Best HOB Overflow box

[Rylan]

Hey guys,

Just looking for a push in the right direction here.

I have a 75g tank that I am in the process of sticking togethar, It is not drilled and is tempered glass. I do not want to attempt to drill this at all.

I am looking for a good but decently priced HOB Overflow box to work with my tank.

If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them, post links if you have a link to a specific one.

Thanks a million!

-Rylan

[needmore-reef]

check out CPR I have two for my 200 gallon and they work well. bult in overflow is by far the best but well sometimes you have to make due with what you have.

I would advise you on getting two. each one able to handle the flow alone if something happens, which it will with a HOB.

[Salamander]

I'd stay away from the CPR. They are notorious for failing, hence the reason its good to have two.

Go with a U-tube style overflow. I ran a Lifereef for about 5 years and not once did it ever fail or accumulate bubbles in the tube. Actually I'm running it again now on a new prop tank. I highly recommend it. Do a search on here and I'm sure you'll find nothing but good reviews.

[Rylan]

Thanks guys, I will check those out.

[Toddrtrex]

I'd stay away from the CPR. They are notorious for failing, hence the reason its good to have two.

Go with a U-tube style overflow. I ran a Lifereef for about 5 years and not once did it ever fail or accumulate bubbles in the tube. Actually I'm running it again now on a new prop tank. I highly recommend it. Do a search on here and I'm sure you'll find nothing but good reviews.

I have to concur -- though I have had mine running for 7+ years now -- not a single issue. Worth every penny, and would re-purchase it again without thinking.

[sucker_fish]

I have heard also that cpr tends to fail but I ran one on a 75 gallon for a little over 2 years with no issues. I haveeheard good things about eshopps overflows also but have never used them personally.

[Toddrtrex]

I am not a fan of an overflow that needs to have an aqua-lifter pump to work -- just something additional to fail.

I have an Eshopps overflow too -- I had to modify the U-tube because the rear baffle isn't high enough -- prior to me fixing it, it would lose its siphon every time I would turn off the main pump. The workmanship difference b/t that and the LifeReef is very apparent.

[Rylan]

Any good reputable sites to look at a lifeReef HOB overflow box?

[Toddrtrex]

Direct,

http://www.lifereef.com/frame.html

Click on "LifeReef Products"

Then on the left side, scroll down to "Prefilter Boxes"

Not sure why that site won't link directly to the boxes.

[acsamples79]

ive been extremely happy with my eshopps box.. not a single problem

[Rylan]

I seen the Eshoppes box on eBay for a good price

[acsamples79]

yeah, theyre not too bad on price, mine started right up and has run like a champ ever since, never lost its siphon, i will say, like some others, it will be LOUD, my girlfriend wanted to kill me when i installed it, needless to say i immediately went and made a Hoffer gurgle buster, adjusted it and its been dead silent ever since

[Rylan]

Yeah loudness doesn't matter to me. How do you get the syphon to start in the first place?

[OregonReefer]

Are you sure the sides are tempered? The only reason I question that is there really aren't a lot (there are some but most aren't) of tanks that are all tempered. As an example, IIRC there's only one All-Glass brand aquarium that has tempered sides... a 55g, again, If I recall correctly

Drilling isn't all that hard... I have yet to drill my 120g tank but I practiced on some 1/2" glass and didn't have any problems.

You can find some great how-to vids and everything you need at glass-holes.com.

There's also the "CTC" overflow with the "beenanimal" (maybe Beananimal) standpipes.

Being your tank isn't already setup I would recomend looking into the drilled overflow before you make a firm decision.

OR

Edit: if you search the site for "Coast to Coast" or "CTC" you'll find a lot of info on the CTC overflow

[syrinx]

The AGA75E is usually tempered- at least it was when i was a dealer. Eschopps or lifereef- use both and have had no issues ever. CPR-poor design- relies on another pump to work properly-and is virtually impossible to clean.

[Rylan]

Well I am not 100% sure, I know the bottom is tempered for sure.

I have no idea how to tell if it's tempered or not on the sides. Im worried it might be, I wouldn't want to drill them myself. I would have to find someone to drill it for me.

Is there any way to tell if the sides are tempered?

[syrinx]

Search for tempered glass polorazation test. I would suggest spelling it right! If you are nervous about drilling- don`t worry the suggested overflows are reliable-and a drilled tank is no guarantee against leaking!

[acsamples79]

to get the siphon going you just insert some airline tubing into the end of the U tube, and just suck the air out of it until you get the water to start flowing, then pull out the tubing. pretty easy

[Rylan]

Okay cool. Yeah im really nervous of drilling it just incase it is tempered.

Id feel better just buying a nice overflow box to hang on my tank and go from there.

[wbdevers]

Reef Octopus HOB overflow box. It's what I've got and it's great. I've tested restarting my system after a power outage (turned off power strips) and it's restarted every time. It's also very quiet. Only problem I've seen is that it hangs low in the tank. As such you will need to shim it higher so that it skims the surface correctly and also keeps your water level at an aesthetic level. On top of it all Coral Vue (parent company) has outstanding customer service.

HTH

[spehhh]

Yeah loudness doesn't matter to me. How do you get the syphon to start in the first place?

take some airline tubing and stick it into the end of the u tube thats in the HOB overflow and just suck in till the water starts to flow over. its kinda tricky at first but once you learn how to do it it sooo easy

[Rylan]

Awesome stuff, thanks everyone! :)

[zigzag1]

Add one more vote for the Lifereef or Eshopps (what I use) brands. From personal experience, avoid CPR overflows. I haven't seen or used the Reef Octo HOB overflow..

[Rylan]

Well I have some amazing news !

I tested my glass to see if the sides were tempered tonight. I followed a method using a laptop with a white screen (notepad application) and a Polarizing filter I use for photography.

I placed my laptop inside the tank, and used my polarizing filter on the outside to look through into the tank. Which acts the same as having two polarizing filters, since most laptops have a polarizing filter built into the screen.

Turns out my sides are non tempered, and I tested the bottom of the tank just for the hell of it to see what it would look like since it was for sure, tempered.

Here are two photos showing you the results, on the sides the screen went black, i left a peice of the screen outside the filter so you could see the difference. The botom was black with white lines. I am very happy now, I am going to get the tank drilled and save the hassle with the HOB overflow!

Sorry for the tank being dirty and dusty :D

The side of my tank:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/5440107888_8c14c14812.jpg

The bottom of my tank which is tempered:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5439502027_21c07ab2bc.jpg

[reefjunkie42]

++ for lifereef they are very reliable i am using 1

[Rylan]

Im just going to drill it now that I know what kind of glass im dealing with now :)

[Myst666]

Well I think this thread helped me, I dont want to drill. just in case I want to sell the aquarium. So I think I am going to go with the Life reef.
Question is, what if the power goes out, what stops the overflow from overflowing my sump?

[syrinx]

Physics. The tubes in tank and in overflow will keep siphion- but with no incoming water, the overflow- wont flow over!

[Myst666]

Duh, I feel real dumb on that one. LOL OK so what size would I need for a 75 gal? The 600 or the 1200 gph?
New to this, sorry,

Thx,
M

[Rylan]

I would imagine 1200 would work, I may be wrong though.

[wbdevers]

+1 on the 1200. More flow through is better, but you don't want it blowing like a river. 5x tank per hour is a good number but less is okay. You will open the drain all they way and limit how much flow you have with your return pump. It is always better to have more pump than you would think you would need. With a 75 I would go with a Mag 9 or bigger. Remember to include a siphon break on your return or you will run the risk of overflowing your sump during a power outage. Also, if you have the room use more sump than you think you would need. A lot of water can drain back from the tank.

[Myst666]

ok 1200 with a mag 9. I am going to have a 40 Gal sump/fuge for the 75 gal. I also purchased a float valve for the sump so that will shut off if the overflow quits. I am slowly learning all this stuff. just need some guidance.

Thanx Wes, I really appreciate it.

M

[Toddrtrex]

I, personally, prefer to have lower flow through the sump, and have powerheads for flow in the main tank. The lower flow through the sump allows for a longer contact time and can reduce any micro-bubble issues. For my 75 (( with a 30 sump )), I am running about 450-500 GPH through the sump, and that is about as fast as I want to go.

[Myst666]

Thanks Todd, I am so confused with all of this. Your tanks are beautiful, you need to put some descriptions with the pics, I only know a handful of what you have. LOL.

Thanks again for the very much appreciated advice.

M

[coralreefdoc]

I would go with a reef octopus overflow, very reliable

[coralreefdoc]

Also, i have a reef octopus b300 overflow box in like new condition in the original box if youre in the market for one. It handles up to 1200gph. $65 shipped pm me if interested

[Myst666]

I have not looked at that one. I will have too.

Thank you CRD.
M

[Dustin1300]

I love Reef Octopus products but that overflow box is just like a CPR where it has a horrible design flaw where you have to rely on a pump. Stick with LifeReef. Would you rather ruin your flooring/house or spend $50 now to have some insurance that it works when power flickers when you are out....

[wbdevers]

That's the exact model I have. It works great. It has the Guest fitting on top to keep siphon, so that is very convenient.

Todd is correct about flow--sorry if I made it sound the opposite. I was just saying to make sure you have ENOUGH flow. Like I said, you can always dial back the flow, but you can never add if you don't have enough pump.

Not sure how you plan on using the float valve, but I don't know I would trust one to prevent an flood. Floats can have problems--stuck in the down position etc. Same with check valves--I would NEVER trust one of them. Tiniest amount of something in the check valve will let water by and BOOM, you've got a flood.

[James404]

Eshopps or Lifereef are the only HOB overflows I would ever run. Just keep enough flow going through them and you don't have to worry about running pumps to keep bubbles out of them.

[Myst666]

I liked the Lifereef, no motors. So I didn't have to worry about the overflow on that flooding. I do have to worry about the sump, pumping water into the tank, if the siphon fails that is why I have the float valve. Is there something else that would shut off the return pump when the water hits a certain level in the sump?

Thx,
M

[wbdevers]

Gotcha. I misunderstood what your plan was. But your pump can only pump what is there, so what ever you send up then flows out and back down. You would only have excess water if your ATO continues to add water without stopping. My ATO uses two floats-one to add and one to stop if the add float sticks on. I use the Aquahub.com kit. Have been very satisfied with it and it works great. Very affordable as well.

[Myst666]

Great, I will check that out. That helps me a lot. I was worried about a flood.

Thx,
M

[Toddrtrex]

Thanks Todd, I am so confused with all of this. Your tanks are beautiful, you need to put some descriptions with the pics, I only know a handful of what you have. LOL.

Thanks again for the very much appreciated advice.

M

I know, that is a project I have in mind -- labeling all the pictures.

[Myst666]

Ordered the LifeReef overflow and a Sicce Syncra 3.5 pump. I should be good to go.
Thanks for all the input.

M