Anyone Use a flow valve or check valve ?

ChicagoNanoGuy · Feb 13, 2019

Im wondering if anyone has installed a check valve on any of their returns? I am thinking of putting one on my ATO return just in case to break the syphon.Thought an are there valve that don't use rubber flanges since I assume that wouldn't be reef safe !!

Crabs McJones · Feb 13, 2019

I don't use a check valve, instead what I did was drilled a small hole in the hose right before it comes out of the reservoir, so when the ato kicks in a little gets pumped back into the reservoir and when the pump kicks off it will suck in air breaking the siphon :)

Geebs19 · Feb 13, 2019

Crabs Mcjones said:
I don't use a check valve, instead what I did was drilled a small hole in the hose right before it comes out of the reservoir, so when the ato kicks in a little gets pumped back into the reservoir and when the pump kicks off it will suck in air breaking the siphon :)

I did this same thing on my return lines in my tank. I dont like check valves, another piece of equipment that can fail.

Eagle_Steve · Feb 13, 2019

My tanks have a serviceable check valve on the returns, and also a hole drilled just a hair below the water line on the loc lines for the returns. I like the hole the best, but had an overflow on a power outage due to a snail and limited room in my sump for the back fill. That's my fault by my sumps design, but the serviceable check valves are a great back up IMO.