Help! I knew I shouldn't DIMyself

[tebriel]

Okay, so I filled up my refugium with saltwater, made sure everything was sealed tight and then started my pump. It works, water flows through the overflow box down to the refugium, back up the pump into the tank and it starts all over again. However, when I turn off the water the refugium keeps filling up until i plug the pump back in and it starts back up. What do I do? Is it the plumbing from the return line reversing flow and coming back to the refugium? How do I stop it if it is?

 

[tebriel]

Okay, the answer is yes, the flow is reversing and coming back down the return line. How do I stop this? Is there some kind of one way valve?

 

[matt b]

when ur pump is on how high is ur water level in the fuge and what kind of overflow do u have

 

[matt b]

we posted at the same time well nvm i dont no

 

[frankski]

needs to be a hole where the water exits the pipe into tank to break the siphon.doesnt need to be a big. use small drill bit.be cautious where you drill it because water will spray out the hole when the pump is on.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by frankski
needs to be a hole where the water exits the pipe into tank to break the siphon.doesnt need to be a big. use small drill bit.be cautious where you drill it because water will spray out the hole when the pump is on.
and you need to make sure you place it high enough in the water where it gets exposed to air before your fuge overflows.

 

[tebriel]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
and you need to make sure you place it high enough in the water where it gets exposed to air before your fuge overflows.
so i have (coming from the tank to the outside) a 45deg. piece for directional flow, a 90deg. elbow to go up and over the ledge of the tank and another 90deg. elbow which points the flow back down. so somewhere, under the level of the water, i should poke a small hole so that air will flow in to the pipe once the water level drops down. I can do that, just want to make sure that's the right thing to do. I don't feel like re-gluing that setup if I can help it . Thanks so much for the input!

 

[juice_1080]

Make sure you do it on the pipe INSIDE the tank....not the outside. Water will flow through the hole when the pump is on so if you drill it on the outside you will have water spraying all over the place. Your best bet is to drill it right above where the lowest your water level can go. That way it isn't spraying anywhere because the hole will be underwater when your tank is at normal level.