July 2nd 05, 06:24 PM
Following a Memorial day long weekend trip in which my main pump shut
down, and I lost all the fish and the majority of corals in my beloved
reef tank, I have been pondering the modifications that I could make to
prevent such a disaster and others from occuring in the future. My
tank had a single main pump with no other. Lights, were controlled by
an aquacontroller. Due to laziness, a water contact switch was moist,
and I had turned off my Aquacontroller's paging capabilities which
would have alerted me to the rising temperature in my tank, and the
dropping pH.
Firstly I tried to simplify my aquacontroller monitoring parameters to
avoid being paged daily for false alarms. I removed all water contact
switches which constantly gave me false alarms. I removed my ORP probe
which also has a tendency to drift considerably over weeks and months
and give false alarms. Temp and pH are now the only parameters which
can trigger a page if they go out of my programmed ranges.
I added a backup pump which sits in the sump, and is triggered by a
float switch and is on a separate power ciruit. In the event the
main pump loses power, jams, or breaks, water will rise in the sump and
trigger the back-up pump which pumps at over 1000 gallons an hour which
should be able to maintain my 150 gallon tank indefinitely.
In the event that the backup pump fails, jams, loses power, or the
float switch fails, there is a chiller pump circuit which is separate
and independent from either the main or the back-up pump circuit. The
chiller pump is physically remote and on a separate and dedicated power
breaker, from the aquarium and is not susceptible to shorts from water
leaks, overflows proximate to the tank. Although the chiller pump
circuit is a relatively low flow ciruit, and probably would not
maintain my tank for long, it would provide some circulation and give
me at least an additional day compared to without the chiller pump.
In the event that the chiller pump dies, jams, loses power, etc, water
flow will actually continue through the chiller, but in reverse, since
the chiller pump normally pumps against gravity from the sump to the
top of the tank. As long as either the main pump or the backup pump
are functioning the chiller will continue to work even if the chiller
pump is off (Tested this for months and it does work!).
In the event that the chiller dies, I actually have a backup chiller
which I am preparing to plumb into the chiller circuit, with a set
point a degree warmer than the primary chiller.
In the event of a total power outtage of the house, I am planning to
have a whole house power back-up generator installed in the coming
months.
Yes I know that I have become obsessed about my tank. What can I say;
there are worse things to obssess over.
down, and I lost all the fish and the majority of corals in my beloved
reef tank, I have been pondering the modifications that I could make to
prevent such a disaster and others from occuring in the future. My
tank had a single main pump with no other. Lights, were controlled by
an aquacontroller. Due to laziness, a water contact switch was moist,
and I had turned off my Aquacontroller's paging capabilities which
would have alerted me to the rising temperature in my tank, and the
dropping pH.
Firstly I tried to simplify my aquacontroller monitoring parameters to
avoid being paged daily for false alarms. I removed all water contact
switches which constantly gave me false alarms. I removed my ORP probe
which also has a tendency to drift considerably over weeks and months
and give false alarms. Temp and pH are now the only parameters which
can trigger a page if they go out of my programmed ranges.
I added a backup pump which sits in the sump, and is triggered by a
float switch and is on a separate power ciruit. In the event the
main pump loses power, jams, or breaks, water will rise in the sump and
trigger the back-up pump which pumps at over 1000 gallons an hour which
should be able to maintain my 150 gallon tank indefinitely.
In the event that the backup pump fails, jams, loses power, or the
float switch fails, there is a chiller pump circuit which is separate
and independent from either the main or the back-up pump circuit. The
chiller pump is physically remote and on a separate and dedicated power
breaker, from the aquarium and is not susceptible to shorts from water
leaks, overflows proximate to the tank. Although the chiller pump
circuit is a relatively low flow ciruit, and probably would not
maintain my tank for long, it would provide some circulation and give
me at least an additional day compared to without the chiller pump.
In the event that the chiller pump dies, jams, loses power, etc, water
flow will actually continue through the chiller, but in reverse, since
the chiller pump normally pumps against gravity from the sump to the
top of the tank. As long as either the main pump or the backup pump
are functioning the chiller will continue to work even if the chiller
pump is off (Tested this for months and it does work!).
In the event that the chiller dies, I actually have a backup chiller
which I am preparing to plumb into the chiller circuit, with a set
point a degree warmer than the primary chiller.
In the event of a total power outtage of the house, I am planning to
have a whole house power back-up generator installed in the coming
months.
Yes I know that I have become obsessed about my tank. What can I say;
there are worse things to obssess over.