HI everyone! :) i Need your help with my overflow...

[kyle1284]

I just converted my overflow from a "syphon fed" to a standpipe config. and im getting less than half the flow that i got with the syphon fed. Now im willing to empty the tank out and drill it... My question is what size hole should i drill to have a good turnover rate for the SPS i am planning on keeping. Here is my setup in greater detail:
50Gal display

20gal long sump (the overflow hose, left, has been replaced with a 1 1/4 inch PVC)

the current bulkhead is 3/4inch with a elbow

I made a overflow box so it would skim the surface and this worked just fine for a while but i started to notice that the water level was going way to high and way to low and never stayed at a constant level (using the syphon method) and this is why i converted to a stand pipe but NOW i am gettin less than half the flow i was orgionally getting

My question for yall is can i redrill the current 3/4 hole to something bigger or should i just drill another hole?
If i can not "bore" the 3/4 hole out what would be a good size hole to achieve a good turnover rate for my sump that has a MAG 7 as a return? If i cant bore it out where should i put the new hole?

RED YELLOW OR BLUE?
Or should i just drill my tank like the Reef Ready tanks through the bottom?!? UGHHH im so torn on what to do... can someone please chime in and help me out PLEASE!

 

[DonW]

You don't "need" much flow through your sump. 3-500 gph is plenty. The flow your wanting for sps comes from powerheads or a closed loop.

Don

 

[Skimmy]

yep, leave it...
you only want the water from your display to go through the sump a maximum of 3 times per hour.
This is one of the most common mistakes people make is trying to make the flow through the sump accomodate the high flow requirements of the display.

think of it like this...
if the process water your feeding the sump is flying right through the sump at breakneck speeds then the skimmer/refugium/carbon/etc dont have enough of a chance to filter the water. But if the water dwells in the sump longer(moving slower), then it has more chance of being cleaned by your filtration.:idea:

oh and WELCOME to Reef Frontiers!!!

 

[Skimmy]

so, i'd say ditch the mag 7, they are loud , produce heat, and will only get louder and hotter if you throttle it back to what you need for your 55g.
which at 3x is about 165gph moving through the sump. I would suggest an eheim 1250 which is 300gph @0" of head, so at 4" of head it should be around 200gph, which is much closer to appropriate for your system.

 

[Saltyfish]

On the back of your tank on this blukhead fitting do you have an elbow or a tee?

If Elbow, change to a Tee. On the top part (towards the top of your tank) put a small extention and cap it off. put it at about 1/4" from the top of your tank. Then drill a small hole in the cap, around 3/16". This will prevent the slurping and siphon affect that could be slowing down your flow.

If you already have a tee with a hole in the top that is capped off nevermind.

you can drill this out again you just have to clamp a piece of wood to one side of it to hold the center of the bit in place.

 

[busdriver]

you could drill for a closed loop though...
so it goes from the tank to a pump and back to the tank. very efficient design since the pump doesn't have to worry about head pressure

 

[vwmoneypit]

Yep since u are this far u might as well do this cl setup now !U are doing sps?Then it is worth it at this point and if u dont have the anti siphon t in there u will lose 40-60% flo-rate!

 

[Superfish]

I would not redrill I might break because to close to the old hole , bot you can make hole bigger by grinding with a dremel and a stone then polish with sanding roller.You have to grind in circular motion to keep perfect circle. I' ve done it many times never busted a piece of glass.