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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Internal or External Overflow


chickendude10

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chickendude10
Posted

I'm planning on building a rimless 15L (much like Travis's) but I am drilling it for a sump. My question is should I go with an internal or external overflow?

 

I really love the sleek look of an external overflow because there is nothing in the tank. But my dilemma is when I go to paint the back of the tank it will look weird because of the silicone holding the overflow on. I was thinking of solving this problem by painting the back wall black and using black silicon.

 

But I also wanted a deep blue background, so the only way to make this look good would be to use an internal overflow.

 

What are your guys thoughts on this subject? Every opinion will be much appreciated!

Posted

Internal.....just for the mere fact you won't ever deal with the chance of water on the floor.

chickendude10
Posted
Internal.....just for the mere fact you won't ever deal with the chance of water on the floor.

 

Haha good point! Then again, I will be building the entire tank myself so I sure hope nothing leaks. :)

 

Any other thoughts on the pros and cons of each?

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

If water goes from the tank to a sump, there's a chance of water on the floor. I have two tanks, running for over a year, that have DIY external overflows and I'll have them on any future tanks I set up. I really don't see any problems with them at all. Hell, a closed tank can get water on the floor if a seam leaks!

 

Sorry for such a delayed post, but I was lookingfor something else and had to drop in a dime.

Posted

A way to get the blue background with black paint from the outside would be to simply give it two good coats of blue paint, then paint over that on the outside with black. This way from the inside it looks blue, but from the outside its black.

Posted

Definitely internal overflow. Don't have to worry about siphons.

Posted

I get the impression that some may not know what I mean by external overflow. Here is one placed on the end of a 40L breeder for a frag tank. It could have been placed anywhere on the tank. What's not to like?

gluedupoverflowbox.jpg

 

Here is a shot of it close up. It's got a durso for noise suppression. Note that there is a valve on top where a cap with a hole would normally be, but it was quicker than drilling and testing the cap.

externaloverflow111106.jpg

 

And here is the tank in operation. Quiet and dependable.

 

roomshot111106.jpg

rockerpeller
Posted

and heres a pic of my external.

 

16072007vw8.jpg

 

18072007wh9.jpg

 

I later changed the twin durso to a syphon/durso back-up. Works really well as the syphon is taking roughly 90% of the flow and the rest flows through the durso.

Pros on my set-up is extra room in the tank, super quiet, and easily adjustable.

Cons would be the extra space needed behind the tank (but you would need the gap behind the tank, to get at the plumbing/wiring etc should you ever need to, with or without the external overflow box).

 

Also have you thought a siliconing a sheet of blue acrylic onto the inside of the tank to hide the overflow box?

chickendude10
Posted

Thanks so much yardboy and rockerpeller that is exactly what i was talking about! Sounds like it is a good plan and IMO those tanks look so much cleaner.

rockerpeller
Posted

I've heard that using these overflows could cause a crack in the rear pane.

Using a thicker pane of glass for the back and using supporting glass strips around the sides of the box should help prevent this.

I added the strips after I did the freshwater leak test, just to be safe.

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