just use redundancy, bro. 2 check valves on each return- 1 at tank & 1 just before pump. It would take an act of god to make 4 high quality check valves fail simultaneously. If you still cant sleep, put another one right after the sump or on the intakes. It works for NASA...

 

[jcardona1]

Just use redundancy, bro. 2 check valves on each return- 1 at tank & 1 just before pump. It would take an act of god to make 4 high quality check valves fail simultaneously. If you still cant sleep, put another one right after the sump or on the intakes. It works for NASA...

that would definitely solve the problem. if 4 valves fail at once, then it just wasnt meant to be. here's how the previous owner had it set up. the black line is the line from the pump, the red lines are going to the bottom returns. i think i might just do it this way...

 

[akskirmish]

That will cut flow like no other-
there is also no need to set it up that way man-

Use the checks (if thats correct) and go for the more "clean" look.....

I'll take some pics when time permits me too-

 

[jcardona1]

That will cut flow like no other-
there is also no need to set it up that way man-

Use the checks (if thats correct) and go for the more "clean" look.....

I'll take some pics when time permits me too-

yup, thats the big negative. i would have to run that like 7ft which will reduce the output of my pump bigtime.

maybe if i only use one bottom return and run double check valves. then leave the other as a drain only..