Preventing back siphon in the event of a power outage?

[SeahorseBT]

Someone told me a check valve would work, but I can't find one for vinyl tubing.Can anybody direct me to a place that sells them?

 

[gch.3]

or you could drill a hole just below the water level on your return line to break the siphon. imo check valves tend to get hung up after time and become unreliable.

 

[Clownfish518]

check valves will fail over time. They build up calcium, or a worm crawls down there, or a snail, or something. And they really affect return flow.

Best way to deal with it is have a big enough sump, keep the return fairly high in the tank, and drill a hole on the return to break the siphon.

 

[cbrownfish]

Yep, drill a siphon hole in the return line just below the water surface (inside the tank of course). Check valves will fail in a saltwater set up.

 

[SeahorseBT]

I always wondered what that little hole was for when I set up the tank. I think it got covered with coraline. I think I can make the return higher. As far as a bigger sump, I can't because there is no way I can get a bigger tank under there.

Thanks for the tips.