Basement sump

[fishdadbod]

I am in the process of moving my sump to the basement. I am running a Herbie with one full siphon one partial and one emergency. I currently have the emergency drain dropping from a high position so I can hear the water splashing. What do people do when they have a remote sump to warn of a possible overflow? I don’t have a controller at the moment but I am planning on eventually getting a hydros.

 

[Smarkow]

Have been thinking about the same issue, I came up with three apex based options.

I haven’t tried any but would be interested to see if others have?

1. Have emergency drain empty into a bucket (that overflows into sump) with a float switch to trigger an alert
2. Same as 1 but with a leak detector instead
3. A flow meter attached to the emergency drain, again with an alert

 

[Snoopy 67]

1- Put everything on a table OFF the floor.
Decreases head pressure & saves your back & knees, insuring easier maintenance.
Make sure the sump can handle more than what will drain down.
The bigger the better.

 

[SPSReeferMI]

Great question, I’m not sure of the best option at this time. But I’m using power monitoring on my Apex. I’m looking for low wattage and high amperage at the same time. This was easy to implement and notifies my phone. Hydros hopefully has similar features.

I bought a flow meter but never installed it - most people here who have done so do not recommend it due to the chances of blockages, etc.

 

[Asm481]

When I had a basement sump connected to a 120 and a 125, I never considered the possibility of an overflow. Level of sump to accommodate all flow after power shut down was a given. I didn't ever consider my ato overfilling my sump. My top off was limited to a 30 gallon garbage can. I would never just run my rodi filter to the tank with endless supply.

 

[fishdadbod]

I am using a brute trash can for ATO also. In the past I have had algea or something go down the main drain and clog up the ball valve. Only reason I knew was because I could hear the water trickling out the emergency.

 

[Smarkow]

I am using a brute trash can for ATO also. In the past I have had algea or something go down the main drain and clog up the ball valve. Only reason I knew was because I could hear the water trickling out the emergency.

On a long enough timeline, everything clogs. I think this MACNA talk about plumbing to that effect is pretty solid:

 

[vlangel]

Yes, I definitely think of this possibility. I have a HOB overflow box so I only have 1 standpipe and drain. My livingroom display is a 56g and the basement sump is a 30g XH that is about 2/3s filled. I never worry about the sump overflowing since there is lots of room in the sump, plus the basement is concrete with a drain next to the sump. What I worry about is a clog in the standpipe/drain or a freak loss of siphon in the U-tube of the overflow. However that being said, I have been running this basement sump for about 10 years without an incident. I have the flow going through the U-tube perfectly matched with the drain capacity so there is not any bubble build up in the U-tube. When I go away on vacation I actually remove the standpipe so the water running through the overflow goes straight down the drain lessening the chance of macroalgae causing a clog. It's loud but nobody is home to hear it anyway. So yes, I think about an overflow but I don't overly stress on it. Should it happen, probably about 10 gallons of saltwater would end up on the livingroom carpet which is not ideal but it's not the end of the world either. It's definitely less catastrophic than a seam breaking and there is always that risk too.