BUilding an overflow box...

Ive got a 125 gal tank and i am going to build an overflow box for it. is there a certain volume i need to make it. i plan on using 2 "u" tubes and 2 outlet drains. i dont knw all the technical terms, sorry. any advise will help only want to spend the $ once on the materials.

 

If you want a HOB overflow you are probably better off buying one. By the time you build one the materials will be as much as buying one and it probably won't function as well as some of the ones you can buy. Just my 2 cents.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

the materials were given to me so that part isnt an issue. i just want to make sure the flow is right. on another note....why cant i just go from the u tube to my sump tank?

 

In my opinion you don't need two outlets, CPR has some good designs (that's what I'm using). A 1 inch PVC system is rated at 800gph so unless you are flowing more than that you probably don't need two. As fas as materials go id use plexiglass. Have a place cut you the sizes. I can get you some pics of mine if you want to copy it. Btw I wouldn't trust rubber gasket entirely mine dripped, I would use them in conjunction with silicon selant on both sides of the outlet.

Btw u tubes are a pain in the a$$ and wide. I'd make a continuous siphon design with a 1 inch bulkhead for outlet.

 

Yeah I agree about the u tube, it took me a minute but what I figured it out. What i have done is use a power head to shoot water in, that primes it in about half a second. I've already built the interior box that skims the water

 

you dont want to drill any holes?

 

That would be bust but if you dont wanna I would recommend just getting CPR's overflow, havent seen any better ones.

 

i wish i started a thred when i built mine for my 150 i couldent drill eather i made mine 9"X9"x3" i dont even have pictures but i made 2 of them with 1 1/2 inch returns just make shure that the water return in the back chamber is higher than the u tube outlet but 1 inch so you will not lose siphon in the u tube i wish i took a pic but wow do thay work well i guess i got lucky

but the key is try to make the rear chamber water height 2 1/2" lower than desired display hight that will aid in keeping flow high maybee i can get a pic a bit lator it wont be the best but youll get my idea

 

Drilling glass, I'm sketchy of lol. im sure i can do it with a tile bit but still messing it up would be a DISASTER!

 

I wouldn't worry about materials so much as skills. It's tough to do acrylic right, and unless you have some experience, I wouldn't trust it TBH.

Then your overflow is going to break the moment there's any sort of power outage. U Tubes are the best because they're reliable. They don't need a whole pump setup to keep working. They pull out any bubbles on their own, unlike a continuous siphon, or weir overflow. A weir doesn't have the water velocity to do so because of the large surface area.