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I'm faced with having to get a sump pump filter setup for a large acrylic tank. I guess they are good, and efficient, BUT...I've heard that if there is a power outage when you are not at home to stop it, they can leak LOADS of tank water onto your floor.

Is that true?
Only for certain brand/kinds?

Please tell me about this....I'm Very concerned about that!!!

thank you

Well what happens is that the filter drains the main tank by Gravity, through a sump in the tank itself, this is a sealed box with a hole at the bottom for the water to be piped through to the filter underneath the tank. If the power goes out the water pump which returns the water to the tank stops working. at the same time as the pump is no longer working, the tank is still draining into the filter underneath the tank. No pump to return the water to the tank means the filter box will simply overflow until the tank has drained to the point that the water level is low enough to be beneath the drain point of the in tank sump.

I believe that there is an electrical device that is a valve, that when the power is off then the valve goes to the closed position. You might try looking for one of those. But I am sure others will have a better idea on this than me.

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I'll definitately get that safeguard device, or something similar.

The senario you described is exactly what I've heard...and can Not let happen!

I can barely afford the setup, let alone a new carpet or serious mildew/mold concequence.

Da.mn!...I WISH I could used my reliable tank top Marineland Emperor 400s that would Never Leak uncontrollably!

But that's not possible with a plexiglass tank, right?

IDK I am not familiar with those filters.

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It's partially true, but this can be avoided.

I had a wet-dry, but I destroyed it accidentally. Without a valve, basically my wet-dry had two variables: total amount of water in the system and the height of the overflow box (in some tanks that are drilled, the overflow cannot be changed, AFAIK). By adjusting the overflow, height, you can adjust how much water will drain into the filter when the power goes out; if you adjust it higher, than less water can get into the filter if the power goes, and if you adjust it lower, than more water can. You simply have to test out the tank with the filter to see how low you can put it; just hook up the filter, start the siphon going, and see how much water leaves the tank and if the filter actually comes close to overflowing. If it does, you can switch the power back on and adjust the overflow higher so that less water can drain.

An actual fancy valve takes out some of the fear, although you still sometimes have to maintain valves to make sure they will work when you need them to.

I'm sure you can talk to the seller and ask how he or she used it.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I was thinking about this last night. It occurred to me that the only true failsafe that you can use would be to add in a failsafe drain into the Sump filter itself.

You cut a hole in the side of the sump filter about 2 inches below the top edge and from this hole you run a pipe twice the size of the piping from the tank to the sump. (the bigger pipe in the sump will drain faster than the smaller pipe can fill) you then run this pipe to a drain pipe close by. Of course if there is no close by drain, then you would need to get a plumber to run the pipe to a safe drain location.

Just a thought.

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I see no real need to plumb the sump into a drain. If the tank is drilled, just add a bulkhead and a pvc pipe to where you want the water level. This will make it so the display tank will not drain below the top of the pvc when the sump pump is off. You can search for standpipes, I think durso are one of the better designs. Just make sure you test the amount of water the pipe drains into the sump when the pump is off and make a mark of where the water level maximum can be.

If the tank isn't drilled then overflow boxes are what you will be dealing with. There is a chance they can lose their siphon during a power outage, meaning when the power comes back on the pump will overflow your display while draining your sump. An overflow with a higher/equal gph rating than the return pump is a must. I have had pretty good luck with the CPR continuos overflows.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?

Orange, with those Overflows is there a way to use a small water lifter pump to start the overflow siphon? I have seen these for use in Aquatrail setups, (The two tanks connected by a tube filled with water so fish can swim up and out of one tank into another.) Would this work to restart the overflow when the power comes back on?

mts.gif" border="0"> I vote do you?
My Tanks at Photobucket

With the CPR overflows a small relatively inexpensive pump is attached to auto-prime the siphon if it's lost. Typically the siphon will stay in the tubes anyway, but there are cases where it was lost and the tank overflowed. Because this can happen, people like drilled tanks when using a sump or refuge.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?