Overflow

[izzie]

Do u need an overflow box well surface skimer box i dont know what its called forsure. Its the kinda box that is formed around the drain pipe that flows to the sump. Forgive my mis spelling but whitney has one made out of black tinted glass in her 14g tank. I was thinking of not having that and just having the drain pipe sticking up to where i want the level of water to be. I cant get black glass here in small quantaties. I would hide the pipe in my live rock so it wasnt noticable. Im not worried about it being seen tho i just dont know if the overflow box is a must or just there to hide the pipe. Thanks for the help once again.

Izzie

[Caesar777]

Buy one online...It'd be easy to get. Marinedepot.com, drsfostersmith.com, or maybe a fellow reefer here on NR or on reefcentral.

[Mizer67]

Not positive, but a straight pipe sticking up could leave you with an annoying sucking sound, depending on flow rate. Just a thought.

[x3cookiex3]

I can make one =] you should look at DIY Projects on over flows. But i wouldsuggest going to a LFS or online store . and buying one if you dont have the time or "steady hands".

[whitney]

Having an overflow box gives you the benefits of surface skimming. A straight pipe will do some surafce skimming but not much. Skimming the surface will prevent the film that can sometimes accumulate.

 

It also gives you somewhere to hide your gurgle-stopping device. The sucking noise from the vortex that will form at the top of the pipe WILL annoy you in time (I thought I would get use to it - I WAS WRONG...) and you'll have to do something to stop it. Stockman pipes, dursos, HGBs (Hofer Gurgle buster), beads, etc... all work but don't look very nice.

 

If you let me know the dimensions of the glass you need I can go and pick some up for you this weekend and mail it to you. The place I went cut it to the exact size I needed free of charge and the glass itself was only $5 per square foot. I'd be happy to make the trip for you if you're interested. LMK.

[Blind Tree Frog]

I've got an overflow/surface skimmer made entirely out of PVC pipe. It's fairly easy, just need to make some bends. Nothing that difficult. the trick is starting the siphon but even that isn't hard. I can give you both instructions on how to do it and how I would change the design if you'd like.

 

EDIT:

And there is nil for gurgling. Well and occasional gurgle when the water backs up because i just pored a gallon into the tank, but that's like once when i'm filling the tank.

[Blind Tree Frog]

Bleh, felt like posting anyhow. Here is what you need to do if you want to do one out of PVC.

 

Pardon the poor image quality.

 

A is the inlet. It is in the tank and what is skimming the water.

E is the drain that dumps into your sump or refuge

C is where the edge of the tank is and bending over it

G is the water level that you wish

H is important in a minute.

F is a vent just incase the drain clogs and the set up tries to overflow

 

Here is what happens (assuming this has been up and running):

The water rises above G. It starts pouring into A and filling B. The siphon through C causes the water level in D to rise. When the water rises above H it starts draining down E.

 

If the water level drops below A, B and D remain full of water (to the level of H) due to the siphon in C (which won't break unless B or D dry out). If you have a power outage it will start back up without a problem.

 

I've had a set up running like this for months and it works fine. The only problem I've had is that if I go for 4~5 days without a water top off, the sump doesn't have enough water to refill my tank and it stops filling the main tank so water stops overflowing. Oddly when I top it back off, the siphon is still going, but it isn't as strong as it was before for some reason and I restart it just incase. The siphon is still going and the setup is still working, but it just seems wierd.

 

If I redid mine I'd probably do it all in 1" pipe or add a 3rd or 4th input pipe. I'd also make pipe AB about twice the size of the pipe BC and insert BC into AB just for a slimmer look. I'd also add a valve below E so I can start the siphon easier.

 

BTW, the lower H is, the faster the siphon will drain, so idealy, slam it to the floor of the tank.

[accord86]

I'm assuming this is in a drilled tank. I would go with an external durso. check it out in the diy forum here:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=69372

The pix basically describe it.

[chaostactics]

arrg where are the pics?