Wet/Dry Filter Overflows

Hey everyone!

I was topping up my tank with salt and fresh water as the level had dropped significantly and the filter was starting to slow down and stop spinning. I filled it up a few cm short of the brim to make it work perfectly and left to go out. By the time i had got back home (2hrs max!) the wet/dry filter had overflowed and i had water everywhere on the floor.

I watched it work fine with no water movement for 10 mins, :-/

Anyone have any ideas of why this could have happened??

There is a filter box that sucks the water from the tank, down a tube and into a spinner which spins splashing water over bio balls, which sinks and passes through a skimmer, then up through a pond pump following the tube and is pushed back out into the tank.

Is there anything i can do to prevent these kinds of overflows?

Also, does anyone know anything i can wipe/rub/put on the wood which was soaked with salt water to stop it from corroding and eating away at the wooden cupboard?

Very unhappy...

Thanks!

 

can you post a picture of the Hang on siphon box ? Does it have a dam to maintain a constant water level where the J tube moves the water from the inside the tank portion out over the rim to the outside box ?
The dam has to be between the area and the drain pipe to the sump. so that way if power goes off or pump get air locked or stop the water will Darin from the outside box down to the sump But the dam will hold water up high enough on the J tube section of the outside box to maintain siphon when power or pump kicks back in.. Man that sucks I hate a hang on overflow.

 

Need some pix .... But i think i know what happened . I don't want to tell you the wrong thing so some pix please...... Dose your overflow look like this ?

 

Yep Ginny thats the one but mine is clear.. thats the box that draws out the water from the tank!!

 

is there a divider/dam on the outside box to maintain a constant water level on the J tube ? If there is a Dam on the outside is there a stand pipe on the bulkhead fitting that takes the water to the sump ? and a strainer on that to prevent anything from stopping it up. Also is it hard piped or a hose ? They tend to airlock.

 

You need to know where the water can from . Does your return pip have a hole in it . I mean as the return comes over the tank and in to the water ,is there a small hole just below the water line ? If there isn,t then some time when you where out the power went out and your return line siphoned water out of your tank. And filled your sump . Does your overflow have self-priming . or do you have to suck the air out. Do you have a check valve on top like this .. see pix

I have never had a problem with that type of overflow ....

 

wow im pretty illiterate with these terms haha

There is a small tube that i suck on to push the water up and increase the flow into the overflow. It has a cap that i turn to tighten it up and stop water suction and flow from slowing down.

I think the power might have turned off, because the sump fills right up with water when the pump goes off. And because i just topped up water, it probably was too much water for the sump to handle. Is there anything i can do to stop this happening?

 

Is there a small hole in your return line ? If there is Keep that hole clean . Or is your return above the water line ????