The fun never ends...overflow!

MrDJeep123 · Feb 6, 2015

At some point this morning the power went out. The siphon broke to the overflow. Power came back on, return pump kicks on, lowers the water in that chamber causing the ATO to come on. It empties about 2 maybe 3 gallons of fresh Kalk top off water. :faint:I hear dry pump noise and immediately wake upon hearing this. I inspect and hear waterfall. Oh crap! The display overflowed as a result of all that nice fresh delicious top off. Floor is wet.

So far, the tank seems unaffected in regards to salinity. The sump is down to 20 ppt SG. Fix that easy. Not much else I can do but wait it out.
This has not been my week. :smash:

Mike in CT · Feb 6, 2015

That stinks! When I set up my ATO I worried about that because the return part of my sump where my ATO float is, takes a while to come back to its normal water level after restarts ( or a snail gets stuck in my normal return pipe, and the emergency kicks in).
This is not a perfect solution but I put my ATO pump (Aqualifter) on a timer so that it only turns on once a day when I'm most likely home. This way I'm usually home when it kicks on.
It takes about 20 min or so to replace a gallon of top off water, so in a 80g system I don't think it's to big a shock. This also keeps from adding more then 2 gallons at once in case a float goes wonky. I use a normal dial timer that will allow multiple on/offs if wanted.

MrDJeep123 · Feb 6, 2015

Mike in CT said:
That stinks! When I set up my ATO I worried about that because the return part of my sump where my ATO float is, takes a while to come back to its normal water level after restarts ( or a snail gets stuck in my normal return pipe, and the emergency kicks in).
This is not a perfect solution but I put my ATO pump (Aqualifter) on a timer so that it only turns on once a day when I'm most likely home. This way I'm usually home when it kicks on.
It takes about 20 min or so to replace a gallon of top off water, so in a 80g system I don't think it's to big a shock. This also keeps from adding more then 2 gallons at once in case a float goes wonky. I use a normal dial timer that will allow multiple on/offs if wanted.

There's not been issues fluctuation of salinity with putting so much fresh H₂O in?

Mike in CT · Feb 6, 2015

I have not seen any, but then again I pretty much keep softies and Lps so maybe it would be different with Sps.
Like I said, I could also have it come on twice a day instead. It still eliminates most probability of something going wrong. I have never checked how much the specific gravity changes after a gallon goes in.( I'm sure randy knows how much a gallon RODI would change a 80g system.. Lol) I will have to make that a week end project. How's everything in your tank doing? I lost power also this week and my tank got down to 74..... Was just about to hook the the gennie when it came back on.

twistedfinn967 · Feb 6, 2015

Wow! As much as that sucks, at least you were home to catch it!

redfishbluefish · Feb 6, 2015

When I had a HOB overflow, this same thing happen twice. The one time I was working on the tank with a power strip on the floor next to the stand. Need I add any more detail.

For me, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.....I went Glass-Holes and couldn't be happier.

MrDJeep123 · Feb 6, 2015

Mike in CT said:
I have not seen any, but then again I pretty much keep softies and Lps so maybe it would be different with Sps.
Like I said, I could also have it come on twice a day instead. It still eliminates most probability of something going wrong. I have never checked how much the specific gravity changes after a gallon goes in.( I'm sure randy knows how much a gallon RODI would change a 80g system.. Lol) I will have to make that a week end project. How's everything in your tank doing? I lost power also this week and my tank got down to 74..... Was just about to hook the the gennie when it came back on.

I'll have to look into that. And the glass holes idea.

So far, things seem ok. SG hasn't changed down much, everything is alive, open, and vibrant. I guess most of it got dumped out when it overflowed. My only concern is over dose on kalk, but seeing as it's roughly 8 hours in, I'm not overly concerned. I haven't checked it as I don't know where my kits are...I have wondering hands.

dbl · Feb 6, 2015

You sir, are not having a very good week!

Mike in CT · Feb 6, 2015

At least it's Friday? :/

MrDJeep123 · Feb 6, 2015

dbl said:
You sir, are not having a very good week!

I went to Office Depot the other day to pick up a desk I bought online. Picked it up, came home with it. Put it together only to realize the hutch that came with it did not fit it. They gave me the wrong hutch for the desk. I could go on, but that's an example of how my week has been.

It comes and goes. :rain: lol

beaslbob · Feb 6, 2015

That's one of the problems with ATO's. Even when the sump and system are adjusted correctly during a drain failure the ato can cause a flood.
Seems like some kind of float valve on the display to kill the pump and ato above a certain water level might be in order
Or change the ATO to a drip system.