Thoughts about Mame Overflow?

[duganderson]

I read some things about the Mame Overflow.....looks pretty cool. I had a few questions about them.....

 

1. What do you like or dislike about them?

 

2. Does the siphon actually automatically start again after a power outage?

 

3. Do they need to be cleaned often?

 

4. What is the largest size combined tank and sump you would use them on? I think they are rated to approximately 25 g.....is that for the tank only OR tank and sump?

 

Thanks

[jservedio]

I don't own one of these, but I know somebody with one on an ADA tank and have seen it in action. Personally, I would never get one because of the price tag - for that cost I could have a custom tank made with a 3/8" bottom that isn't a cracking risk for being drilled.

 

The biggest complaint I have heard from my friend and read from others is they don't handle much water quietly - if you want it to be quiet you have to run a very small amount of water through it. For an 12-18g tank though, these should be pretty awesome.

 

2. Yes - there is a venturi between the overflow side and return side. The venturi will create a vacuume on the overflow side pulling out air and water.

 

3. A lot - it is clear and we all know how much algae likes growing on clear things. The biggest problem is going to be maintaining the line between the overflow and return because if it clogs, you lose it being capable of restart. At least every piece can be taken apart to make it less of a pain.

 

4. For quiet, safe opertation with a 5x sump display turn over you are looking at a max of 18 gallons display. If you couldn't care less about sound and aren't afraid of risking overflows, you can theoretically push 180gph through it and with 5x that is 36 gallons. 90-120gph is where it'll be quietest.

[hey]

I have one and use it on my 50. I use a mag 3 with about 4 ft of head and divert about 30% of the pumps flow back to the sump via a t fitting and globe valve. To j, you are confusing sump turnover with display turnover. My sump turnover with about 100 gph going to the tank is about 7-8 times where my display turnover is around 2. Cleaning isn't a big issue I usually just clean the inside u tube as it's the only thing light hits directly and causes profuse growth.

 

The beauty of the globe valve is when the tube becomes dirty you will see some air bubbles collecting in the tube. I close the gate valve slightly and the Venturi sucks the air out and flow rate is restored for at least a week. I clean mine about once a month and restart have never been an issue when you have enough flow going to the venturi.

 

I keep a low display turnover based on information I have read on the matter and like it so far.

[jservedio]

I have one and use it on my 50. I use a mag 3 with about 4 ft of head and divert about 30% of the pumps flow back to the sump via a t fitting and globe valve. To j, you are confusing sump turnover with display turnover. My sump turnover with about 100 gph going to the tank is about 7-8 times where my display turnover is around 2. Cleaning isn't a big issue I usually just clean the inside u tube as it's the only thing light hits directly and causes profuse growth. The beauty of the globe valve is when the tube becomes dirty you will see some air bubbles collecting in the tube. I close the gate valve slightly and the Venturi sucks the air out and flow rate is restored for at least a week. I clean mine about once a month and restart have never been an issue when you have enough flow going to the venturi. I keep a low display turnover based on information I have read on the matter and like it so far.

 

Yeah I fixed that. That is a really low display turnover, but that isn't a problem - however, for maintenance, that is a lot of cleaning! My HOB overflow gets cleaned once a year whenever I notice air bubbles not being cleared - so for comparison sake that is a lot of maintenance.

 

It is definitely a super elegant solution removing the need for a vacuume pump, I will give them that, but that price tag is nuts and it handles such a low volume of water. Honestly, for half the price, I think a clear lifereef is a better solution.

[malady]

been using one over a year without issue.

 

They are very quiet if you have the silence cap.

 

The biggest pain is keeping them clean, after a while gunk will build up and effect your siphon.

 

if you carbon dose you don't really have to worry about cleaning it as often.

[Neill.w]

I have been selling and using MAME products for some time now and have only ever had positive feedback from customers regarding the overflow. As @Hey mentioned with cleaning, if you want to keep it looking crisp, clean the top of the U tube once a month which literally takes 30 seconds with a bottle cleaner. It seems very reliable and we have never had a customers experience flooding.

 

And as @malady mentioned they are almost silent if you fit the optional silence cap

They had a price drop recently and cost $187 now

+ It is one sexy bit of glass!

 

[duganderson]

Any other thoughts from folks using the Mame?

 

If you run clear hoses in and out of Mame to sump, can you easily keep these clean in order to have the clean design the Mame offers?

[brad908]

The hoses get pretty dirty, check out Hey's thread.

[jservedio]

Any other thoughts from folks using the Mame?

 

If you run clear hoses in and out of Mame to sump, can you easily keep these clean in order to have the clean design the Mame offers?

 

Any clear hose - even without direct light (just ambient light and incidental light) will get really nasty really fast - regardless if you have a MAME or not. Even opaque hoses will get nasty, but it takes a lot longer and you don't see it - but with clear they will turn really nasty really fast.

 

Think about how fast algae grow on your glass and how often you clean it - it's basically the same thing inside the tubes, but with even more flow.