Can I Plumb the Emergency Drain into a Drain

[PeteB]

I’m wondering if it is a bad idea to plumb the emergency drain (bean animal) into a sewer drain pipe vs. plumbing it back into the sump?

I can really do it either way but it would be easier and less crowded if I can plumb the emergency into a sewer waste

 

[Gp!]

Do you have a reliable way to detect when the flow is going down the emergency drain so you can turn off the return pump? Sounds like you'll probably empty your tank when this happens

 

[S.Pepper]

Do you have a reliable way to detect when the flow is going down the emergency drain so you can turn off the return pump? Sounds like you'll probably empty your tank when this happens

Exactly what I was thinking and I don't know much.

 

[MrWheelock]

If the emergency is plumbed to a sewer drain in the event of a primary and secondary drain clog your return pump will empty its return chamber very quickly resulting in the pump running dry. I suggest you run your emergency drain into a chamber that either contains your heaters and temp probes or just prior to one that does. Although this isnt necessary, tank is less likely to crash due to cooling than over heating, its a good way to ensure your temperature stays stable.
I have my emergency plumbed into my return chamber, although this will be changing with my new sump to the skimmer section which will house my heaters and temp probe.
Keeping the emergeny drain about an inch or 2 above the constant water level is also a good idea as you will have an audible indication that your water is running through your emergency when you hear the water splashing.
Hope this helps.

 

[MrWheelock]

Do you have a reliable way to detect when the flow is going down the emergency drain so you can turn off the return pump? Sounds like you'll probably empty your tank when this happens

This is a great idea, a flow meter connected to an apex would be a good option, but it adds a nother point of failure hoping that the flow meter works as advertised to alert the apex to turn off the return.

 

[MrWheelock]

This is how i would plumb it in your situation if i was setting it up. Run it behind the two drains and into the skimmer section.

 

[albano]

If you have an overflow drain in the tank, you might empty the sump, but not the tank...

My emergency tank drains go to the sumps, but the sumps have emergency overflow drains into a floor drain and out to septic

 

[JoshH]

The real issue with this setup is not draining the tank completely. It is draining the tank with an ATO setup which will continually replace the saltwater going down the drain with freshwater. This will drastically reduce the salinity in your tank and kill most or everything in your tank. This depends on your ATO reservoir size however so if you keep that on the smaller side you might be okay.

As mentioned above this is just generally a bad idea. Apex Flow sensors are widely considered useless so definitely not something to rely on in such a critical situation. Really your only two worthwhile options are plumbing it into another section of the sump (best option and what almost everyone else would do in your situation), or cap the drain off altogether and just run a Herbie drain setup.

 

[motortrendz]

I wouldnt bc then youd be topping off with fresh water and dropping your salinity.. and how long before you realize your tank was dumping the salt down the drain. Just dump.it back into the sump anywhere. Leave a gap.over the water line so you can hear the water splashing

 

[MrWheelock]

The real issue with this setup is not draining the tank completely. It is draining the tank with an ATO setup which will continually replace the saltwater going down the drain with freshwater. This will drastically reduce the salinity in your tank and kill most or everything in your tank. This depends on your ATO reservoir size however so if you keep that on the smaller side you might be okay.

As mentioned above this is just generally a bad idea. Apex Flow sensors are widely considered useless so definitely not something to rely on in such a critical situation. Really your only two worthwhile options are plumbing it into another section of the sump (best option and what almost everyone else would do in your situation), or cap the drain off altogether and just run a Herbie drain setup.

Good point on the ATO, i completely forgot that aspect, another reason why im moving my emergency to my skimmer section, less chances of salt creep on float sensors for the ato that are in the return section.

 

[PeteB]

Ok, all good replies. I was concerned about an ATO runaway diluting my entire system.

I think I will plumb the emergency drain into my skimmer section to keep it simple.

There will be an emergency overflow drain plumbed in the sump to prevent overflows onto my floor.

I will have 75 gallons of ATO so I will be designing several redundancies to prevent complete dilution.

I travel quite a bit, so my wife will be my alert to the emergency drain being used (the treadmill is in the room with the sump). Then I can control the return pump via the apex. Any other alert options other than a flow meter to indicate that the emergency drain is being used?

 

[MrWheelock]

Looks like your dain section of the sump is built with a cut out towards the bottom you could put an optical sensor on the first section up higher that would tell you if the level dropped. This depends where your skimmer section level is during normal operation also.

 

[ColdOceanReef]

As stated above, your ATO volume to be considered in this situation. Unless you plumped your ATO directly from RODI. Otherwise, your water volumes shouldn't change much to cause overfill and drop in salinity.

On the side note, in the event of an emergency. If your ATO emptied into your tank and then you have a power outage. Your sump should be big enough to hold water that siphon back from your display and the volume of your ATO. A gate-valve on the return line and/or anti-siphoning method is a must have if you a power outage.