Overflow to Sump

jetski · 11-17-2005, 04:44 PM

Being this will be my first DIY project in a very long time. I need some help doing this.
I have a 54Gal corner piece that I has no oveflow and no sump. I want to create/build an overflow and sump. I know the technical aspects of building and science. But, is there a diagram I can clone to make an overflow and sump? And will it cost more than jusy buying one of these?

Geoff · 11-17-2005, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetski

Being this will be my first DIY project in a very long time. I need some help doing this.
I have a 54Gal corner piece that I has no oveflow and no sump. I want to create/build an overflow and sump. I know the technical aspects of building and science. But, is there a diagram I can clone to make an overflow and sump? And will it cost more than jusy buying one of these?

here are a couple of examples.

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...t=overflow+diy

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...t=overflow+diy

G~

sls · 11-17-2005, 08:13 PM

while were on the subject i was thinking of doing this overflow for my 125, but before i start drilling holes anybody see anything i should be concerned about. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=671107

fishfeeder · 11-17-2005, 10:49 PM

Has anyone tried using an old Emperor 400 for an overflow? Just running the normal way except drilling the bottoms for drain lines? I wonder how much one pump out per hour?

Geoff · 11-18-2005, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sls

while were on the subject i was thinking of doing this overflow for my 125, but before i start drilling holes anybody see anything i should be concerned about. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=671107

that is a pretty clever idea. as long as you plan on using it as an overflow only it should work quite well. i also would suggest using slots along the top instead of holes. this helps with surface skimming and with increasing the total amount of water it can handle. you may also want to go up a size for the overflow pipe. this will allow more water volume in the overflow. i think it will help keep the risk of air being sucked in at the inlet tubes.

G~

Geoff · 11-18-2005, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishfeeder

Has anyone tried using an old Emperor 400 for an overflow? Just running the normal way except drilling the bottoms for drain lines? I wonder how much one pump out per hour?

Welcome to TRT!!!

using a Power Filter itself as an overflow is not a bad idea, it has been done before. you can not use it the way you are thinking though. it is not a good idea to use a pump to remove water from the aquarium then another pump to put it back. it is impossible to match these flows. at some point something is going to flood. what most people who use PF as overflows do is get two of them. one goes in the tank and acts as the strainer, the other goes on the outside and acts as the drain volume. a U-tube is used between the two. they work, but not the most elegant thing.

G~

sls · 11-18-2005, 05:05 AM

hey geoff, what do you mean "as long as you plan on using it as an overflow only" i was planning on making it slotted already. my concern is surface skimming. will it do this as well as a traditional overflow box? if not, would it help to make a partition in the sump with the top part of the baffle slotted and surface skim the water going thru the sump or is it crucial to have this happen in the main tank instead?

Geoff · 11-18-2005, 05:21 AM

having it slotted should surface skim at least as well as a normal overflow box would. prolly better since it covers a greater area. which brings me to my overflow only comment. with an overflow of this size, it is conceivable that the overflow itself could handle several thousand gph. being forward thinkers that we are, you can say, hey, lets put a CLS pump in there also! this is good thinking, in fact this is what i am planning on doing on my system. the problem is that the cross pipe is not big enough to handle that much flow without sucking serious air in through the inlet tube. you would need to significantly up the size of the cross tube to help fight this.

i am prolly giving you way more info than you want, blah, blah, blah, blah blah.

G~

jetski · 11-18-2005, 01:27 PM

See next post as well

jetski · 11-18-2005, 01:43 PM

Geoff · 11-18-2005, 03:13 PM

honestly, this is what i would do with this. get some 2" tubing this will be the outside. you can try a 1" inside diameter, but i am really sceptical about getting that much flow through this. if you need i will find out what size you need to get 600gph out of that overflow. i would also get a 2" cap or plug. this will be the bottom of the true overflow part. in order to attach the internal pipe to the external pipe i would get an adaptor that goes from the internal pipe diameter to the external pipe diameter. i find that Lowe's has be biggest selection of PVC. you will need to file out the inside of the adaptor in order to get the siphon tube to fit through the adaptor.

fit the adaptor into the 2" tube. this will tell you the minimum distance below the top of the 2" tubing to start your overflow wiers. i would make the wiers 3/4" long.

did i explain that well enough. i know i am awfull at describing stuff without my hands.

G~

Reefboy25 · 11-19-2005, 08:07 PM

Sounds like a lot of work - but I do understand that DIY is part challenge anyways. I've had lots of luck in using the overflows from Hurricane Aquatics:

www.hurricanefilters.com

Best bang for the buck. I custom made my two sumps and then utilized their overflows - glad I did. Good luck!

Doug1 · 11-19-2005, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishfeeder

Has anyone tried using an old Emperor 400 for an overflow? Just running the normal way except drilling the bottoms for drain lines? I wonder how much one pump out per hour?

If you drill the bottom and install a decent sized drain, you will lose power filter function because it will drain itself faster than the skimpy siphon can draw water out, not to mention it prolly wont have the entrapment feature that allows a restat after power off.

The HOB overflow listed elsewhere looks like a nice unit. There is nothing wrong with them if you match the pump to the boxes capability, too much return will overpower the box and flood, while too slow a flowrate will allow airbubbles to get trapped at the top of the U Tube, fursher reducing throughput rates, again possibly leading to overfull tank or a return pump thats sucking air depending on how your sump is set up

jetski · 11-21-2005, 11:08 AM

SoI finally made the overflow system, will get pics up soon. It skims and takes allot of water out the tank rapidly. How do I determine which pump I need to bring the water back to the tank?

saltwater_wannabe · 11-22-2005, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reefboy25

Sounds like a lot of work - but I do understand that DIY is part challenge anyways. I've had lots of luck in using the overflows from Hurricane Aquatics:

www.hurricanefilters.com

Best bang for the buck. I custom made my two sumps and then utilized their overflows - glad I did. Good luck!

Is there an advantage to having a HOB overflow versus an acrylic in-tank with a drilled bulkhead? Right now my tank isn't drilled, but I was planning on having it drilled pretty soon.