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Cultivated Reef

DIY Ghost Overflow


NorthGaHillbilly

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NorthGaHillbilly

I have been working on this project for a few weeks, but after leak testing it and letting it run at various GPH I can say its a success and it's worth sharing.

 

When planning out my new build I wanted a ghost overflow, but felt that the full size one would be WAY oversized for my needs, and I didnt feel like I had to spend 150 to get something that would work for me.

 

I started with the tank, a Deep Blue 34 gallon frag tank. I worked up what I wanted it to look like with cardboard, as you can see I was going to go across the entire tank with the overflow, but later changed it to a smaller skimmer box

 

Original model

https://flic.kr/p/p8afF6'>15177226507_18617337e4_c.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/p8afF6'>IMG_00000362 by https://www.flickr.com/people/125603963@N06/'>North Ga Hillbilly, on Flickr

 

Later finalized version

https://flic.kr/p/puzEAR'>15419636101_3ec8988b3a_c.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/puzEAR'>IMG_00000374 by https://www.flickr.com/people/125603963@N06/'>North Ga Hillbilly, on Flickr

 

I hate it I didnt tank pictures during the process of building it, but I cant say as it was very interesting, a 2'x2' acrylic sheet got cut down into smaller pieces, flame polished on the edges, and glued together.

 

Heres what I ended up with at the end of the evening

https://flic.kr/p/ph4wNs'>15277958550_d107ff7a08_c.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/ph4wNs'>IMG_00000393 by https://www.flickr.com/people/125603963@N06/'>North Ga Hillbilly, on Flickr

 

https://flic.kr/p/pywFWj'>15464321242_95cab62e6c_c.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/pywFWj'>IMG_00000394 by https://www.flickr.com/people/125603963@N06/'>North Ga Hillbilly, on Flickr

 

https://flic.kr/p/pkeEr3'>15313884828_5c7d7cde14_c.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/pkeEr3'>IMG_00000419 by https://www.flickr.com/people/125603963@N06/'>North Ga Hillbilly, on Flickr

 

I had a few small drips on the boxes after getting it glued together with Weldon 4, I ended up running weldon 16 on the inside down each seam and its rock solid and dry after that.

 

I used 3 bulkhead gaskets on each of the overflow holes in the tank, one inside the skimmer box, one between skimmer box and tank, and one between tank and external box.

 

 

I was worried about the external box pulling down on the glass and causing a problem. I doubt it would happen, but I ended up using 1" pipe clamps to hold the pipes secure, I havent had any problems, nor do I see any developing

 

https://flic.kr/p/pETMMt'>15536337241_216cfdaf38_c.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/pETMMt'>IMG_00000429 by https://www.flickr.com/people/125603963@N06/'>North Ga Hillbilly, on Flickr

(Three more clamps were added right after the unions close to where they enter the stand.

 

If I were to do it again I would raise the overflow teeth to keep the water level higher without having to build a little baffle to raise it. I would also have gone alittle slower on my assembly and left enough overhang so I could route the seams with a flush trim bit, but all in all its as I wanted it to be.

 

NGaHB

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Looks awesome, cant wait to see the rest. I am in the planning stages of my own build so this is definitely helpful. Plus the ghost overflows are sold out!

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NorthGaHillbilly

Thanks everyone, it's still running great, I don't have the tank swapped yet. Still just tap water, but that will change come thus friday.

 

Very nice!What was the build cost?

Total cost was around $50. A majority of that was the cost of bulkheads, but all in all it was well worth it.

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NorthGaHillbilly

Did you do the slots on the weir?If so, bravo.

I did indeed, table router and a fence made it possible. I was afraid I made them too low, but with the return running it keep's the water level 1" below the rim, so I'm happy

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I did indeed, table router and a fence made it possible. I was afraid I made them too low, but with the return running it keep's the water level 1" below the rim, so I'm happy

 

I need to up my skilz then, mine walk on me.

 

Excellent work.

 

Im not going to flame polish mine any more, for the little bulging that happens. Im going to try the 1,2,3 paste instead.

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NorthGaHillbilly

I need to up my skilz then, mine walk on me.Excellent work.Im not going to flame polish mine any more, for the little bulging that happens. Im going to try the 1,2,3 paste instead.

did you have a good plunge bit?

 

Next go round I'm going to use a flush trim to clean up the edges, the Polish em. I'll have to look into the paste.

 

Thank you by the way, I'm really happy it worked, and looks decent

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No plunge bit.

 

My slots are open top. 1/4" two blade bit, Freud I think. Tried the fluted kind too, I think I lost that bit.

 

Im going to have to be making some more soon.

 

Link to plunge bit, closed slots will keep more stuff in the tank thats suppose to stay in the tank.

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  • 2 months later...
NorthGaHillbilly

With your design, what would you say your max GPH is?

just realized I missed your post, Ive putting 550 ish gph through it now, I think it could go up around 900, but i could be wrong

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CatfishSoupFTW

I actually got one of these made for me recently for about 100 bucks (which I felt was a great price, considering in Canada, a basic overflow is insanely expensive -__- ) anyway, price aside, its the same design you just made more or less, but i got 2 drains instead of 3. its on a smaller system, 21G. I am not too sure why, but the wetside of the overflow, the main frontal part was bent acrylic. as was the back side of the dry side. Not too sure why exactly, as to if it benefits at all, but overall I am digging it.

 

Real silent, and im happy on how its performing. Yours looks pretty professional as well if I do say so myself. I was worried too about the weight of the back, but in the end i didnt really reinforce anything. its been a while now that it has been running, and so far so good! Fingers crossed.

 

Hopefully ghost overflows start showing up more around here. Im a big fan of their design, and how little space it takes up on the tank.

 

 

Though question, whats that little float switch looking thing you got in there?

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NorthGaHillbilly

I actually got one of these made for me recently for about 100 bucks (which I felt was a great price, considering in Canada, a basic overflow is insanely expensive -__- ) anyway, price aside, its the same design you just made more or less, but i got 2 drains instead of 3. its on a smaller system, 21G. I am not too sure why, but the wetside of the overflow, the main frontal part was bent acrylic. as was the back side of the dry side. Not too sure why exactly, as to if it benefits at all, but overall I am digging it.

 

Real silent, and im happy on how its performing. Yours looks pretty professional as well if I do say so myself. I was worried too about the weight of the back, but in the end i didnt really reinforce anything. its been a while now that it has been running, and so far so good! Fingers crossed.

 

Hopefully ghost overflows start showing up more around here. Im a big fan of their design, and how little space it takes up on the tank.

 

 

Though question, whats that little float switch looking thing you got in there?

I'd have charged 100 bucks after doing it, Def a good deal. I almost went with bent corners, just a visual appeal thing. If I did it again I'd bend the corners on the internal box and have the bottom setting hidden by the side.

 

With 1" drains the third drain is really a waste of space with less than 800 gph IMO.

 

I'm not 100% on what your looking at, but I used a fitting so the siphon break on the second drain looked alittle more professional

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  • 1 month later...

Having seen the ghost overflow design... and then the price tag :eek: my next search was naturally "DIY ghost overflow" which thankfully led me here to your fine example of how it's done. Bravo! Looks really good. The syphon break looks really pro with the push fit and rigid airline is a touch of genius.

 

Sorry if I missed it somehow but can I ask what dimensions you settled on? I will be fitting mine to a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft tank and was thinking 24" x 6" x maybe 1" front to back for the internal box and then 24" x 6" high x 4" widefor the external? I would like the box to be able to handle as much flow as the beananimal drains can using 1" pipe. Do you think 1" is wide enough for the weir? I would prefer it to be overkill than unsure but knowing how thin a sheet of water flows over my C2C I'm not sure if 1" is already more than overkill and could be reduced for an even cleaner appearance.

 

Like the whole BeanAnimal overflow system, I like to squeeze in as much redundancy as I can and be as close to failsafe as possible, especially when it comes to plumbing but only having worked with more traditional C2C weirs before, the slim internal wier box and the bulkheads from one box to another are a bit of an unknown for me and I would be grateful for a little confirmation before I start hacking up my shiny new sheet of smoked acrylic only to find I'm way off with the sizes.

 

Thanks and happy reefing :)

 

Nic

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NorthGaHillbilly

Having seen the ghost overflow design... and then the price tag :eek: my next search was naturally "DIY ghost overflow" which thankfully led me here to your fine example of how it's done. Bravo! Looks really good. The syphon break looks really pro with the push fit and rigid airline is a touch of genius.

 

Sorry if I missed it somehow but can I ask what dimensions you settled on? I will be fitting mine to a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft tank and was thinking 24" x 6" x maybe 1" front to back for the internal box and then 24" x 6" high x 4" widefor the external? I would like the box to be able to handle as much flow as the beananimal drains can using 1" pipe. Do you think 1" is wide enough for the weir? I would prefer it to be overkill than unsure but knowing how thin a sheet of water flows over my C2C I'm not sure if 1" is already more than overkill and could be reduced for an even cleaner appearance.

 

Like the whole BeanAnimal overflow system, I like to squeeze in as much redundancy as I can and be as close to failsafe as possible, especially when it comes to plumbing but only having worked with more traditional C2C weirs before, the slim internal wier box and the bulkheads from one box to another are a bit of an unknown for me and I would be grateful for a little confirmation before I start hacking up my shiny new sheet of smoked acrylic only to find I'm way off with the sizes.

 

Thanks and happy reefing :)

 

Nic

Hey man, I'm beat tired from a hellacious day, but I'll make sure to get back at you In the morning. I learned several thing I would do diff, so hopefully I'll save you some annoyance

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NorthGaHillbilly

Sweet diy overflow. How did you get the bulkheads into the overflow?

I've still got the brainpower to answer this one, I put them in before gluing the front of the internal box in

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I've still got the brainpower to answer this one, I put them in before gluing the front of the internal box in

I figured this is what you did after looking at it. Looks sharp man, nice and sleak design.

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NorthGaHillbilly

Having seen the ghost overflow design... and then the price tag :eek: my next search was naturally "DIY ghost overflow" which thankfully led me here to your fine example of how it's done. Bravo! Looks really good. The syphon break looks really pro with the push fit and rigid airline is a touch of genius.

 

Sorry if I missed it somehow but can I ask what dimensions you settled on? I will be fitting mine to a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft tank and was thinking 24" x 6" x maybe 1" front to back for the internal box and then 24" x 6" high x 4" widefor the external? I would like the box to be able to handle as much flow as the beananimal drains can using 1" pipe. Do you think 1" is wide enough for the weir? I would prefer it to be overkill than unsure but knowing how thin a sheet of water flows over my C2C I'm not sure if 1" is already more than overkill and could be reduced for an even cleaner appearance.

 

The internal box is 12"x4.5"x1.5" I used .25" acrylic, so its 1" inside. I think you could take it down to 1", but it might be pushing it if you up the flow too much. The flange on the bulkhead it going to take out some of your usable flow area.

 

External box is 12"x7"x4.75 being only 12" wide it was somewhat of a squeeze to get all three pipes and fittings in there, but if your 24" long you shouldnt have any problems.

 

Like the whole BeanAnimal overflow system, I like to squeeze in as much redundancy as I can and be as close to failsafe as possible, especially when it comes to plumbing but only having worked with more traditional C2C weirs before, the slim internal wier box and the bulkheads from one box to another are a bit of an unknown for me and I would be grateful for a little confirmation before I start hacking up my shiny new sheet of smoked acrylic only to find I'm way off with the sizes.

 

Thanks and happy reefing :)

 

Nic

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