Need help ASAP before another Flood!!!

[Krish]

I just installed my sea-swirl and I have a major problem. If the power goes out I am screwed! What am I supposed to do to break the siphon in case of a power outage? I've already lowered my water level in the tank as much as my overflow will let me, but it is still not enough. I drilled a small hole in an open space in the elbow leading to the lockline output and it sucks air, but not enough to break the siphon. Do I go with a bigger hole? I am in a jam because the power goes off all the time here and I can't afford to have another flood. Please help!!!

I will be back and forth between the tank and the computer trying to sort it out. And oh, BTW, I got my computer back Now help with the swirl!!(LOL)

 

[specsgirl]

I'm going to say that you need a bigger hole. just my two cents though.

 

[Krish]

Thanks...I just added another hole and no change. I'm afraid to add too many and lose flow. I guess less flow is better than a flood, but this thing is rediculous. I'm ready to toss it already! It works great, but if it can't break the siphon then whats the point...

 

[spongebob lover]

ohh dood i wish i could help you , i really don't have a clue on sea swirls since i have never use them.(i told you, you should have gotten one of the powerheads i told you about )
one thing that i'd do is get 2 buckets one for your water so incase of another flood what you can do is help put the water in there (like a 10 gal bucket from wal mart), just use one of those thick plastic tubes suck a little and let the water go through to the bucket and turn off your sea swirl.
the second one, so you help your poor wife dry the floor hehe .
Anyways, i'm sure there's a way you can put that sea swirl in there and i really hope someone can help dood.

 

[MtnDewMan]

How big are the holes you drilled? Did you drill the hole high enough?

Make sure you drill the hole at a point just below the water line for normal operation, then when the water level goes down during a power out, it will suck in air. That way you can get by with a slightly bigger hole and during normal operation, the water is still flowing out of that hole into the tank. When power goes out, the pump has stopped, the water level goes down and sucks in enough air through a sufficiently sized hole.

 

[Krish]

How big are the holes you drilled? Did you drill the hole high enough?

Make sure you drill the hole at a point just below the water line for normal operation, then when the water level goes down during a power out, it will suck in air. That way you can get by with a slightly bigger hole and during normal operation, the water is still flowing out of that hole into the tank. When power goes out, the pump has stopped, the water level goes down and sucks in enough air through a sufficiently sized hole.

I don't have my tools home with me that has my drill bit set in it, but I would assume they were atleast 1/8. I got so frustrated with the whole thing because for starters I came home and my skimmer overflowed a 1/2 gal jug while I was to work and flooded the house again. I closed the gate valve slightly this morning (not even 1/8 turn) and it caused a prob. Next thing was I accidentally snapped the head off of my return pump which I have to toss now because where it snapped, it can't be fixed. I had to bum a pump to keep my sump going for the night until I can buy one tomorrow. I just paid $300 about 3 weeks ago for that pump... Well, as a result of my frustration, I drilled about 3 different holes in the lockline attachment and it didn't make a difference at all. You can't really drill toohigh because you'd start getting into the actual sea-swirl if you did, so I drilled them right where the elbow makes its turn upwards to the sea-swirl. No luck. I'm going to epoxy the holes and try again with a single 3/16 hole as reccommended here on answer #7 http://sea-swirl.com/FAQ.htm I guess I will have to see what tomorrow bring for me when I wake up. I landed the sea-swirl for $300 and it is looking like my only option for it is to use it in a closed loop seperate from my sump. I guess that will be my last resort if all help fails...

Thanks for the replies so far guys and Gabby, I should have listened to you(LOL)

 

[MtnDewMan]

I would have to see a picture to truly understand how the sea swirl is sitting in your water. You shouldn't have an issue drilling a hole just below the water surface like the FAQ suggests.

 

[Angelscrx]

Get a bigger sump!

Sorry to hear you are having troubles with the SS I have two in my return pump and they work great. I have had the power off a few times here but no floods due to the SS. It fills the sump to about an inch from the top and stops. When the power comes back it fills the tank back up and everything works great.

I would drill a bigger hole.

 

[Krish]

I'm ashamed of what I did to the poor nozzle
and I still can't believe I did it ,
but here is a pic of it anyway..Pure frustration

 

[Krish]

Get a bigger sump!

I wish. I can't even run my skimmer with it because the skimmer hogs a bit of water and when I shut the power...Put it like this...I have to plug the return back in because it doesn't stop rising in the sump. I have to keep my water level at about 1/4 the height of my sump when I use to keep it at 2/3...

 

[MtnDewMan]

See the attached picture. The hole needs to be where I shaded it ... you may have to drill through the sea swirl portion it connects to. Down by the bend is too low in my opinion.

 

[Krish]

So then detach the sea-swirl from the tank, put the nozzle on, and then drill through them both? If so, sounds good to me. The shaded portion is where I put the first hole if you look closely. I'll wait to to see if I understood you right before I poke another hole...

 

[MtnDewMan]

If that is where the hole needs to be to break the siphon, then just drilling through the outer piece won't break the siphon as there is the inner sea swirl piece there, so really there is no air break. For a clean air break, you need a clean hole all the way through.

Just my opinion anyway Get other's opinions before you drill all the way through, but I think that is required if your sump isn't large enough to hold the water at a lower level.

 

[Krish]

Thanks for the help Chuck. It makes sense what you are saying and worse comes to worse I'll just have to buy a new sea-swirl (LOL). On the instructions that came with the sea-swirl it says, "If drilling a hole for drain down, never drill above the black 90 degree elbow". Which would mean it would be safe to drill where you said. I was afraid to drill into the unit, but I can't see no other way like you said so i'll give that a shot. I may wait until the morning though so I can go to sleep on a good note(LOL) Thanks again everyone for the help and concern. I'll keep you'll updated on what happens incase it may be of some use to someone else later. For the record, why not another picture of it mounted...

 

[Jiddy]

I only read the first few post, so i may be ramblin here, lol, but when i drilled my small holes i had the same problem, what i did was added 3 small holes in a vertical line instead of horizontal, just my two cents

 

[DonW]

Hey Krish

Chuck is right on with where to drill the hole. Why dont you post some sump pics. Maybe we can figure out how to fix your water level issues. You dond need any floods when the power goes out.

Don

 

[Krish]

Thanks Jiddy and Don. I just turned my sump into a fuge recently which allows it to hold more water and if I can get the darn sea-swirl to break the siphon, I should be fine. With my regular return nozzle I had before (which is running now) breaks siphon in about 3-5 seconds. Let me see if I can scrap up a picture...BRB

 

[Detri]

Hey Krish! Glad to see you have your PC back I hope your troubles aren't as bad as you think and you can fix it easily. I'll be watching this thread

 

[DonW]

Just make sure the hole is in a verticle section drilled all the way through, barely under the water.

Don

 

[Krish]

Hey Krish! Glad to see you have your PC back I hope your troubles aren't as bad as you think and you can fix it easily. I'll be watching this thread

Thanks Detri. I couldn't have gotten it back at a better time than now. Jiddy bombed the computer company for me and I found my computer under some of the rubble so I'm good to go(LOL)

I just took a shot of the sump and here it is. The water level in the last chamber is up a little higher than I thought, but still nowhere near where I usually keep it and the skimmer is off which would definately drop it a few inches. I usually have it right above the baffle to the right of my stands center brace. I'd say space wise, I have about 6 inches empty to the side of my return chamber where I moved my cannister filter to make space for either an external pump or whatever. I'm hoping the solution is simple and by me drilling straight through will solve the prob. If I have to make a bigger sump or add on to it, that's not a problem either. Sorry for the crappy pics.