Im an Idiot :(

[exWHYzee]

So I finally got everything together for my 100gl tank (my first tank ever). I hooked everything up went to the lfs and got instructions on doing so. So when i got home 2am i notice the tube from the overflow box to the sump is leaking. So i go hmm this is no good perhaps i should take the "U" tube out and turn off the return pump, and ill go to the lfs and check it out tommorow. So I proceeded took it out and everything stopped ok cool.

what the hell is all this water coming out..OMG the sump is overflowing:frustrat::frustrat:...grabbed a robe a small bucket and began trying to bucket the water out of the sump. Took 1 robe 6/7 towels and variety of small towels to clean, used a fan all night and opened the windows. So whould i have taken the u tube out and let the return run for a sec before shutting it off.

also how high should i have the sump filled..considering i had to have enough water to cover both ph I filled the sump about 3/4 full and the tank was full pretty much. Am I using to much water? This discouraged me so much, but I guess it could have been alot worse. Im very paranoid now. tank is off until I go check that tube.

:grumble::frustrat::frustrat::shock:

 

[Teixeira29]

Usually the sump has a water mark so you dont fill it up to much! Did you put to much water in there? Sorry to hear that happened to you, it happens to the best of us! I remember i ws doing a water change and i had fresh saltwater ready to put in the tank after i did a water change. Now i have a pump that takes the fresh saltwater from a trash barrel back into my tank. I walked away for a little while and just about all the water in my tank was drained and my fish where flopping all over the sand with no water. Now that happened bacause when all the new water was gone from the barrel it ovrflowed and the pump decided to take the water from the tank. I was freaking out i could of killed my whole tank. Good Luck!

 

[sen5241b]

Everyone at one time or another has had a small flood on the floor.

 

[daugherty]

the best thing to do is keep about and inch of water above the pump to start with than you shut the system off and see were the water stops at in the sump. does you u-tub have a box around it in the tank? than if there is still room in the sump for water you can add more so that it is about 3/4 full if you want than turn the pump back on and when the level stops dropping in the sump make it with something and there is were you want to keep the water level

 

[wontonflip]

Been there, done that....more than *cough*a few times.

I'm a li'l tired, but from what I'm reading, it sounds like your return was siphoning water back down the sump, which caused the flood? I read it three times. But if that's the case, even with mine, once I shut off the overflow and the return pump from the sump, I have to make sure water doesn't get sucked back down the return hose from the main tank (and if it does, I just lift it out of the water to stop). You can either drill a hole just below your tank's waterline on the return, or put a check valve.

Plus I've done waterline checks to make sure if either the return or utube fail I won't have flooding. I'll cut the intake and see if the amount of water from the tubes going back into the sump is too much, then I'll restart the intake and cut off the pump and see how much overflows from the sump....then i'll scoop out water as it fills. Once you have it all balanced out, mark your water lines in the sump and you'll know never to fill it past that.

Again, maybe this wasn't the case as I'm very sleepy at the moment and I may be understanding it wrong. If so, sorry :) LOL

 

[exWHYzee]

wonton u hit it on the head thats what i think happened..now im gonna have to re-red your post to make sure i do things correctly thanks.

 

[yote]

+1 Wonton and James.

 

[exWHYzee]

thanks everyone I appreciate the words, it was very disheartening to say the least.

 

[dan55gallonhex]

you should always have a check valve as well as a ball valve so this wont happen during a power outage. i haerd of a story where the guy went on vacation and had his return end so far down in the tank it flooded the sump with over 70 gallons of water. im sorry to here that you had this happen but just take it as a test you can never just beleive one person always do reaserch. thats why these forums are so good you will get the opion of alot of people. look forward to see some pics soon!!!

 

[wontonflip]

now im gonna have to re-red your post to make sure i do things correctly thanks.

One fix I have done, depending on what type of return nozzle you have in the main tank, is to point the nozzle up and slightly diagonal, so my water that comes out actually skims the top and makes ripples (which is good anyway for oxygenation)...what happens is that even that little bit that lets air in the return nozzle, it stops the suction, hence the backflow stops. I will eventually get a check valve. I found one in my lfs, and I think it was either $15 or $30. I forget. It fits my 1" return hose/pvc