Sea_Monkey
Well-Known Member
Hi r2r, I am trying to set up my new tank, I am looking for a all plastic check valve. If you are currently using one and like it, can you show me where or order mine? Thanks.
looking for check valve
- Thread starter Sea_Monkey
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JPG@CFI
Active Member
The only one I have ever used is the swiss Y check valve. You can clean it, but is comes with a price tag. Bulk reef has them I think. All othere will fail, and the ones that come from the plumbing stores do not belong on a Reef Tank. The springs will rust out. Good luck, J
Jimbo662
2500 Club Member
I would avoid check valves at all costs, they are a false sense of security and fail. Rarely if ever are they needed anyway with a properly designed system. Why is it you think you need one?
If your sump will handle the drainage from the DT with a power outage there is no need for one. If it won't you need to rethink your setup.
It's not if they will fail it's when.
It's not if they will fail it's when.
wrasseluver
Valuable Member
JPG@CFI
Active Member
True statements for sure, but sometimes things are not picture perfect and a 60.00 solution could get him in the game. I have used them in surtain situations, and when properly maintained they are fine. I have seen plenty of failures due to people neglecting the anti siphon hole in their returns. With this check valve, every other month, shut down your main pump, crack opening the valve and scrub it out with brush. 5 minutes max. Also point the weight strait up not the main line. Best of luck, J
DaveMorris
MACNA2016 Co-Chair
"Properly maintained" is the key phrase here. Why not just design the plumbing so that you don't need a check valve in the first place? One less thing to "forget" to maintain. We all have great intentions to do a simple 5 minute maintenance task but how long will it take before it gets skipped enough times to fail when it needs to work.
I agree with the majority 
Design it right in the beginning. Glad I listened and didn't add one. Not having one takes that extra worry right out of the picture. One less item to clean.
Design it right in the beginning. Glad I listened and didn't add one. Not having one takes that extra worry right out of the picture. One less item to clean.
Check valves and drilled holes are rarely if ever needed, ever.
The absolute best form of backflow prevention known to man is a simple air gap, it requires zero maintananceor cleaning and cannot be defeated since we all know water cannot jump uphill. Place your returns close to the surface so when power goes off, only a small very easily calculated amount of water back siphons before the returns are exposed to atmosphere and the siphon breaks. Nothing to clean or fail, no holes to drill and no check valves to fail. As long as youhave a few gallons of spare room in the sump which is almost always the case since skimmers work best only partially submerged you will not have a flood. My display is a 100G and worst case with my returns 3/4" below the surface I flow 3.5 gallons back to my 30G sump which is never more than 2/3 full so always hs at least 10 gallons of freeboard or spare room at all times.
There really is no proper maintenance for check valves and drilled holes. You could have cleaned them thoroughly 10 minutes ago but the power goes off in the next 15 minutes and your anemone parks over the drilled hole, or a single grain of sand gets kicked up and lodges on the check valve seat, seen it hundreds of times myself in my 39 year water/wastewater profession. It does not have to be a catastrophic failure, eve a trickle with a check valve will flood in time, ike in the middle of the night or when you are not home to catch it.
Why chance it when you don't have to. Design the overflow and returns correctly the first time and you can sleep soundly at night with nothing to fail or worry about.
The absolute best form of backflow prevention known to man is a simple air gap, it requires zero maintananceor cleaning and cannot be defeated since we all know water cannot jump uphill. Place your returns close to the surface so when power goes off, only a small very easily calculated amount of water back siphons before the returns are exposed to atmosphere and the siphon breaks. Nothing to clean or fail, no holes to drill and no check valves to fail. As long as youhave a few gallons of spare room in the sump which is almost always the case since skimmers work best only partially submerged you will not have a flood. My display is a 100G and worst case with my returns 3/4" below the surface I flow 3.5 gallons back to my 30G sump which is never more than 2/3 full so always hs at least 10 gallons of freeboard or spare room at all times.
There really is no proper maintenance for check valves and drilled holes. You could have cleaned them thoroughly 10 minutes ago but the power goes off in the next 15 minutes and your anemone parks over the drilled hole, or a single grain of sand gets kicked up and lodges on the check valve seat, seen it hundreds of times myself in my 39 year water/wastewater profession. It does not have to be a catastrophic failure, eve a trickle with a check valve will flood in time, ike in the middle of the night or when you are not home to catch it.
Why chance it when you don't have to. Design the overflow and returns correctly the first time and you can sleep soundly at night with nothing to fail or worry about.
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