Disturbing fact about BeanAnimal Overflows

[JMorris271]

Is there any one that has successfully run a bean Animal Overflow system with a 3/4 inch full siphon drain? I got this paragraph off of the Bean Animal page and it's very disturbing

Many aquarists fall victim to the so-called reef ready tanks, the through the bottom types, usually with a black plastic column running the height of the tank. These tanks generally are at best reef-readyish. The restrictive bulkheads hamper flow to the point of often causing pumps to be throttled back, losing flow, or even cause water to overflow the tank itself! The answer to obtaining sufficient flow is either larger or more drains, ideally both. But how much larger and how many more drains? There is much anecdotal discussion about the flow rates of various bulkheads, but there is little empirical evidence cited. We set about to test the various common sized bulkheads, ¾” through 2”, and determine their actual, tested flow rates.

It seems the only option for someone with a reef ready tank is to drill through the back instead of using existing drain holes. I sure wish I saw article this earlier.
Can drilling a tank be done while the tank is sitting vertically? I just don't have the strength to move this tank. so I need to go back to a Herbie design and since I have dual overflows, would I do
2 3/4 inch full siphons
2 1 inch open channel drains
2 1 pump with the capacity to handle both drains with return over the back.

Would this work?
Thanks

[thegrun]

You need to keep the glass wet to cool the drill bit (assuming this is a glass tank) so the only way to drill in the vertical position would be to have water flowing over the surface of the tank where the hole is being drilled, which if in the hosue would cause a flood.

[gone fishin]

And assuming it is not tempered glass.

[Bigcefa]

Honestly I'm all about running herbies or bean setups, but there's no reason to fear a catastrophic failure in a reef ready tank. They maybe inferior to drain design , but I've seen reef ready tanks run for 15 years with no issues. Is a herbie or bean setup better? Yes it is, but you don't need to go drilling your tank because of what you read there

[gone fishin]

Honestly I'm all about running herbies or bean setups, but there's no reason to fear a catastrophic failure in a reef ready tank. They maybe inferior to drain design , but I've seen reef ready tanks run for 15 years with no issues. Is a herbie or bean setup better? Yes it is, but you don't need to go drilling your tank because of what you read there

I must agree. I have been running my "reef ready" tank for a number of years. I do not throttle back my return pump at all.

[JMorris271]

. Is a herbie or bean setup better?
In relation to what?
Thanks

[Sk8r]

I use a submerged intake, and have a reef-ready bottom drilled tank with double-walled overflow. The only way to overflow the tank would be to completely block the intake, which is not likely in a clean tank.

[Bigcefa]

In relation to what?
Thanks

They are better in the sense they have emergency back up drains, they are silent, and produce no bubbles

[Bigcefa]

Also those who run standard reef ready tanks should put a overflow cover on them , and that will ensure no snails or fish can block the durso

[JMorris271]

I use a submerged intake, and have a reef-ready bottom drilled tank with double-walled overflow. The only way to overflow the tank would be to completely block the intake, which is not likely in a clean tank.

What size pipes are you using doe the drains?
How do you move the bottom standing water out so it doesn't get rancid?
Thanks for responding

[JMorris271]

Also those who run standard reef ready tanks should put a overflow cover on them , and that will ensure no snails or fish can block the durso

Thank you for that Big.:wavehand:

[markalot]

even cause water to overflow the tank itself

How in the world can this happen with a correctly designed sump where the return pump should run out of water before the tank overflows?

[swk]

I run a Herbie in a rr 75 gallon tank with w single 3/4"as my full siphon, and a 1" emergency line. Has worked flawlessly since the tank was set up. I don't blast a ton of flow through the overflow. I use a mag 5 for return flow.

A single return goes over the back wall of the tank

[Pomacanthus1]

I had a RR tank run for five years and even though there were several disasters, none of them involved the overflow or its plumbing failing. I get that the standard RR kits allow lower flow and that may be a problem for some people, but honestly having holes drilled in the tank anywhere besides the bottom where the bulkheads are very protected under the stand would make me very nervous.

Before I went acrylic, I tried to use a 20g glass tank with a hole drilled in one side for a bulkhead fixture as my sump to a 55g. Before they even got put into use I managed to break two of them from just the slightest bump or movement subjected to the bulkhead fitting. Just that experience makes me nervous at what could happen if a bulkhead fixture on the side of a DT got bumped or stressed. :uhoh2:

[Captainsreef]

I think that website is using flawed logic. If we take I to account the number of reef tanks in existence and the number that something like this happens too it becomes a very very small percentage. In my experience the equipment does not fail if cared for properly and constructed properly. Barring any unforseen or externally caused damage of course, which is usually the case.of course I have set up hundreds of tanks and had the good fortune of never having such problems occur at any point. I was of course very careful in my setups and equipment usage. The only thing that causes catastrophic failure in my experience is the lack of species diversity in the tank itself but that's a whole different ball game there. So bottom line if you know what you are doing and get good equipment then barring an act of god or something you will be fine.

[Captainsreef]

I wouldn't go redrilling my tank because of something someone said on the internet though..hahaha

[DSMpunk]

Yeah, that seems very alarmist/bias to me. Doing this for almost 12 years in "reef ready" standard plain jane overflow without issue.

[DivingTheWorld]

Bean Animal drains require 3 bulkheads and generally must be built custom, requiring drilling on existing tanks. But most Reef Ready tanks come with two bulkheads which can easily be adapted to a Herbie drain system, no drilling required.

[hogfanreefer]

DSA Pro tanks (at least in the size of mine) come with 3 one inch drain holes and two 3/4" return holes. I'm running about 1100 gph with no problems.

[d2mini]

The main advantage to the bean/herbie setup is that the main pipe is a full siphon, which allows for a MUCH higher flow rate. Pair this with a coast-to-coast toothless overflow and you will have superior surface skimming that blows away the traditional "reef ready" overflow setup.

The second advantage is it's silent and somewhat self adjusting.

The third advantage is the peace of mind of having those emergency drains, but when you are running traditional, open channel single overflows this isn't that much of a concern because the chances of that pipe becoming fully blocked is slim. Since the flow is so low with air in the pipe, it can clog quite a bit before trouble ensues. If you are running a bean/herbie, if that full siphon were to clog at all, you have to have at least one other pipe to pick up the slack.

In a nutshell, I wouldn't worry about it.
What you can do for extra piece of mind is install a leak detector on the floor. Just in case.

[KafudaFish]

I think that website is using flawed logic. If we take I to account the number of reef tanks in existence and the number that something like this happens too it becomes a very very small percentage. In my experience the equipment does not fail if cared for properly and constructed properly. Barring any unforseen or externally caused damage of course, which is usually the case.of course I have set up hundreds of tanks and had the good fortune of never having such problems occur at any point. I was of course very careful in my setups and equipment usage. The only thing that causes catastrophic failure in my experience is the lack of species diversity in the tank itself but that's a whole different ball game there. So bottom line if you know what you are doing and get good equipment then barring an act of god or something you will be fine.

Why not ask him yourself what he meant and explain to him that he is using flawed logic to come to his conclusions?

[Sk8r]

I use an Iwaki 100 pump, 100 g tank, single corner overflow: Upflow is about 1" internal, downflow about 1.5 inches. The overflow is toothed on bottom, middle, top, doublewalled, ergo will not drain tank past inner wall height. I have used this type since 2004 with no issues. But in all 3 builds I always have the outflow line significantly larger than the inflow line, and the Iwaki (which is far from quiet) drives a pretty brisk flow---made a mistake with it on tank fill and the stream hit the living room window. In 10 years I've only had one tank overfill (which I caught early) ---caused by hair algae dieoff clogging the teeth. It still wouldn't have overflowed the tank, since water would have risen above the dam made by the algae, still short of overtopping the tank rim...but if you had something nasty rise up and clog the intake within the overflow, you could get a flood. The only sure preventative of that would be a float switch on your main pump, with a cutoff if water goes out of limits, but accidents to float switches are more common than intake clogs---as in, the switches can be a pita, but I've never had a problem with an intake clog.

[Rognin]

What size pipes are you using doe the drains?
How do you move the bottom standing water out so it doesn't get rancid?
Thanks for responding

This is something I always wondered. Should a PH be installed at the bottom of the OF box to push water around?

[Gatorfan]

Dual 1" dursos are plenty for my Mag12 return. I would probably go with a Bean or Herbie for a custom or undrilled tank.

[schlegelli46]

Just wanna say I love my BeanAnimal :)

[Captainsreef]

I dont like them because it just creates more potential leak points and offers absolutely nothing advantageous over normally drilled reef tanks. The less potential leak points the better jn my experience and I have setup literally hundreds of aquariums all over and never not once had a problem with any of them aside from a lousy custom skimmer designed for a tank that exploded hahaha

[Captainsreef]

With that said to each their own and different people have different methods. I just prefer the other way.

[postie1686]

ive only been in this hobby for a few years. but between my friends and i we have had tanks with almost every type of drain there is. i currently have a sc aquariums 150 with a single overflow that is a 1" durso. my pump is a jebao 12000 (roughly 3100 gph) even on high my drain handles this with no issues. and when setup right are as quiet as any drain!

[schlegelli46]

I agree Captain... more potential leak points but what's this hobby without a little (or lot) of water in some cases :) I just have complete faith in my ability to triple check my handy work. But again, all personal preference.

[d2mini]

I dont like them because it just creates more potential leak points and offers absolutely nothing advantageous over normally drilled reef tanks.

See my previous post for the real advantage of a bean.

[saf1]

Ignorance is bliss....

[phobos2deimos]

FWIW it's perfectly easy to drill a vertical tank. I use a basic spray bottle with water and spray regularly while I'm drilling. Towel at the bottom to soak up water. Done this on several tanks without issues. You don't need a hose or a puddle of water. I did my 40b

[jpond210]

I'm running a bean animal overflow with 1" drains and a 1100gph pump on my 40g breeder. My pump is full power.