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hob overflow w/ siphon tube, is it possible to make your own or is it more cost efficient to just purchase one?
hob oerflow w/ siphon "u" tube
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Either that or try Acrylic Man or something like that out of cleveland. He is [email protected] built me one to my specs at a very reasonable cost, much cheaper than the retail ones.
Ray
Ray
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i'll start with ebay and if not i'll try acrylic man, thanks you guys
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Since I have a canopy on my tank, I built my own dual pipe overflow for a custom fit. It was actually pretty cheap, since I've seen overflows selling for around $60 or higher.
I bought a 1-gallon critter cage from walmart for the external chamber, and I had an old external freshwater filter (the hang-on-back kind) that I used for the internal chamber.
I built my own u-tubes out of PVC, and also put a PVC bulkhead in the bottom of the critter cage.
I also plumbed the u-tubes to the venturi ports on a couple of my MJ1200's so that they suck-start the u-tubes whenever the siphon breaks (like when I remove them for cleaning), that way I don't get a few mouthfuls of yucky saltwater each time I try to restart them.
I think I spent only around $20 in parts for it (just for the overflow box assembly itself, not the rest of the plumbing).
Here's a picture of the inner overflow:
I bought a 1-gallon critter cage from walmart for the external chamber, and I had an old external freshwater filter (the hang-on-back kind) that I used for the internal chamber.
I built my own u-tubes out of PVC, and also put a PVC bulkhead in the bottom of the critter cage.
I also plumbed the u-tubes to the venturi ports on a couple of my MJ1200's so that they suck-start the u-tubes whenever the siphon breaks (like when I remove them for cleaning), that way I don't get a few mouthfuls of yucky saltwater each time I try to restart them.
I think I spent only around $20 in parts for it (just for the overflow box assembly itself, not the rest of the plumbing).
Here's a picture of the inner overflow:
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And here's a shot of the external chamber.
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thats what i'm talking about, thanks for the suggestion, reefer addict could you explain the hob filter hanging on the back? what type? thanks. also if you will explain the way you hooked up the mj's to the u tube, and how you sealed it?
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The external chamber actually is sitting on a little shelf attached to the wall behind the tank... I couldn't figure out how to get it to hang on the back with the parts I had... if you're into DIY'ing you could probably make some sort of hanger for it.
If you look at the last picture I posted, instead of elbows on the outside of the 'u', I used T-fittings. In this I used a press-in cap which I had drilled and attached a 1/4" quick-release tubing connector (you can find them in the hose aisle at Home Depot). I then ran some green drip line (clear airline built up too much algae) to the venturi input on my MJ1200 (it's part of the director nozzle that comes with it). This has the added benefit of drawing out any air bubbles that may get stuck in the tube before they have a chance to break the siphon.
The way the back part works is that when the water gets to the bottom of the elbow (like in an outage) there's still water in the bottom of the chamber, and in the inner chamber, so that the water stays in the u-tube (just like if you hold a glass upside down in a sink full of water and when you pull it up the water stays in it).
That way, once the water starts spilling into the internal overflow, the weight pushes the water from the inside chamber, through the u-tube, to the outer chamber. The elbow on the outlet tube really isn't needed... it's kind of my 'poor mans' durso... it cuts down on the gurgling to some degree.
One thing to keep in mind is that during shutoff, the water level in the inner and outer chambers will seek to level itself, so you have to make sure there's enough pipe on both sides of the 'u' that they stay submerged. Also make sure that the outlet pipe from the outer chamber sticks up so that some water is left in it (like how mine is with the elbow).
I hope I didn't lose you there.
I like backyard engineering because I'm a cheapskate...
If it seems too complicated you may want to just get a prefab one that you don't have to think about too much... you can still retrofit those with a hose barb or something so that the powerheads will suck start the u-tube's also, and you'll probably save yourself a lot of headaches.
I just thought I'd mention it so you know that it 'is' possible to roll your own.
HTH.
If you look at the last picture I posted, instead of elbows on the outside of the 'u', I used T-fittings. In this I used a press-in cap which I had drilled and attached a 1/4" quick-release tubing connector (you can find them in the hose aisle at Home Depot). I then ran some green drip line (clear airline built up too much algae) to the venturi input on my MJ1200 (it's part of the director nozzle that comes with it). This has the added benefit of drawing out any air bubbles that may get stuck in the tube before they have a chance to break the siphon.
The way the back part works is that when the water gets to the bottom of the elbow (like in an outage) there's still water in the bottom of the chamber, and in the inner chamber, so that the water stays in the u-tube (just like if you hold a glass upside down in a sink full of water and when you pull it up the water stays in it).
That way, once the water starts spilling into the internal overflow, the weight pushes the water from the inside chamber, through the u-tube, to the outer chamber. The elbow on the outlet tube really isn't needed... it's kind of my 'poor mans' durso... it cuts down on the gurgling to some degree.
One thing to keep in mind is that during shutoff, the water level in the inner and outer chambers will seek to level itself, so you have to make sure there's enough pipe on both sides of the 'u' that they stay submerged. Also make sure that the outlet pipe from the outer chamber sticks up so that some water is left in it (like how mine is with the elbow).
I hope I didn't lose you there.
I like backyard engineering because I'm a cheapskate...
If it seems too complicated you may want to just get a prefab one that you don't have to think about too much... you can still retrofit those with a hose barb or something so that the powerheads will suck start the u-tube's also, and you'll probably save yourself a lot of headaches.
I just thought I'd mention it so you know that it 'is' possible to roll your own.
HTH.
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