sorry about your mishap. =( dont give up!!!
I too had the same thing happen about a month ago. we had a really bad
storm and the power went out for 3.5 hours, during the night.. I too was dependent on a check valve, not realizing that they fail. I was lying in bed
when i heard what sounded like water running.
Talk about a heart attack. My check valve failed and the water was now overflowing from the
sump, into the bottom of the stand and there was about 5 inches of water gone from the main tank. Luckily the sifon finaly brake and i was
able to scoop out water from the sump and put it back into the main tank enough to stop the sump from overflowing. I sat in the living room with the flashlight and my bucket ready. Luckily i didnt lose anything, I was really worried about my powder blue. He was fine. I didnt have a problem with temp. thank goodness. We drilled two holes in each return pipe about an inch from the normal tank water level.