nano427 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 When researching drilling a tank to plumb a sump all I ever see is an overflow box and then a hole in the bottom. Why doesnt anybody ever just drill a hole up high and use that as the overflow? Link to comment
nanoty Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 When researching drilling a tank to plumb a sump all I ever see is an overflow box and then a hole in the bottom. Why doesnt anybody ever just drill a hole up high and use that as the overflow? People do. One of the first things that jumps to mind with an overflow is aesthetics. Most people don't want to see a bulkhead and screen jutting out into the tank. Also, with an overflow you get a larger area of surface skimming to remove surface film. You can also control the water level better with a standard overflow. Most (not all) of the tanks I have seen with a simple bulkhead/strainer drain on the upper back of the tank have been LFS display tanks and the bulkhead cannot be put high enough to keep the water level of the tank high enough to completely fill the tank. These are just a few reasons that jump to mind. Obviously it is cheaper the way you describe and sometimes less complicated but there are benefits to a standard overflow. Link to comment
nano427 Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 makes sense. I have an acrylic tank so drilling shouldnt be a problem but how do you attach the overflow box? But if that seal were to fail then I'd have 60 gallons on my floor. Im kinda looking for a foolproof overflow that would be 100% reliable. Also where is the best spot for it, in the corner or middle? Link to comment
funkyfish77 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I didn't want to risk overflowing my tank so i drilled it for bulk heads. the water level thing I just went to homedepot and got a thread to slip elbow and screwed it into my bulk head so i can control the water level. 7 months and no probs the elbow is almost covered in Coraline so i don't mind it being there. good luck on the tank Link to comment
bdare Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 When researching drilling a tank to plumb a sump all I ever see is an overflow box and then a hole in the bottom. Why doesnt anybody ever just drill a hole up high and use that as the overflow? It can be LOUD as hell if you don't do it right. By using an overflow box you can add a durso / stockman overflow to help quiet the air / water noise. Link to comment
nanoty Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Yeah, it really can be loud unless you use an external durso and even then it has to be set up properly. As far as attaching acrylic to acrylic, there are special cements and applicators for that. Is it an internal overflow? How would it's failure lead to leaking? Link to comment
mmelnick Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 The lower you place the overflow hole the more flow it can handle. It basically allows thae weight of the water to push the water at the bottom down if you ever had a backup issue. More head = more flow. Link to comment
Matty1124 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 More head = more flow. thats what she said Link to comment
Shadowrider Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 When researching drilling a tank to plumb a sump all I ever see is an overflow box and then a hole in the bottom. Why doesnt anybody ever just drill a hole up high and use that as the overflow? Check this video: http://www.reefercentral.com/overflowinstallation.html Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Yeah, it really can be loud unless you use an external durso and even then it has to be set up properly. As far as attaching acrylic to acrylic, there are special cements and applicators for that. Is it an internal overflow? How would it's failure lead to leaking? When an internal overflow leaks into the "rear chamber" if you will, the water level in the display goes down until it is equal to the bulkhead, hence sending waaaaay more water down than the sump can usually handle. This is assuming that the leak is large enough for this to happen. So yeah, you want it to be sealed pretty well. Link to comment
nanoty Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 When an internal overflow leaks into the "rear chamber" if you will, the water level in the display goes down until it is equal to the bulkhead, hence sending waaaaay more water down than the sump can usually handle. This is assuming that the leak is large enough for this to happen. So yeah, you want it to be sealed pretty well. Not necessarily. Some internal overflows actually have holes under the waterline if the surface of the overflow can't keep up. Depending on the type of drain behind the overflow the bulkhead will only flow so much water especially if your using a durso style drain like most people do. Granted, if the leak was huge and flowed quite a bit of water it could lower the water level of the tank a bit but I doubt that an small leak would cause any noticable difference. Link to comment
xbwolfx Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 just make it easy on yourself and order a "complete overflow kit" from glass-holes.com these guys are all just going to confuse the hell out of you. Link to comment
nanoty Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 just make it easy on yourself and order a "complete overflow kit" from glass-holes.com these guys are all just going to confuse the hell out of you. I confuse myself half the time......... Link to comment
xbwolfx Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I confuse myself half the time......... y'all confused me when i was planning my tank. glass-holes.com overflows seriously are really nice, pretty quiet, and extremely simple. they are also really small b/c the use larger bulkhead holes, so they take up very little real estate in your tank. Link to comment
nano427 Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Yeah, it really can be loud unless you use an external durso and even then it has to be set up properly. As far as attaching acrylic to acrylic, there are special cements and applicators for that. Is it an internal overflow? How would it's failure lead to leaking? I just figured that if for some reason the overflow had a complete failure that all the water would drain down as far as the bulkhead. Probably unlikely but I live in the 2nd story of an apartment and dont want to turn my downstairs neighbors ceiling into a shower for them. However the internal overflow box would look the cleanest. Do you think that I could take the tank down to an acrylic guy and have him add the box that way it look professional?(I have zero experience with acrylic) Link to comment
nano427 Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 just make it easy on yourself and order a "complete overflow kit" from glass-holes.com these guys are all just going to confuse the hell out of you. glass-holes.com. I think that is exactly what I want. Seems perfect but Im sure there is some flaw. What do you guys think about it? Link to comment
Shadowrider Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 glass-holes.com. I think that is exactly what I want. Seems perfect but Im sure there is some flaw. What do you guys think about it? I've installed a glass-holes in my new 75 gal. I hope to be able to fill the tank for a test run tonight or tomorrow. I like the size of the overflow box and it's nicely made. I placed mine high enough in the tank that in event of a power failure it should only dump about 3 gallons of water into the sump before the water level in the display tank drops below the overflow teeth. The guys at glass-holes are really nice and will answer emails sometimes within minutes. I asked a few questions and always received prompt replies. Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Not necessarily. Some internal overflows actually have holes under the waterline if the surface of the overflow can't keep up. Depending on the type of drain behind the overflow the bulkhead will only flow so much water especially if your using a durso style drain like most people do. Granted, if the leak was huge and flowed quite a bit of water it could lower the water level of the tank a bit but I doubt that an small leak would cause any noticable difference. But even the smallest hole would cause the display water level to drop down as low as the bulkhead, if the power went out or something. I don't think I'd trust that. JMO Link to comment
xbwolfx Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 glass-holes.com. I think that is exactly what I want. Seems perfect but Im sure there is some flaw. What do you guys think about it? trust me. i was extremely confused about all of this stuff and very skeptical about the glass-holes.com products. then i bit the bullet and ordered a complete package from them. it was by far the absolute best decision for me. it was simple, you can order everything you need from them (hole saws, locline, bulkheads, etc...), it is quiet, and economical. the only "flaw" that i see is that they use 1.5" bulkheads for the drain on the 700gph. it's not a huge deal, but when i was adding some true union ball valves, the weight of the 1.5" valves is a lot and i was afraid it would put too much pressure on the glass. so far, so good though. also, i don't even know why i put the valve on the drain, i have never used it and don't know why i would ever need to. Link to comment
Shadowrider Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 trust me. i was extremely confused about all of this stuff and very skeptical about the glass-holes.com products. then i bit the bullet and ordered a complete package from them. it was by far the absolute best decision for me. it was simple, you can order everything you need from them (hole saws, locline, bulkheads, etc...), it is quiet, and economical. the only "flaw" that i see is that they use 1.5" bulkheads for the drain on the 700gph. it's not a huge deal, but when i was adding some true union ball valves, the weight of the 1.5" valves is a lot and i was afraid it would put too much pressure on the glass. so far, so good though. also, i don't even know why i put the valve on the drain, i have never used it and don't know why i would ever need to. I elected to not put any valves in my setup. I drilled a 3/8" hole in the locline return so if the power is off only a gallon of water or so will siphon before the hole is exposed and the siphon will be broken. Same with the overflow box. It is high enough in the tank that the sump should hold the water until the tank level drops below the overflow box. I did put unions in the pipe fittings so I can easily disconnect the display tank if it should ever need to be moved or replaced. There are also unions in the pipes feeding the skimmer so it too can be disconnected and removed for cleaning or whatever. Just didn't see a need for ball valves. Link to comment
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