How Big Should My Overflow Be?

wahoowa

Member
So I've decided to make my own in-tank overflow box. This will be oldschool style, not teeth. I'll be using a 1.5" bulkhead w/ 1.5" plumbing. What should the dimensions (lxwxh) be for the box?
 
F

flukes

Guest
I would make it as small as you can, just leave enough room for the plumbing.
 

wahoowa

Member
I thought there was a minimum size if you wanted to achieve a certain flow rate - in my case, around 800?
 
J

jetskiking

Guest
Originally Posted by Wahoowa
http:///forum/post/3129795
I thought there was a minimum size if you wanted to achieve a certain flow rate - in my case, around 800?
Not really on the ones without teeth. Just needs to have more surface area than the pipe.
 

wahoowa

Member
So in this case more than 1.5" of surface area? Seems small to me.
I'm thinking of 8" long, 3-4" wide, 6" tall.
 
Its more the size of pipe, and how many pipes. So for like 700gph a 1.5 size pipe sounds good, with a box size of 2 X6 X12.25. As long as you have room for your bulk head and gasket you should be fine.
 

wahoowa

Member
As in 2" long, 6" wide, and 12.25" tall?
Originally Posted by Bountyhunter23
http:///forum/post/3129809
Its more the size of pipe, and how many pipes. So for like 700gph a 1.5 size pipe sounds good, with a box size of 2 X6 X12.25. As long as you have room for your bulk head and gasket you should be fine.
 

windlasher

Member

Originally Posted by Flukes
http:///forum/post/3129715
I would make it as small as you can, just leave enough room for the plumbing.
Make it large enough to put a durso standpipe
in there or it will be noisy. if you don't know what that is google it.
 

wahoowa

Member
I thought about doing something like that, but instead of the inside I was going to put it on the outside. For example, on the outside I would use a T-connector with one side going down to my sump and the other going up to a straight pipe with a hole drilled in the top. I think this will work in the same manner, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
As in 2" wide, 6" long, and 12.25" tall... I think is what i was trying to do. I found it on a website. I think they had it backwards. sorry for the rough drawing.
 
J

jetskiking

Guest
Originally Posted by Wahoowa
http:///forum/post/3130007
I thought about doing something like that, but instead of the inside I was going to put it on the outside. For example, on the outside I would use a T-connector with one side going down to my sump and the other going up to a straight pipe with a hole drilled in the top. I think this will work in the same manner, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
Yes, that will work. just make sure you have a durso of some sort.
 

king_neptune

Active Member
Here is my over flow. it was really cheap and easy to make.






Ill be covering it with Green star polyps and Red Star Polyp's, and with Coraline behind that, it will blend in nicely to make it camouflaged.
 

posiden

Active Member
I will go the other way as the others. I do agree with making the box as small as possible as not to waste any tank space. However in 800 GPH range a OF of about 25" long with no teeth will have about a 1/4" high wall of water going over it. IMO a OF should be as long as you can stand it to be. That way you will get the most surface skimming and the thinner the layer of water the more concentrated the protiens will be for you skimmer.
 
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