diy pvc overflow

im planning on building a pvc overflow for my 20 gallon long reef tank but i was wondering what size pvc i should get any suggestions ?

 

I would use 1". I've made one with 3/4 and the flow never seemed to be what it should have been.

 

do you know how you rate gph?

 

The trick most use, I think, is to get a bucket of know size, 5 gallon bucket or 1 gallon mop bucket, and just time it then do some math...

 

okay i get it what about return pumps im confused do i match my overflow gph or do i go over?

 

Your overflow has to be able to handle as much as the return pump can send, more so really. You can put a valve on the overflow to match the return pump. For a 20g you should be trying for somewhere in the range of 200+ gph.

 

In all honesty, unless you are really dead set on DIY and get more satisfaction out of building things, I would suggest an Eshopps hob overflow. I've never had one but that's what I'll be putting on my 40b when I get it setup. I've never heard a single bad thing about them and have never heard of them failing after a power outage. DIY's can lose siphon and cause a flood.

Just something to consider...

 

I think you can DIY one no prob....... if you want to. My opinion about overflows is the bigger the better as long as they don't take up too much space, but I don't think you can have too much flow they will just run at what ever rate your pump is at. It can't hurt to have some extra room just in case you want a bigger pump latter.

 

im set on diy cause its cheaper and plus eshopps nano cost like 60 bucks in my opnion diy=more money for corals

 

The simply way, just drill it.. My 29gal frag/QT tank is drilled. The best thing I could of done for it..