overflow idea

well im not real computer literate so im going to try putting a link on here,we'll see if it works.Anyway I found this dIY overflow and I want to make it for my 55 gallon tank,I already have a plastic tub that I want to use for my sump.Right now it just has a hitchiker crab living in it with a little diy liverock and a little sand.What do you all think of this overflow idea? Its not very high tech but Im on a very serious budget.Thanks for your comments.

 

oops I forgot the link .... aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-overflow/120.asp

 

id like to see that running as i cant get into my head how it would work

 

i actually just built that thing. i haven't actually hooked it up to the tank yet but i did a bucket to bucket run to match my return pump. make sure that the T is where you want the average water level to be. if the intake is lower than the T, this system appears to not lose siphon in the case of return failure. if the water level in the DT drops below the T the overflow will stop "sucking". once the water level rises, the siphon will start again. just what i've seen. oh, and i twisted the T so that the green potion over laps the blue. this way it will stay balanced better on your tank.

 

Thanks for the info zjpeter.Imgoing to go get the parts for it monday.Did you make yours 3/4"?I was thinking about going one inch pvc for more volume.

 

i used 1/2 inch so i wasn't blasting my fuge with too much flow. also, the 1/2 inch matches up perfectly to my $20 MaxiJet return. you gotta save where you can

 

Oh cool,thats what im using is a maxijet so i'll have to go with the 1/2 " thanks

 

I've been using one of those for almost 3 years now, and it works great. I don't like their illustration though. For one, I had best results with the "T" as low as possible. Also, the "U" bend inside and outside the tank should be made as low as you can go and be the exact same length. Having the "T" low and the "U" bends low in the tank will insure it never loses syphon on its own (which can happen). I used 1/2in pvc in the first one I made, and every week or so it would lose syphon (I think it had to do with building errors). My current overflow (that has been online for almost 3 years) was made out of 3/4in pvc and made how I described above. When I was reading up on making one, people got mixed results when using 1/2in and 3/4in pvc. 1in pvc should work great though. I'll find the link here on 3Reef and post it soon. There is really good info on it..

 

Here ya go

Nice Cheap DIY Overflow

Read up and good luck..

 

hey chuck,at first I didnt understand your description because the one I found doesnt have a loop inside the tank,just a pipe straight down.thats why you were able to move your T down because the loop inside the tank determines the water flow.Too bad I just bought the parts and built one today before I found your post.That's okay though,I'll use it for a while and see how it does,its cheap to make another one.I only spent $12 on it and $4 of that was for the can of cement which I used very little of,so I can make another one really cheap if I dont like this one.I made mine with 1/2" and tested it outside in a bucket and it seems to do really good.I stopped the water flow several times and it would stop siphoning when it got down to the T then start right up again when I refilled the bucket.Thanks for the help and I'll let you know how mine does when I get it on the tank.