For the record, I also made linguine carbonara last night... it was delicious. I do happen to have a picture of my dinner, but I'm sure you aren't interested in that. Anyways, more to the point, I went back after making dinner and eating, it was probably about an hour or more and it was still working, the prime wasn't lost. That was very surprising to me considering the lack of pvc cement. I thought surely I must have an air leak, but I used pressure fittings that slid in real snug, so I guess it held.

To prime it, I turned the entire unit upside down and filled one end with water until water (with no bubbles) came out the other end. I then held my thumb over the openings and put it in the bucket really quick. Clearly this method of priming wouldn't work in practice, but worked enough to prove the design of the overflow.

The disappointing part, and this is probably due to my shoddy, 2-minute job throwing it together is that the water didn't come out at a full flow, as if it wasn't using the whole 1/2" plumbing. It was more than a trickle, but definitely didn't drain quickly. This is why I ended up not making a video. It was rather anticlimactic.


I do have a question though:


How far down does your plumbing go into your sump? Below water level? If so, isn't it possible the entire drainage plumbing could fill with water and end up siphoning your entire aquarium into your sump during power off conditions?

Perhaps you have to air bubles at the siphon elbow. That effectively reduces the area for water and limits the flow.

If the entire thing is sealed then the tank water will flow down to the end of the tube in the tank. That tube should be well below where the water stops flowing under power out.

The key is where the sanitary traps are in my first picture. The tops are open to the air (through the priming nipples). That way the water height in the aquarium is determined by the height of the sanitary traps as shown. Water rises to that height then starts flowing down the drain. Then under power out the water flows to the bottom the of sanitary traps then stops. With water "trapped" in the water trap and hob siphons prior to those tees. Then when power resumes there is water in the siphon and water traps so the level rises until it "overflows" in the sanitary tees and normal operation resumes.

If you used elbows for the sanitary tees you could simulate "my" operation by drilling holes at the top of those elbows.

my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

gee

Can I come over for dinner.

__________________
fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Very likely.


Ohhh, the light bulb just went on. Got it.


lol

now you're really on the right track.!!!!!

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

lol. i just realized that your design is the same as my bottom siphon overflow, just without the extension inside the tank.

cant you get T's and elbows in a 1" pack? here they have them from 1/2"-2" in the contractor packs

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why buy, when you can DIY

I used Ts instead of joints and left them open to the air and I actual had much better water flow than using 6 elbows. Here's the video.