How to change the h20 in a 135.....

[jtkld75]

Last time, my first attempt, was near disasterous. I syphend from the display, but it just emptied my sump and i wasnt able to change that much water. My question is , do i need to turn down some of the flow somewhere so i may change the water without having to shut off the pump and losing the syphen in my U tubes? Thanks

 

[latino277]

if you turn off your return pump for the sump you should not loss your syphon??? it should just fill the sump and then stop syphoning?? if your losing your syphon you have a big problem with your overflow!

 

[birdy]

I agree, what would you do if there was a power outage. You should be able to turn your pumps off, siphon the water from the tank and some from the sump if you choose, then refill from the sump.

 

[jtkld75]

thanks latino, i didnt turn the pump off before until my sump got to the point that had too. The trick to whatyour doing, idsay, youd have tohave a strong enough pump to syphen the water as fast as it came into the tank, then replace it just as fast.. I normally, slowly flow my water in, to avoind any 'shock' problems.
josh

 

[jtkld75]

As far as the power outage, from what i gather , im playing russian ruoulette. If my power goes out, it will lose its syphen. Dosent it always with overflows and u-style tubes? They are soon being replaced with cpr overflows with a pump. I have one, im just waiting on a friend to break down his tank for the other one, so i can hook them up. Someone please correct me if im wrong in assuming that i will lose my syphen at a power outage, well at least until the sump overflows so it no longer drains in

 

[latino277]

the syphone should never be lost on any type of overflow. if it does then there is a big problem with the design of the overflow. Mine has never lose its syphon.

 

[jtkld75]

so maybe i am misunderstanding things here. Ok, power goes out. pump stops, syphen dosent.....tank overflows... power starts back up, pumps start, but syhpin is broken,, no//? Somone please explain this to me. I would really appreciate it. Thanks

 

[dskidmore]

Your siphon should siphon INTO and overflow.
Check out this thread for discussion on pvc siphons that will not loose siphon or overflow the sump in a power outage.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/132206/various-questions
Commercial overflow boxes are already designed this way. Most of them have the siphon go into a box, the box has a little baffle, the water flows over the baffle when the box fills up, and then into a drain at the bottom of the box.
You should only have a problem if you have a simple siphon, in which case, I can't imagine trying to get that tuned correctly!

 

[barry cuda]

Think about it this way - the total system contains enough water to fill the tank, sump, and the plumbing between them. Water is pumped into the main tank from the sump, overflows into the overflow, and then runs through the U-tube into the outer box from which it drains into the sump.
If the power goes out, the water stops pumping back up into the display. Once it drops below the level of the overflow, it stops flowing into the inner box. U-tube style overflows are designed so that they will stop moving water before the siphon breaks. At this point you have no water moving, and everything just sits still until the power comes back on. Then the pump starts moving water back into the display, which starts overflowing again. This raises the water level in the inner box above the level of the outer box, and the siphon starts moving water. Voila, water flow is restored through the whole "circuit" without any intervention from you.
One thing that's very important is to drill a siphon break in the return line. This is a hole (mine is 1/4" in the return line, right below water level. This lets air into the return if the water level in the main tank drops, and stops it from siphoning the whole tankful of water backwards down into the sump. Without this, you WILL have a flood if the power goes out.
Oh, and test the setup. Turn all the pumps off at the same time and make sure the water level stabilizes without overflowing anywhere. Then you'll be able to be confident that there won't be any flooding.
HTH.

 

[jtkld75]

Thanks for the explination Barry, I now have a better grasp on the whole concept. I just always heard that no matter what these things (overflows) will flood, if the power is interupted. One question i have though. You said drill a hole in the return line? Do you mean the u-tube? Anyway that you can post a pic, or reference me to one.? My 'return lines' are 4 flow sites, using 2 swcd?? (i think thats the name) water movers, that hang over the top of the tank and flow, intermittenly. Can i put those just a 1/4inch below the water line and create the same effect? Im just not sure if i understand exactly what your saying.. If you could give me more info, or a pic, i would be grateful.
Thanks for the help thus far.
Josh

 

[barry cuda]

Don't drill the U-tube! I'm talking about the line that returns water into the tank from the sump. In most tanks the outlet is below the surface and you need to drill a hole right below surface level to stop the water from going "backwards" down into the sump.
I've got a badly out-of-date page at:
where you can see details of my own setup, including the siphon break.

 

[jtkld75]

ok, barry, i now understand what yoiur talking about. I dont think that i will need to drill anything, because my "return lines" are hanging over my tank (4returns), I use SWCD water movers. So QUESTIoN, can i just put those an inch or so in the water, and when the water level goes below this, it will stop?

 

[robchuck]

Originally posted by jtkld75
ok, barry, i now understand what yoiur talking about. I dont think that i will need to drill anything, because my "return lines" are hanging over my tank (4returns), I use SWCD water movers. So QUESTIoN, can i just put those an inch or so in the water, and when the water level goes below this, it will stop?
That will work, as long as your sump can hold the water that will back-siphon into the sump before air enters the return line to break the siphon.