Loc-Line In-Line Check Valve

[thewackyreefer]

Is anyone using a Loc-Line In-Line Check Valve in their return plumbing? If so, are you also using another check valve? What are your experiences with this? Thinking I could use this in addition to a standard check valve...

 

[stunreefer]

Just drill a siphon hole in the lockline just under the water line. Won't fail you either, just keep algae off of it

 

[AZDesertRat]

Check valves and drilled holes are floods waiting to happen.
Plumb the returns so they are close to the surface and become uncovered with s small easily calculated amount of backflow. Nothing in the world beats an air gap for simplicity and positive backflow prevention. All it takes to defeat drilled holes or chack valves is a flake of food, algae, a snail, an anemone, a small fish, even a grain of sand on a check valve seat. It does not have to be a catastrophic failure, even a slow leak will flood given time.
Provide an air gap and sufficient room in your sump to contain a few extra gallons and you can sleep soundly at nigt, my 100G only backflows a maximum of 3 gallons on a power failure and thats easy to contain.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Check valves and drilled holes are floods waiting to happen.
Plumb the returns so they are close to the surface and become uncovered with s small easily calculated amount of backflow. Nothing in the world beats an air gap for simplicity and positive backflow prevention. All it takes to defeat drilled holes or chack valves is a flake of food, algae, a snail, an anemone, a small fish, even a grain of sand on a check valve seat. It does not have to be a catastrophic failure, even a slow leak will flood given time.
Provide an air gap and sufficient room in your sump to contain a few extra gallons and you can sleep soundly at nigt, my 100G only backflows a maximum of 3 gallons on a power failure and thats easy to contain.

I'll have plenty of room in the sump for backflow. Would you still suggest using a check valve in combination with this setup? Just so I'm clear, you're saying to put the end of the locline near the surface of the water and water will backflow until a little bit of air is sucked in? If I use one of the nozzles I can twist it vertically so only one tip is at the top closest to the water line, correct? or will it continue to backflow until the water line is at the bottom of the nozzle?

 

[AZDesertRat]

It should quit with just a little gulp of air but may trickle until the whole nozzle is exposed unless you arch the Loc Line up to create a high point. Check valves also create additional head or flow restrictions and aquarium pumps are not high head pumps so flows can be cut drastically.

 

[thewackyreefer]

It should quit with just a little gulp of air but may trickle until the whole nozzle is exposed unless you arch the Loc Line up to create a high point. Check valves also create additional head or flow restrictions and aquarium pumps are not high head pumps so flows can be cut drastically.

Beautiful. No check valve it is. Thanks for the advice. This is why I love this forum, you guys have given me some great ideas I'm implementing in my new build.

 

[RBursek]

X2 on all the AZDesertRat explained, check valves will fail when you need them, it is not a matter of if, but when. A syphon break is the beat bet with a fuge/sump to handle the few gallons of back flow.