[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [APD] The siphon saga continues...need safety shutoff!
This is brilliant, and something I did not think about
when I replied to Laura a second ago.
Something else interesting. . . if the level of the
water on the output side is above the end of the
second siphon, but below the level of the standpipe
then the standpipe water will NOT evaporate, it will
be fed by the second siphon from the output side.
Thanks,
Rod
--- revance at indiana_edu wrote:
> Laura's suggestion of having two siphons, one that
> wont operate until the
> first fails is possible... you have to put the other
> siphon above the water
> level in the overflow box. However to keep it above
> the water level and still
> keep a siphon, you have to put in a standpipe that
> is filled with water. That
> way the siphon tube is submerged in water on both
> ends (thus has a siphon),
> but is actually above the "real" water level. I
> still don't think I would
> trust it, the water in the standpipe would
> evaporate, thus would eventually
> lose it's siphon. I don't think I would recommend
> this, but I just wanted to
> make sure people understood the concept so they can
> make their own decision.
> Here is some ascii art to try to illustrate it
>
>
> | | | |
> | | |~| |~|
> | | | | | |
> | | | |
> | | | |
> ~~~| |~~~~| |~~~~~~
> | | | |
> | |
> ___________|______|______
>
> You can see that the siphon on the left will
> operate, but the one on the right
> wont. If the one on the left fails, the water will
> rise until it gets over the
> pipe on the right, thus the siphon on the right will
> begin to siphon. Again,
> this requires that there is water in the pipe on the
> right... if it evaporates
> and you lose your siphon... it WONT work. Hopefully
> this clears up the idea
> so people can make their own judgements.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Quoting Rod Gerrymander <rgerrymander at yahoo_com>:
>
> > A siphon that can't fail absolutely does need a
> > screen, as I found out last night. That was my
> > first response to the problem. And as you state,
> > the larger the surface area of the screen the
> safer
> > you are. I used a sponge filter sponge, but I
> know
> > it will eventually clog. I will probably go to a
> > more open screen arrangement when I can find one,
> > but that will ultimately fail too. The issue is,
> > how long can you expect between failures?
> >
> > I don't think the idea of a second siphon really
> > helps because I don't think you can have one
> siphon
> > working and then the second one kick in as the
> first
> > one fails. If both have their ends in the water
> and
> > both are full of water then both will function,
> > relative heights notwithstanding.
> >
> > The problem with that is that it reduces the the
> > flow thru each siphon by half, which would bring
> us
> > back to my original problem, bubbles in the siphon
> > tube. Of course, if my AquaLifters ever come in I
> > may be able to use multiple siphons okay.
> >
> > The shutoff is for a final safety check. It's an
> > "I'm off to Europe for three weeks and the
> catsitter
> > doesn't know a siphon from an ear of corn" kind of
> > situation. I don't know what will happen, but I
> do
> > know I don't want to pump 100 gallons of water
> onto
> > the floor. If I ever do that I will have to build
> a
> > shed out back to put my aquarium in. And sheds
> are
> > against the deed restrictions.
> >
> > [An aside, I once told a cat sitter to feed the
> cat
> > a quarter of a can of food a day and she said "I
> > know how to do a half, but how much is a quarter?"
> > Think about letting that person even touch an
> > aquarium]
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Rod
> > --- Laura Burbage <leuhrich at yahoo_com> wrote:
> > > I was thinking about this problem as I drove to
> > > Lowe's
> > > and back. It seems like a shutoff is
> complicated
> > > for
> > > this use. Then I thought of two possible things
> > > that
> > > could help prevent future water spills:
> > >
> > > 1) Put a screen on that siphon! Better yet,
> put a
> > > screen around the skimmer box before the inlet.
> Or,
> > > make a longer piece of the siphon box to extend
> the
> > > inlet, makeing the whole extension out of scren
> or
> > > perforated pipe. The idea is that if something
> in
> > > the
> > > tank comes loose, it will stick to only a
> portion of
> > > the screened area, leaving other areas still
> > > working.
> > >
> > > 2) When a system can't be allowed to fail, make
> a
> > > backup. How about a second siphon, at a water
> level
> > > little above the first, so that it will kick in
> if
> > > the
> > > first siphon is disabled. If used with a
> skimmer
> > > box
> > > with a standpipe on the outside part, it
> shouldn't
> > > lose the siphon (unless all the water evaporates
> out
> > > of it)
> > >
> > > Hope these ideas are usefull to somebody.
> > >
> > > -Laura
> > >
> > > __________________________________
> > > Do you Yahoo!?
> > > Yahoo! Search - Find what you?re looking for
> faster
> > > http://search.yahoo.com
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Aquatic-Plants mailing list
> > > Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
> > >
> >
>
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants
> >
> >
> > __________________________________
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > Yahoo! Search - Find what you?re looking for
> faster
> > http://search.yahoo.com
> > _______________________________________________
> > Aquatic-Plants mailing list
> > Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
> >
>
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Aquatic-Plants mailing list
> Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
>
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Search - Find what you?re looking for faster
http://search.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________
Aquatic-Plants mailing list
Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants