Check Valve Problem

So, after talking to a Co-Worker at the LFS about my setup the check valve became a possible issue. I bought mine at a Home Depot. It has a metal spring. He let me know that its an issue and I should buy his 30 dollar all plastic flap valve. Insight????

 

if you want a check valve get the pricey one. The spring rusting could be bad for coral and maybe fish. Alot of people dont use them these days but I do.

 

has there been proven issues with metal springs in the past? I have another friend using the same one and his tank looks great, 4 years old.

 

Rust is not a big deal... it's just iron. you need one that is stainless steel... but there is a bunch of different stailess steels. You need marine grade that will not corrode.... but the problem is if your spring is rusting then it won't work and you have no check valve.

You shoul dget one that is the proper application. i'm sure you can find them on line too.... or take this opportunity to get your system to the point of not needing it and then you will never have to worry about it.

 

The obvious question is "Why do you have a check valve in a reef tank"?

Check valves will fail regardless of how good they are or how much maintenance you do on them. They have no place in a saltwater aquarium. They are a false sense of security when you consider all it takes is a grain of sand, bit of algae or baby snail to defeat it. It does not have to be a catastrophic failure, even a trickle will eventually flood in a power outage.

Proper plumbing design is key and you should not need any check valves or drilled holes as you will create and air gap if it is done right and thats the only fool proof method of backflow prevention.