Refugium flow plumbing.

[aarone]

Here is the plumbing i made for my flow TO my sumpfugium.
I made it so that if the power gets cut off, it will break the siphon and not keep flowing. The extra bend in the piping is where it happens. the pump is just strong enough to get it through this but the pull of the water is not enough on its own to keep it going. Works really well so far. Cant wait to get it fully up and running!

 

[shanev]

How are you getting the watr back to the main display from the refugium?

 

[broomer5]

Good question Shane
I smell a two pump system, and eventually a wet floor or dry sump or both.

 

[shanev]

Thats what I was thinking too, as broomer5 stated youll eventually have a problem with a 2 pump system. Most likely sooner rather than later.

 

[kinkfish]

what is a 2 pump system mean. And for my design would this work good?

 

[kinkfish]

sorry

 

[jlem]

Is the fugium below the tank. If it is then why would the flow stop from the tank to the refugium once the pump stopped? If the fugium is on top then wouldn't the fugium just drain down once the pump stopped ? Unless the siphon is broken then water will flow untill from somewhere, and one tank will eventually overflow

 

[shanev]

Thats why you can use just a regular siphon to drain into a sump, you must use an overflow or a drilled hole in order to keep it from draining the main tank.
kinksfish 2 pump system -when you attempt one pump to go to the sump and another to go back to the display, they never match up well and if one stops or slows down you get water on the floor.
The design looks good, but I would put the ball valve after the tee going back to the tank so you can control how much goes up to the fuge.

 

[kinkfish]

cool I am glad to hear someone tell me it is ok i drew what I think you are talking about. Is it easy to install a check valve.

 

[shanev]

Check vavles are easy to install, but make sure you get a good quality one. They can also slow down the flowrate some.
Also I would put the ball valve on the same side of the tee as the check vavle not on the part going back into the main tank. This will allow you to slow down the rate going to the fuge if it is too much. The way it is now you are controlling the amount that is going back into the tank, but even opening it all the way up you still may have too much going to the fuge.

 

[zafirablanca]

What you want to do to prevent water from siphoning back through your return line if your pump stops is this:
Drill a small (maybe 1/4") hole in the return pipe, just below the surface of the water. This way when the pump goes out, water will only flow back to the sump until the anti-siphon hole is exposed to air. Once the tank level drops far enough for air to enter the pipe, the back-siphon is brocken and the flow stops. This is very low tech and very reliable.
I use them along with a pvc swing check valve (McMaster-Carr), just to be overly careful. Most people here just have the siphon break holes and are very successful.
Do a search here and your will see alot of previous threads on the topic.
Good Luck,
-Christine

 

[kinkfish]

I set it up this week end I used 3/4 inch pvc for line that goes to the fuge and 2inch bulkhead for the drain so I dont think I can get a back siphone. I will show some pics

 

[shanev]

You most likely can get a back siphon. Easy to find out unplug the pump and see what happens

 

[kinkfish]

ya i did that i dont think it did anything.what is back siphon?

 

[zafirablanca]

Water will drain down all pipes to the lowest point, usually your sump. This is fine for your overflow, and is not an issue for your return line because the pump is pushing the water up the pipe (so it CANT flow down).
The problem happens when you turn off the pump. Water flows backwards down the return pipe, as well as the overflow pipe.
Most hang-on overflows rely on a u-tube that will eventually lose its siphon when the water drops below the inlet. Drilled overflows will lose their siphon when the water drops below the bulkhead. There is a bigger problem with the return line because the pipe oulet into the tank is usually submerged a fair amount. Alot of water would have to drain out of the tank for the water level to drop below the return pipe and break the siphon. Your pump does not stop water from flowing backward when the pump is off. A siphon break hole will, as well as a correct check valve. You are pretty much guaranteed a flood without these measures. The water WILL flow backward through your return pipe.
I would recommend doing some more research on this because the more you learn about it, the better you can prepare yourself. Try the search function at this site, its a great way to get alot of info fast.
Best of Luck,
-Christine