Equipment Questions

[Garrett]

Hello all i have a couple of quick questions regarding some equipment i have.

Background:
I have a Mag 9.5 return pump a couple of days ago for some reason my sump went dry and the pump ran without water over it. My wife came home to it an called me and i had her unplug it. Well when it did that the sump automatically filled up with water and my wife had to make like a sinking sailor and grab a bucket and a bowl to keep it from overflowing until the water level came down and the siphon broke . My two questions are..

1.) What goes bad first when a pump runs without water?? I have put the system back together and it is humming now. When before it wasn't that loud. I have no idea how long it ran without water my wife was gone for about 3 hours and everything was running fine before that.

2.) Is there a way i can make the siphon break quicker? I have a CPR Overflow Continuous siphon that is rated at 600 gph. I will have to take dimensions of my sump to see how much it will actually hold before it overflows. I believe it's 10 gal

Thanks

[Reefland]

Garrett,

Is your pump resting directly against the glass of the sump? This would cause the noise you have.

As for the sump overflowing, it sounds like the operating level of the sump is too high. The sump has to be able to catch the drain water from the tank when the pump stops running. Therefore under normal operating conditions your sump should only be about half full of water, leaving about 5 gallons of space for drain water during a pump failure.

[Garrett]

No the pump has suction cups superglued to the bottom of it and it's resting on that. Thinking about it the hose going from the return to the tank may be hitting the tank. So the pump wouldn't have been damaged?

As for the sump, it was at a lower level before. I currently have it a little lower than before enough to cover the pump. I'm still befuddled as to why it almost overflowed, but that may be on part of the confusion when my wife called and not knowing the situation as to what to tell her to do.

[Reefland]

What you should do is the next time you are near the tank, shut off the return pump and watch the sump as it fills. If it is going to overflow, find out what is continuing to drain the tank (the overflow or return) and address accordingly.

It is hard to say if the pump was damaged. A cheap check would be to buy a new imellar for the pump.

[Garrett]

Alright i'll try that later. i'll just keep an eye on the pump and go from there.

thanks for you help

[Garrett]

Well i figured out my problem....i was going to turn off everything this evening, but due to a bad accident in my area this morning that caused the power to go out. I figured out that my siphon does stop when the level goes down and i do have enough capacity to hold the water, but when my pump stopped because of electricity it caused back pressure which then would fill up my sump. Going to order a check valve later this week, at least its figured out though..the wife was getting upset lol

Thanks

[Reefland]

What do you mean by it caused back pressure? Your pump stopping and the electricity going out is the same thing so the tank should not respond any differently?

Make sure you get a clear check valve so you can monitor it's operation, and make sure it is a union as well for easy removal and cleaning.

[Garrett]

I believe when it stops it creates flow in the opposite direction like when you start a garden hose while its already under water you siphon water from a tank instead of into the tank. When it stopped this morning i looked at the overflow and there was no water going into it. When i came back a little bit later the sump was still filling up and it wasn't until i closed the ball valve is when it stopped filling.

thanks for the tips on the valve

[Reefland]

Oh, I got ya. Yes, water will siphon through the return line as well when the pump goes out so you must make sure that it is at the top of the water line (just submerged) so that it doesn't take any additional water that the overflow wouldn't. Alternatively, you can drill a small hole in the return line at the top and this will prevent the back siphon.

[Samper]

If you drill an anti siphon hole in the pipe don't make it bigger than 1/4" ...you can go slightly smaller and drill it in the back of the pipe, just below the water line and at a down and inward angle so that your return doesn't blow some water out of that hole when it's running.

[Garrett]

Thanks for the tip