catastrophe!!

[Buckskin]

Hi all,
Last night I finished a two week project. I installed a 20 gal. sump below the main 90 gal. tank with a Lifereef overflow box and an Ehiem 1262 return pump. Also installed an AquaC EV 120 skimmer with a Mag 5. Got everything up and running around 8:00 p.m. last night. Went to bed around 11:00 and all was fine. I got up around 12:30 a.m. to check on things and found my 90 with about 3" of water in it! The sump was overflowing onto the floor! I shut everything down and got the sump water back into the 90 and also added 20 gal. of salted RO water that I had on hand. So I've got about 50 gal. of water in the tank now. All of the fish look to be o.k. Some of the corals were out of the water for probably an hour or so. Keeping my fingers crossed on them.
The culprit was a failed power strip. It was a cheaper strip and the return pump was plugged into it. when the return pump stopped, all the water siphoned back down into the sump. Lesson 1: always use quality power strips, Lesson 2: install check valve on return pump discharge line.
I would appreciate some opinions regarding my plan. I'm taking today off from work, because I've got to get the tank and carpeting out of the room. I've got two 32 gal. Rubbermade trashcans (new). I'm thinking of putting the live rock that have corals on them in one of the trashcans along with the fish, and the rest of the live rock and all of the sand with some new salt water in the other one. Then take the canopy with lights and set it across the two trashcans. I'll throw a Koralia 400 and a heater in each one. Will this be o.k. until I can get new carpeting installed and get the tank back up and running? Could be a couple of weeks. Thanks.

[hansmatt]

OH NO!!! I'm so sorry for this happening...it's my worst nightmare, walking into a room full of water and an empty tank.

1) with the exception of some of the more particular corals (some sps) most of your corals should do ok...some experience frequent dry with low tides. I'd think that many of your softies will do fine

2) You need to put an anti-siphon hole in your return (just below water level in your tank). If your return in the tank is deep, and your power on the pump goes out, the water will pull/siphon down to the sump. Drill 2 holes (1/16 or 1/8 " are ok) in your return an inch or so below water level. Water will spray out these holes when the return is operating normally, but when you do a power loss test (unplug everything) the water will drain to these holes then start sucking air, breaking the siphon.

The trash cans will be fine...if you have a powerhead and air stone I'd put them in the container with fish...they will need the oxygen that normally comes from the skimmer/return. Make sure there is water flowing over the rocks & corals.

Good luck!

[Buckskin]

Thanks Matt. The return line went almost to the bottom because the tank was accumulating alot of debris back behind the rock and I thought by putting an elbow on the end of the return line I could get some flow back there. Unfortunately I missed the step about putting the anti siphon hole in the line. Live and learn.

[hansmatt]

I had to learn the hard way too...oh, and the reason for two holes is because you can bet there will be a snail on one when the power goes out plugging it...learned that one the hard way too!
I try to do a "power out" test every few months just for peace of mind.

[OLDETOWNENORTHPETS]

Bummer Dan, If you need anything let me know.

[firsthesitation]

I agree with Matt
1) Definitely can't beat an anti siphon hole.
2) Always test for the worst possible scenario

Hopefully nothing will be lost and just lessons learned. I actually built a false wall inbetween the legs of the side of my stand to run all my electrical stuff too to make sure there was no option for water exposure. That also gave me a little more peace of mind.

[tangmang23]

bummer, havnt had this issue yet luckily. Get those holes drilled and you shouldnt have any more problems. I do have a 55 gallon setup for salt with just a couple of fish, if you need to place some coral and fish in there, just let me know.

[Kyuss]

Sorry to hear that Dan. That is one of my worst nightmares also. As Matt said your corals will probably be fine, especially the softies. You will also want to make sure that you clean those syphon holes. I would get into the habit of checking them once a week. JUst push a small nail ot thumbtack into them and wiggle it around to clean the hole out. They can get algae build up and/or salt build up which plugs the holes.

[Buckskin]

Thanks all,
Well, tank is empty, everything is in two tubs with lights, heat, and flow.
Nobody looks very happy but I can't say I blame them. Firsthesitation, you're probably right about the moisture getting to that power strip. While it felt dry, it probably wouldn't take much more than a mist to short out a cheap strip with a decent load on it. I'll relocate and cover power central this time around.
So now that I know how to stop a disaster in the event of another power outage, what's the best solution for stopping the return pump from burning up if the siphon breaks on the overflow? Float switch?

[Jrmass]

I hate to be the pesimist out of the group... But, I unfortunately would put money on the likelihood that your sps will all be dead... The softies often fair better as they do get dry at times... But, typically they do not get completely dry as they still typically experience waves occasionally cascading over them. (hopefully I am wrong here *xing my fingers for you*)

Personally if I were you; I would put the inlet for the return no lower than 3" from the top of the tank thus making it so if there were a tripped breaker (which is basically the same thing as your faulty power strip accomplished) the worst that would happen would be having 3" less in the tank (in comparison to 3" total in the tank).

Jason

[hansmatt]

in my experience with the same lifereef overflow, you almost can't break the siphon. If it gets plugged up with a fish, or algae...maybe, but if you have flow without any bubbles in the U, you shouldn't break the siphon. If you were, you would pump the volume of your sump into your tank, overflowing it from the top (unlike overflowing the sump last night). The eheim won't suck the sump dry, and it will still be partially submerged when it starts to suck air. It won't be good, but I don't think you'd burn the pump...plus you'll have other worries (more water) in the meantime.

Jason is right...the sps are certainly the most sensitive to being out of water, but for an hour...maybe...depends on the coral type.

I have my return in my tank 4" from the bottom...potentially dangerous without the siphon break, but keeps my flow even. I just check it regularly.

[Jrmass]

Originally Posted by hansmatt

in my experience with the same lifereef overflow, you almost can't break the siphon. If it gets plugged up with a fish, or algae...maybe, but if you have flow without any bubbles in the U, you shouldn't break the siphon. If you were, you would pump the volume of your sump into your tank, overflowing it from the top (unlike overflowing the sump last night). The eheim won't suck the sump dry, and it will still be partially submerged when it starts to suck air. It won't be good, but I don't think you'd burn the pump...plus you'll have other worries (more water) in the meantime.

Jason is right...the sps are certainly the most sensitive to being out of water, but for an hour...maybe...depends on the coral type.

I have my return in my tank 4" from the bottom...potentially dangerous without the siphon break, but keeps my flow even. I just check it regularly.

Just another reason why I recommend just spending the extra money right away and getting a RR tank instead of having to x' your fingers that this issue never happens.

[firsthesitation]

Originally Posted by Jrmass

Just another reason why I recommend just spending the extra money right away and getting a RR tank instead of having to x' your fingers that this issue never happens.

x2.

Big comfort knowing the way they're designed will save your butt later. Plus I've got my return lines blowing across the surface on my tank so I barely loose a 1/2 inch in my tank before the syphon breaks and my durso stops taking on water.

[hansmatt]

agreed...if there is a choice, RR is a far better option. My "next" tank will be RR, or something along those lines (scheming for a new tank...) In this case it would not have mattered.

[cutietwo]

wow sorry to hear you had such a bad night. Hopefully everything pulls through and good luck!