Spraybar on a tank with a sump

[Adrienne]

Woke up this morning to a wet lounge carpet.

My return pump to the tank from the sump had slowed down during the night and I don't have any sort of stop on it so the water had overflowed.

Anyway on purchasing a new pump realised how badly the existing one had been performing, no wonder I needed an external filter as well!

Due to the large amount of water now returning to my tank hourly I have put a spray bar on to disperse the flow as the poor discus were wondering what was going on.

Wheres the best place to put it. Top, middle or bottom of the tank?

At the moment its at the top, would it be better at the bottom?

[smidey]

depends on where you want the current, i have mine at the top to disturb the surface so i dont need an air stone.

[wayneh]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought tanks with sumps had an overflow system where only the water pumped into them overflowed into the sump, never allowing a sump to overflow...

No water into the tank, none out sort of thing, so if the pump failed you did not get an empty tank, and a flooded lounge...???

Wayne

[doch]

yes im with you wayneh no water in no water out unless pump fails and it starts to back syphon into sump depending how deep the outlet is in the sump it will drain to there i have little air holes just above water level on my outlet so it cant back sypon to much and leave enough room in the sump to contain it all

[Adrienne]

can you post some pics of how yours works as mine has never worked that way. maybe its not set up correctly.

[David R]

If you put the spraybar below the water level of the overflow then it will need some sort of non-return valve or it will siphon your tank when the pump is switched off. Just put it at the top and add a couple of small powerheads if you need more water movement.

[ryanjury]

What David said.. If there is no syphon break or one way valve and the return pump fails the water can syphon down the return pipe and overflow the sump..

[Ianab]

If your return goes to a spray bar just above the surface then there is no way it can syphon back out after another pump failure.

The spray bar out of the water may appear to create more current, but it's more visible surface disturbance rather than strong current. If it's so strong it's worrying your fish then you can put a valve in the return line to restrict the flow.

Ian

[Discusguru]

Especially when there is a power cut.

I would put the spraybar at the top directing the water against the glass. That way you don't have a strong current(which the discus don't like) in the tank.

ron

[Johannes Visser]

Especially when there is a power cut.

I would put the spraybar at the top directing the water against the glass. That way you don't have a strong current(which the discus don't like) in the tank.

ron

[suphew]

This is a common issue (or non-issue) for marine tanks as most have sumps. The solution is to drill an anti-syphon hole on the return just below the water line. Then the outlet of the return can be as low in the tank as you want it. When you pump stops the tank will drain a little, till it gets to the anti-syphon hole, then stop, you just have to make sure your sump has enough extra space in it to hold this water.

[doch]

that is how i have my freshwater tank outlet suphew

[Adrienne]

thanks a lot for all your advice - next question

does anyone have a pick of the way their sump works (as in the overflow box)?

[David R]

Good idea Sulphew, just make sure you test it first. I had a set up like this once and found I had to drill several holes for it to be enough to break the syphon completely.

Adoge are you talking about a hang-on-the-back overflow?

[Adrienne]

yes, I think it is a tunze except that it is glued on. While there is an intake attached to it that runs down to the bottom of the tank like on ordinary cannister filters that has never worked. The only part that works is the overflow box. Hubby and I had a fiddle around the other day but could not get the intake to flow.

I am wondering if it has been adapted. as the tank had two owners before I got it.

The way I'm using it works well and the tank is crystal clear (well at the moment anyway), but it does mean I need to make sure the tank is kept topped up.