WayneG

Hi; I have an overflow box and I was wondering if I would be better off putting a vacumn assist pump on it or how about putting. a water pump in the box inside the tank. The reason I'm asking is that if the power goes off and I have the siphon method and id doesen't lose siphon it's going to overflow . Any suggestions as what is the best way to go?

 

First, the only way it will lose siphon in a power outage is if you get air inside of the tube. I have a U tube overlow and have had good luck so far with it (knock on wood). A vacuum assist pump would be beneficial incase air gets into it, but I think you are asking if the power goes out, you are worried that the siphon will suck out all of the water in your tank? Or at least up to the level of the overflow? You should turn off you return pump and see what happens, you will be pleasantly surprised. The siphon will slow and then stop, as it requires water to be pumped into the tank to continue normally. The water will remain in the tube until the power comes back on and then slowly start to move again as the water is pumped back into the DT.

 

Like guitarman said, it should not lose syphon or overflow your sump,if this happens mods or adjustments are needed.Turn the return pump off and see what happens but be ready incase it starts to overflow. Most people drill a small hole just below the waters surface on your return line in your dt,this will allow your return to lose syphon when a small amount of water drains back into your sump when the power goes out.

 

Nice Geof...you both hit it on the nail. Your overflow should be built to pause the siphon. Unplug your return and analyze what happens. I thought it was pretty cool the first time I saw it. But like Geof said, drill a hole in the return section that puts water back in your tank. Drill the hole above the water line so when the return pump stops, the little drilled hole in the return will suck air through and break the siphon from the return going into your sump. Most return kits already have this hole drilled.