good overflow or plans for one?

bbreaux1

bbreaux1

Member
im looking to to maybe putting a sump under my tank and was looking into the overflows. i wouldnt mind diying one if i can find some good plans anyone know of some and if not what are some good brands of overfloaws thanks for any help
 
serpentine5

serpentine5

Member
No, I have not but I guess it would work. I am like you, I need help with the flow rates and all. I would hate to put together an overflow box and a return pump that is not stromg enough or too strong.
 
bbreaux1

bbreaux1

Member
once i find the boxes and all ill just build one with one size pipe and experiment till i get what i want ill let ya know what i end up using just cant tell ya how soon ill get to doing it
 
dreeves

dreeves

Active Member
I made one out of two of the smaller Lee's boxes, a 1 inch "U" tube, 1 inch bulkhead through the bottom, and a 1 inch line tapped into the 1.25 inch line coming from the main tank. The one I made is on a 10 gallon hex next to the main. The water flow to it is a valve tapped into the return line to the main tank and then to the 10.
Only thing I would do differently is go with a 1.25 tube and bulkhead. I needed to stay with the smaller size boxes due to the hex shape and width of the individual panels, but if I had more room, I would have gotten the bigger boxes. Other then that it works great!
As for getting them...order them online...numerous fish supply dot coms have them reasonable...
I also have one on my other main tank's refuge I made out of 2 tall plastic glasses...works great too. :)
On the two main tanks, I have a Tidepool SOS, and a LifeReef on the other...both are great with plus and minues for each. Love em both though...
 
lfd-143

lfd-143

Member
Lifereef makes a couple of good ones. I have one on my 55g, the flow rate is up to 700GPH. They also have doubles. Add a .com after the first word in this post and see for your self.HTH
Frank
 
bbreaux1

bbreaux1

Member
ok let me just check my thinking on this with my little drawing i made. the lower i can get the bulkhead in box B compared to the water level in the tank but still having it higher than the end of the siphon tubes the more force the siphon will have and more waterflow?
 
jumpfrog

jumpfrog

Active Member
That's the basic design. While diameter of the u tube and bulkhead size will affect flow rate, so (and more importantly) is the amount of water coming into the overflow brought by your pump. DIY is ok, but buying one pre-made works great and you'll probably be happier in the long run.
How do I know:rolleyes:
 
dreeves

dreeves

Active Member
The way I did mine was with the bulkhead fitting...I put a small riser/overflow pipe in it which combined with the siphon tube being cut longer then it, protects from losing a siphon.
 
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