Cord retention in sump??

[Patrick]

I am in the process of designing and building a new sump (inspired by
Marc ;).

I'm trying to head off a potential disaster: I have several sets of
wires running into my tank: wires for top-off float valve, PH
monitor, heater thermostat sensor, temp controller sensor, etc. Right
now, most are attached with various suction cups - not a great idea, I
know. In both the old and new sumps, I am worried about the
consequences of a suction cup getting knocked loose. i.e. if the temp
sensor floats to the top, my heater could turn on and start boiling
the tank. Or if the float valve gets knocked or the suction cup fails,
my entire top-off container will pump into the sump, drastically
changing the salinity of the tank (I imagine it could easily go from
1.0255 to 1.018 in minutes).

Does anybody have any ideas or pictures of what they use for cord
retention in a sump??? Could be as simple as a small piece of acrylic
with slots cut in it to hold the wires...

Thanks for any ideas or info!

[Marc Levenson]

It is very very very important that your float switch is 100% secure! Mount a
small piece of acrylic horizontally inside your sump, and drill it with a hole
to the size of your float switch. Mine are 7/16".

Probes can just dangle in the sump, but you can mount another piece of acrylic
for those. 1/2" holes for pH probes, 3/4" for Salinity, 1/2" for ORP (ORB?)...
I've been told that putting them near each other causes them to provide false
readings, so you might scatter them out in your sump somewhat.

You can achor sensors under a chunk of LR. I have a piece of rock weighing my
heater so it won't float upward. It lies horizontally in my refugium.

I like to tuck all the wires behind the tank and sump, where I don't have to see
a jumbled mess. If you like, you can use Zipties to hold each one in a neat
bundle, to reduce the spaghetti-appearance.

Marc


Patrick wrote:

> I am in the process of designing and building a new sump (inspired by
> Marc ;).
>
> I'm trying to head off a potential disaster: I have several sets of
> wires running into my tank: wires for top-off float valve, PH
> monitor, heater thermostat sensor, temp controller sensor, etc. Right
> now, most are attached with various suction cups - not a great idea, I
> know. In both the old and new sumps, I am worried about the
> consequences of a suction cup getting knocked loose. i.e. if the temp
> sensor floats to the top, my heater could turn on and start boiling
> the tank. Or if the float valve gets knocked or the suction cup fails,
> my entire top-off container will pump into the sump, drastically
> changing the salinity of the tank (I imagine it could easily go from
> 1.0255 to 1.018 in minutes).
>
> Does anybody have any ideas or pictures of what they use for cord
> retention in a sump??? Could be as simple as a small piece of acrylic
> with slots cut in it to hold the wires...
>
> Thanks for any ideas or info!

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Patrick]

Marc Levenson > wrote in message >...
> It is very very very important that your float switch is 100% secure! Mount a
> small piece of acrylic horizontally inside your sump, and drill it with a hole
> to the size of your float switch. Mine are 7/16".


Count on it! The new sump will have a permanent bracket for this
float switch. But my current sump does not - no easy way to make a
permanent attachement without taking it down for a good length of time
or making holes...

From the looks of the pictures on your site, you and I have the same
float switch.


>
> Probes can just dangle in the sump, but you can mount another piece of acrylic
> for those. 1/2" holes for pH probes, 3/4" for Salinity, 1/2" for ORP (ORB?)...
> I've been told that putting them near each other causes them to provide false
> readings, so you might scatter them out in your sump somewhat.



I ended up just making some pieces of acrylic with slots in them. My
sump is just a sump - no LR or sand. I have a separate refugium with
lots of LR and sand, but I like keeping the sump for equipment only.



>
> You can achor sensors under a chunk of LR. I have a piece of rock weighing my
> heater so it won't float upward. It lies horizontally in my refugium.
>
> I like to tuck all the wires behind the tank and sump, where I don't have to see
> a jumbled mess. If you like, you can use Zipties to hold each one in a neat
> bundle, to reduce the spaghetti-appearance.
>

I also made a small bracket for the heater, and secured it with very
small zip ties so it wouldn't float with the current.

Thanks!