DIY Overflow

[ice-qube]

Has anyone build one of these suckers? I was looking to put in a small refugium under my tank. Unfortunately I never thought I would really get going into this hobby and so never drilled a hole in the tank :-( Maybe you guys sell an overflow AJ ?

Either way any ideas on making a cheap overflow with a flow rate of about 100 GPH for the refugium would be great !! I was thinking of using a surface skimming adapter for an aquaclear 200 PF. Where the surface overflow would be set an inch off the top of the surface, and I can create a hole on the side of the canister of the aquaclear to drain into the refugium. Then I would just have the water pumped back up. A little different idea but it possibly should work ? The refugium should handle the extra inch of water in case there is some sort of error, and the main tank should be able to handle the extra water from an area sectioned off in the refugium. Just wanted to get some idea's before I start drilling holes into things :-)

[ajx22]

In respect to your DIY idea...I'll get Dman to reply to this, as I haven't had much time to experiment with a lot of DIY projects for my tanks.

^^^^Dman...this is for you! ;) ^^^^

As for the sale of overflows...but of course! I will have a few different makes & models available very soon (this week so I'm told). :dance: Is there a specific model that you (or anyone reading this post) especially do or don't like? This kind of input will help me out with my suppliers - and this way I don't bring in items that people have had issues with either!

I've spent the past 8+ hours uploading to my server...now I just have to finish entering prices and product codes and you will be able to start to order any of my dry goods (still cycling the holding & propogation tanks - so it will be a bit longer before I'm willing to introduce any livestock to the tanks). For livestock...give me about 2 1/2 weeks - as this way I can have my tanks ready, and be able to quarantine the livestock for my 2-week minimum too)!

You can send Dman a PM to ask about this, but I'm sure that he will have an answer for you by tomorrow early afternoon though.

Thanks again, and be sure to let me know what (of anything) you would like/not like to see here!

Ciao,

[Dman]

ice-qube,
As ajx22 pointed out, I have made one of these suckers. They are fairly difficult. I made mine out of plexi that I had lying around the shop. Now that I think about it, it really was a PIA. Well, here goes,

Part I
An overview

You need to construct two boxes, one for inside the tank and one for outside the tank. the one inside the tank needs to be deep enough to accomodate a J-tube. (this is where I ran into problems, when making the inside box deep enough I ran into water displacement issues, mainly the box would float, at which point I had to use some sort of ballast as I had constructed the boxes out of two pieces to keep maximum flexibility in height adjustment and placement, so I ended up using a big heavy rock :rolleyes: ask ajx22 to send you pics)
The outside box requires a waterproof partition in the middle in order to create the necessary siphon action. Allow me to elaborate, the water in the bottom of the inside box, the J-tube and the outside box MUST be contiguous, so that if the power ever goes out for any length of time ever, the siphon will not break and will automatically start back up when power resumes.
The other side of the outside box requires a hole in the bottom large enough to accomodate a bulkhead that is required to direct the water leaving the tank into your sump.
The construction of the outside box requires water proof seams, whereas the inside box is not as critical.
In hindsight I would have tried to make both boxes one piece, although at the time this type of construction was beyond my scope and ability.
I will try to put together some drawings and pot them here later, cannot do it now as I am at work ;)

Part II tomorrow:
Tools and supplies

Dman
:blob:

http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/images/inside_box.bmp
http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/images/outside_box.bmp

[Dman]

Part II

Materials and Tools and Inside Box

Materials:

Plexiglas
Stainless Steel Nuts and Bolts
J-tube
Weld on #10

Tools:

Table saw
Hand saw
Heat gun
Drill and bits
File and sandpaper
Respirator
Pencil
Ruler
Square
Scribe

INSIDE BOX

You will need a flat clean surface to work on, as bending the plexi must be done on a linear surface. The size of the inside box that I built was approximately 6x6x4 inches. On a table saw cut three pieces of plexi:

1 – 4 x 18 (this is the two sides and the bottom)
1 – 6 x 6 (front panel)
1 – 6 x 8 (back panel)

Notch both ends of the long piece of plexi and one edge of the square piece, this acts as a screen or barrier for your fish and snails. Remove paper from 4 x 18 piece and scribe 2 lines, 6 inches apart. Using the heat gun SLOWLY heat the plexi along one of the scribe lines making sure that it doesn’t bubble. When sufficiently heated bend along the scribe to 90 degrees. Repeat for the other side. Use the flat surface to make the bends, as the edges will need to be flat and true for gluing. Drill two ½ inch holes ¾ of an inch from the edge of the 6 x 8 back panel. Run a bead of Weld-on #10 along one edge of the now cooled bent piece and place the square piece on top aligning the serrated edge with the rest. If you look at the diagram from my post yesterday, the inside box shows a serrated edge along the front edge. That serration should continue along both sides as well.

[canadawest]

Your other option is a hang-on refugium. This is the option that I am going to go with for a couple reasons.

1. I have a closed system, aka no sump or overflow and tank is not drilled.

2. I do not have enough room in my stand to put in a large enough sump/refugium to be useful.

3. A hang on refugium is WAY cheaper than the cost of an overflow box + plumbing + pump + sump/refugium tank.

Check out the CPR Aquafuge, they are the best designed from what I've read, and quite inexpensive. I will hopefully be adding one in the coming months.

[ajx22]

Very good point Andrew!

The CPR units are very well put together, and you only require a strip-light for them.

We will have the full line of CPR's products available very soon!

Regards,

[Kenzy]

Ice-Cube, it might be easier to give you some ideas if you tell us a bit more about your system and what you want to get out of it.

Personally I would go for a full blown drilled tank. Around here it's about $20 to have a glass shop drill a hole in a tank. Another $20 for some acrylic and a tube of silcone from Canadian Tire. You can get bulkhead fittings here(maybe?) or at MOPS. The biggest expense will be a return pump.

IMO don't do this half way, been there, done that, replaced the living room carpet!

[Kenzy]

Ok, just did some reading on some of your other posts. Cool 40g tank! I've done overflows for my 30g,65g and90g tanks by far the best way to go is to get your tank drilled. It may seem like a PITA now but will pay off big time when you have you first power failure.

Dman gave a good picture and description of a HOB (hang on back) type of overflow, but from my own experience these are not very reliable. It will be easier to build a simple corner than to build 2 separate boxes.

For my 65g tank I had it drilled at a local glass shop, then built the corner overflow by bending a piece of acrylic with a heat gun. For the slots I used my router with a 1/2" straight cut bit. This worked quite well and looks really good. Then I just siliconed it in place.
For a return pump I'm using a Mag5, but I'm finding it a bit small although it would be a good size for a 40g tank.

As far as the hang on refugiums, the ones that I've seen to me seem quite small. I wonder how much of a benefit you're really getting with them.

Later.

[Gordoe]

I have built a number of these overflows. I find it's an inexpensive way to get the job done. All the parts can be purchased at Home Depot or Canadian Tire. I've used ABS in the past but have heard ABS is bad for the tank.. (if anyone knows why please let me know... :-)

Using,
3" PVC pipe
2-3" 90 degree elbows (1 female-female and 1 female-male)
1-3" endcap
1-3" to 1-1/2" reducer
1-1-1/2" to 3/4" NPT reducer (this reducer allows you to thread into the overflow
2-3/4" CPVC connectors
Length of 3/4" CPVC
1-1" clear plastic U-Tube (Bought mine at Aquarium Services)

The 3" PVC pipe inside my tank is about 14" long. End cap on the inside pipe. Glue the two 90's together to make it a hang-on. The piece of 3" on the outside of the tank is 16" long.

Glue the 3" reducer onto the piece outside the tank, then the 1-1/2" reducer. I thread both connectors into the 3/4" NPT reducer.

The 3/4" connector inside the U-Tube assembly will be used to hold the pipe that maintains the siphon. Cut the 3/4" off on an angle (reduces gurgling noise) with the lowest part of the angle just above the lowest section of the clear plastic U-Tube.

I cut the top off the 90's to expose the inside of the pipes. To achieve the desired level in my tank I have removed half of the connector vertically. I try to cut away as much of the 3" connectors as possible. They take up alot of room and it's easier to get the siphon working in the plastic tube. If anyone wants specifics on the settings send me an email... I will try to send pictures..

Just a final note, I have two of these running in my 75Gal to keep up with my RIO 2100 with 4' of head

[Dman]

Sorry I haven't had a chance to finish of the overflow directions.
If you are still interested send me a PM, otherwise get you tank drilled, way less work than building an overflow. 'Cause now that I think about it, especially after having to try and put it on paper, it was probably not worth the hassle, except for the fact that I got all the materials for free, had a shop on which to work in and pretty much got paid to put it together, these things sometimes happens when you the supervisor.
Dman