Sump question

Im looking at adding a sump onto my new tank. The only thing holding me back is the thought of a power loss and then a flood. How do you guys prevent this?

 

Make sure the water level in sump is low enough and the overflow is high enough that if the power goes out the water will drain down into the sump and fill it within I'd say an 2 or three inches of the top of the sump. Draw a line there and top off to there. To find this line you have to hook the sump up, fill it up a little, then turn off the driving pump. This simulates a power outage. Then fill it up with saltwater to, like I said, about 3 inches of the top of the sump, then turn the power back on. The sump water level will lower as water goes back up to the tank. When the level in the tank settles, than that will be the safe point to fill water in the sump with the power on.

Sort of confusing, and anyone feel free to amend what I said if there is a better way to do it or if its wrong. All in all a sump is a very good thing to have.

 

+1

Also, may want to drill a couple holes in your return line about 1" below the waters surface or make the return line short enough so when you have a power failure it starts taking in air and cuts the siphon at about 1"

 

Also make sure you have a check valve on your return line that runs from the sump back up to the tank. When there is a power outage the tank will drain from the overflow box but a siphon will also start as the water in the return lines is gravity fed back in to the sump. Often power heads are positioned lower in the tank then the overflow so this will be important.. A check valve is a must on the return lines with a sump.

 

+1 good directions.

 

I hated all the bubbles that I got when the water drained down past the return line and then started the pump back up, alot of bubbles in the tank till the water level got up a bit in the dt. I installed a swing check valve in the return line and now the water stays mostly in the dt when the pump goes off. The only water that goes into the sump is from the overflow and the return lines stay far enough in the water that no bubbles in the dt.