need some plumbing advice

[zoechance]

Hi The person that plumbed my tank (a 90G LeeMar with a 30G Trigger sump) Did PVC for the overflow and plastic tubing for the return. There was a leak in the PVC and I needed to turn off the main pump in the sump (kept my in tank circulation with an MP40 to maintain the cycling).
I noticed that despite a 1 way valve built into the tubing coming from my pump back to the tank, water still slowly filled up in the sump until the level was below the return heads. i didnt overflow the sump as I removed water.... etc... but what if I was out of town or something...

Now my questions: I have become real interested in valves lately (LOL) and I see there are true union valves but I think they are just for PVC set ups? and wye valves which can fail over time (mine failed right from the start with a slow leak)...
Any suggestions? I think i should have redundancy in the system... but none built in. my greatest fear is a flood. I also fear power outages but have backup batteries and a generator for that!

I see BRS has a George Fisher wye valve that can be cleaned but 2 questions can this be used with tubing? and when you take the valve out to clean does the water flow back from the tank into the sump? LOL!! sorry if this is a dumb question but watch the short video where the thing just pops out...http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/george-fisher-wye-check-valve-1.html

 

[mark.a.smith405]

The only way to be sure is leave enough room in your sump for the backflow. I would always suggest doing this

 

[zoechance]

Hi Mark, yes that is excellent advice. Unfortunately when I was planing my tank it was very difficult to get any input about my sump... I asked LeeMar and they were not helpful at all (they couldnt even accurately advise me on what dimensions would fit in my cabinet...) and the person who plumbed the tank for me just didnt seem interested in the emails I sent about the sump/refugium... So I went ahead and ordered the best I could. Actually I am not sure if things would overflow my sump as I removed the water as it slowly filed my sump... still interested in redundancy and valves though...

 

[JT_W]

Are you able to angel your return heads towards the top of the water surface. This way once the water level drops it would stop the siphon. On my lock lines I drill a small hole in them near the top of the surface to disrupt the siphon effect. I never had to use a check value for this reason or worry about floods.

 

[zoechance]

Hi JT_W
not really, they dont angle that well/that acutely and sit pretty below the slits where the water flows out of tank!! I definitely tried my best to design tank and was even met with a tone that I was being a bit of a pain in the keester but I feel that my tank could have been designed better. I think if people really cared they could have advised me better or simply advised me period. Even with all the money I spent I will just need to work with what I have at this point.
thanks for your advise though...