tank overflow prevention?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by cwickham

hey

i use ball-valves to limit the return from my main tank to the sump. I adjust the level of the tank so that the return is completely under water to reduce micro bubbles and noise.

The problem is that if the power goes out and the tank level drops, air gets into those pipes and when the power comes back on, the air gets trapped at the ball-valve and limits the flow even more cause my tank to overflow if im not there to release the air.

is there any way around this, is there somthing that will shut my return pump off when the water gets to a certain level(just for emergency if im not home)

i have tryed to find a normally open float switch to make somthing, but can only find normally closed ones.

thanks for your help
craig

I haven't read this entire thread, so if it hasn't been mentioned yet, check out the Herbie style overflow, and see if you can mod yours like that.

[phillybean]

Why not put a strainer on the intake side to prevent anything big from getting in the pipe?

On mine, I have a valve but leave it open. I have a strainer to prevent anything large from getting in it.

As an added precaution my overflow box / return pump section are small enough that there is no way for my tank to flood.

[superduperwesman]

Originally Posted by phillybean

Why not put a strainer on the intake side to prevent anything big from getting in the pipe?

I think you can still get a slim build up after some time that will change the outflow enough to slowly overflow your tank even if you had it adjusted perfectly to begin with