Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

JohnL · 01/01/2009, 08:15 PM

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...7#post14058977

BeanAnimal · 01/01/2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fishoutawater
Thanks for the thread Bean, I put this overflow on both of my tanks and now my only complaint is that my pumps, skimmers, fans and powerheads are so loud.

BeanAnimal · 01/01/2009, 08:17 PM

Doh!

Split threads are such a PITA.

BeanAnimal · 01/01/2009, 08:22 PM

LoneRanger:

You asked how to support the standpipes in your setup

Here is the easiest way to do it. The velcro straps are attached to the brackets with epoxy (screws could be used instead).

Savko, and others also sell plumbing support brackets that could be fitted to a wood extension.

tonyespinoza · 01/02/2009, 12:40 PM

hi beananimal -

happy new year!

i just got my spears gate valves in from Bulk Reef Supply and realized that they're quit heavy... The holes were drilled in the bottom of my external overflow and the plumbing i was planning exiting the tank was bulkhead -> few inches of pipe -> union -> gate valve -> flex tubing -> sump.

i'm worried now that operating the gate valves is going to put too much pressure on the union and bulkhead near it. what do you think? should i do this instead:

bulkhead -> flex tubing -> union -> gate valve -> bulkhead -> sump

in this case the gate valve would be supported to the adjacent dry bulkhead.

thoughts?

tonyespinoza · 01/02/2009, 12:44 PM

second question -

my over flow is not big enough to sneak the pump in to feed my external skimmer, so i'd like to feed it by the full siphon.

so there are at least 2 options.

1) full siphon > skimmer > return to sump

2) in addition to the standard siphon, add a second siphon > skimmer sump. i have enough holes drilled to use either 1.5" or 1" for these siphons.

what would you recommend?

do you think it would be hard to balance the two siphons?

BeanAnimal · 01/02/2009, 04:00 PM

Tony, you really should provide ridgid support for the plumbing. If youy look at the back side of those ball valves, you will see they are tapped for (4) screws so that they can be hard mounted. I am sure with a bit of thought, you can come up with a suitable rigid mounting board or bracket to accept the valves.

As for the siphons... I would guess you could do it either way. Balancing (2) siphons will certainly be harder than (1).

30reef · 01/02/2009, 06:06 PM

Hey Bean, I don't mean to get you off topic here, but what does the other side of your tank look like?

BeanAnimal · 01/02/2009, 07:28 PM

Dad, the dog and the tank.

BeanAnimal · 01/02/2009, 07:28 PM

For that matter there is a gallery showing the basic build log...

http://www.beananimal.com/gallery/75...d-gallery.aspx

mflamb · 01/02/2009, 08:27 PM

I finished plumbing mine. I just added the sand so the water is still cloudy.

Right.

Left.

Inside the box.

Here's how mine is supported. There is another piece of wood with matching cuts. I put o-ring material on the pipes and attached the outside piece of wood with screws. I'll try to get a pic of it assembled.

BeanAnimal · 01/02/2009, 09:17 PM

Nice work. Are you pleased with the performance? Have you put it thorugh its paces?

30reef · 01/02/2009, 11:44 PM

Wow Bean, I just spent the time and read everything on your site, and I am impressed. Your tank build is very nice also. I don't know where you find the time to do the things you have done, and to the level of perfection you have done them.

30reef

LoneRanger · 01/03/2009, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mflamb
I finished plumbing mine. I just added the sand so the water is still cloudy.

Right.

Left.

Inside the box.

Here's how mine is supported. There is another piece of wood with matching cuts. I put o-ring material on the pipes and attached the outside piece of wood with screws. I'll try to get a pic of it assembled.

GREAT Pics! thanks for the help!

L.R.

BeanAnimal · 01/03/2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by 30reef
Wow Bean, I just spent the time and read everything on your site, and I am impressed. Your tank build is very nice also. I don't know where you find the time to do the things you have done, and to the level of perfection you have done them.

30reef

Thanks for the kind words! The reality is that there are 100 unfinished projects and the warden is not at all happy about it. Fish projects are not popular around here when there are plenty of unfinished non-fish projects.

oldsaltman · 01/03/2009, 11:51 AM

Bean, I have water in my 90g and I appears to be off level by 1/16" end to end. I do not plan to try and level it any more. I have my glass ready for the overflow, but wanted to wait and see how level the tank was before I installed the glass. I plan to level the overflow to the water and not the tank as you said eariler. Should I be concerned with the 1/16" off level. My level said it was level but the water doesn't lie.

BeanAnimal · 01/03/2009, 11:57 AM

It is hard to find a quality level these days.

I would not fret over 1/16" as long as the stand is FLAT (planar) The trim could also be the culprit

In any case, level the overflow and you will never see it because the water will always be above the bottom of the trim anyway.

maddmaxx · 01/03/2009, 04:26 PM

how did you silicone all clean like that

BeanAnimal · 01/03/2009, 04:27 PM

mask with tape, set the bead, the pull the tape.

mflamb · 01/03/2009, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BeanAnimal
Nice work. Are you pleased with the performance? Have you put it thorugh its paces?

So far, so good. The last piece of pipe on each channel going into the sump is temporary until I'm pleased with it's position, and I had them too deep into the water at first. I couldn't figure out why it had more flow from the open channels than the siphon channel, so I reread the entire thread and figured it out. Once I drilled a small hole in the two siphon channel pipes, it works great. I'm going to replace the two end pieces of eggcrate in the overflow boxes with acrylic to try to change the water flow into the box. The loudest part of the tank if the water flowing into the box.

mflamb · 01/03/2009, 07:19 PM

Here's a pic of the pipe retainer.

BeanAnimal · 01/03/2009, 07:42 PM

That is how I built my original bracket, but decided to use the Velcro style straps to save a few inches of hip room in the narrow fishroom.

You did a wonderful job.

jmking33 · 01/03/2009, 08:16 PM

mflamb...super nice work..very clean..love it.

rodneyri · 01/04/2009, 04:39 AM

im getting a 160G tank and am sizing up the return pump, using 3 1" intakes expanding to 1.5" downpipes and plumbing, with the Eheim 1262 pump be fine? its 900G / hr

forgive my conversions if they are off a bit, im going from metric.

robertifly · 01/04/2009, 07:14 AM

Hey BeanAnimal, great system you've come up with and the build thread is awesome, very detailed and concise I've been with it for a long time and have my tank set up with the of design. It works better than anything I've seen or not heard, heh, heh. I have one question I need help with please. My setup is typical to yours and LoneRanger shown just above with one exception in that my collection box is outside the back wall which doesn't affect anything it's just I decided I'd rather use space behind tank rather than in tank for it. All plumbing is 1.5" all the way, one valve on the full siphon drain, the open channel and emer. drains have no valve. I have the full siphon drain valve set to regulate the flow so I get some water thru the open channel that I have plumbed to the refugium to feed it a low flow. Here's the question: When I shut down the system to feed or service and restart the open channel drain will cycle from full siphon to empty the overflow box many times before the full siphon finally gets going and takes over, up to an hour or more. Then it is just fine until stopped/started again, what can I do to get the full siphon to start up sooner. Sorry for such a long post but this is the ONLY complaint and not really a big problem, it's just the only thing wrong with otherwise "PERFECT SILENT DRAIN SYSTEM" thankyou for all the aquarists you've helped.

01/02/2009, 12:40 PM	#5
tonyespinoza Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: santa cruz mountains Posts: 1,268	supporting gate valves... hi beananimal - happy new year! i just got my spears gate valves in from Bulk Reef Supply and realized that they're quit heavy... The holes were drilled in the bottom of my external overflow and the plumbing i was planning exiting the tank was bulkhead -> few inches of pipe -> union -> gate valve -> flex tubing -> sump. i'm worried now that operating the gate valves is going to put too much pressure on the union and bulkhead near it. what do you think? should i do this instead: bulkhead -> flex tubing -> union -> gate valve -> bulkhead -> sump in this case the gate valve would be supported to the adjacent dry bulkhead. thoughts?

01/02/2009, 08:27 PM	#11
mflamb Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Pasadena, Texas Posts: 8,422	I finished plumbing mine. I just added the sand so the water is still cloudy. Right. Left. Inside the box. Here's how mine is supported. There is another piece of wood with matching cuts. I put o-ring material on the pipes and attached the outside piece of wood with screws. I'll try to get a pic of it assembled. __________________ Click on my red house to see my 390 and 300 build thread. Those are my last 2 tanks in Tampa. Now in Pasadena waiting to buy a house to set up my next tank....anemones and clowns...probably a 3x3 150 gallon.

01/03/2009, 11:51 AM	#16
oldsaltman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Ga Posts: 1,333	Bean, I have water in my 90g and I appears to be off level by 1/16" end to end. I do not plan to try and level it any more. I have my glass ready for the overflow, but wanted to wait and see how level the tank was before I installed the glass. I plan to level the overflow to the water and not the tank as you said eariler. Should I be concerned with the 1/16" off level. My level said it was level but the water doesn't lie. __________________ "No honey I can't just send it back. It's all wet and they won't take it back now!" Current Tank Info: 90g inwall with a 30g sump

01/03/2009, 04:26 PM	#18
maddmaxx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jersey Shore Posts: 3,003	how did you silicone all clean like that __________________ One Life One Shot Current Tank Info: 40B Mixed reef

01/03/2009, 07:19 PM	#21
mflamb Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Pasadena, Texas Posts: 8,422	Here's a pic of the pipe retainer. __________________ Click on my red house to see my 390 and 300 build thread. Those are my last 2 tanks in Tampa. Now in Pasadena waiting to buy a house to set up my next tank....anemones and clowns...probably a 3x3 150 gallon.

01/01/2009, 08:15 PM	#1
JohnL RC Staff Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 14,431	This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...7#post14058977

01/01/2009, 08:17 PM	#3
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	Doh! Split threads are such a PITA.

01/01/2009, 08:22 PM	#4
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	LoneRanger: You asked how to support the standpipes in your setup Here is the easiest way to do it. The velcro straps are attached to the brackets with epoxy (screws could be used instead). Savko, and others also sell plumbing support brackets that could be fitted to a wood extension.

01/02/2009, 12:44 PM	#6
tonyespinoza Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: santa cruz mountains Posts: 1,268	second question - my over flow is not big enough to sneak the pump in to feed my external skimmer, so i'd like to feed it by the full siphon. so there are at least 2 options. 1) full siphon > skimmer > return to sump 2) in addition to the standard siphon, add a second siphon > skimmer sump. i have enough holes drilled to use either 1.5" or 1" for these siphons. what would you recommend? do you think it would be hard to balance the two siphons?

01/02/2009, 04:00 PM	#7
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	Tony, you really should provide ridgid support for the plumbing. If youy look at the back side of those ball valves, you will see they are tapped for (4) screws so that they can be hard mounted. I am sure with a bit of thought, you can come up with a suitable rigid mounting board or bracket to accept the valves. As for the siphons... I would guess you could do it either way. Balancing (2) siphons will certainly be harder than (1).

01/02/2009, 06:06 PM	#8
30reef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,401	Hey Bean, I don't mean to get you off topic here, but what does the other side of your tank look like?

01/02/2009, 07:28 PM	#9
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	Dad, the dog and the tank.

01/02/2009, 09:17 PM	#12
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	Nice work. Are you pleased with the performance? Have you put it thorugh its paces?

01/02/2009, 11:44 PM	#13
30reef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,401	Wow Bean, I just spent the time and read everything on your site, and I am impressed. Your tank build is very nice also. I don't know where you find the time to do the things you have done, and to the level of perfection you have done them. 30reef

01/03/2009, 11:57 AM	#17
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	It is hard to find a quality level these days. I would not fret over 1/16" as long as the stand is FLAT (planar) The trim could also be the culprit In any case, level the overflow and you will never see it because the water will always be above the bottom of the trim anyway.

01/03/2009, 04:27 PM	#19
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	mask with tape, set the bead, the pull the tape.

01/03/2009, 07:42 PM	#22
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	That is how I built my original bracket, but decided to use the Velcro style straps to save a few inches of hip room in the narrow fishroom. You did a wonderful job.

01/03/2009, 08:16 PM	#23
jmking33 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: orlando,FL Posts: 1,652	mflamb...super nice work..very clean..love it. __________________ It is what it is! Current Tank Info: 160 gallon rimless w/ a fishroom located behind it

01/04/2009, 04:39 AM	#24
rodneyri Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 822	im getting a 160G tank and am sizing up the return pump, using 3 1" intakes expanding to 1.5" downpipes and plumbing, with the Eheim 1262 pump be fine? its 900G / hr forgive my conversions if they are off a bit, im going from metric. __________________ Too poor starphire - 7ft Reef - Profilux 3 - GHL Doser 2 - Bubble King - RD3 Speedy - Vortech QD40 - Radion G4 Pro -P̵a̵c̵ ̵S̵u̵n̵ ̵

01/04/2009, 07:14 AM	#25
robertifly Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Milan, Tn Posts: 867	BeanAnimal, help! Hey BeanAnimal, great system you've come up with and the build thread is awesome, very detailed and concise I've been with it for a long time and have my tank set up with the of design. It works better than anything I've seen or not heard, heh, heh. I have one question I need help with please. My setup is typical to yours and LoneRanger shown just above with one exception in that my collection box is outside the back wall which doesn't affect anything it's just I decided I'd rather use space behind tank rather than in tank for it. All plumbing is 1.5" all the way, one valve on the full siphon drain, the open channel and emer. drains have no valve. I have the full siphon drain valve set to regulate the flow so I get some water thru the open channel that I have plumbed to the refugium to feed it a low flow. Here's the question: When I shut down the system to feed or service and restart the open channel drain will cycle from full siphon to empty the overflow box many times before the full siphon finally gets going and takes over, up to an hour or more. Then it is just fine until stopped/started again, what can I do to get the full siphon to start up sooner. Sorry for such a long post but this is the ONLY complaint and not really a big problem, it's just the only thing wrong with otherwise "PERFECT SILENT DRAIN SYSTEM" thankyou for all the aquarists you've helped. __________________ reefracer Current Tank Info: none