overflow question

[jeremyhowe]

For a 15 gallon tank could I put a internal overflow in a standard glass tank(not drilled) and have a 500gph pump pumping the overflowed water into a "sump" (another tank) under the stand and use the exact same 500gph pump to send the water back into the display? Or eventually will the water coming down go faster than the water getting sent back up and overflow the "sump"? Im looking to set up a smaller (15 gallon) tank with an oveflow system, but dont want to pay for a custom tank to be drilled.

 

[YamahaF934]

I believe some people will drill for about 15 dollars. . .

 

[roblou]

IMHO, I would not use a pump to move water from your display to your sump. Rather, I would let gravity do the work, which will be much safer.

Also, I don't know that I've ever seen an internal overflow on a tank that wasn't drilled. Maybe it can be done, but I'm not exactly sure how. The "norm" would be either internal overflow with the tank drilled, or external overflow with an undrilled tank. If I'm wrong, I'm sure others will chime in

HTH,

Rob

 

[sandswhitson]

NOT a good idea. You are asking for a flood in this situation. If the pump quits or even just slows down you will have a mess on your hands. I would suggest getting it drilled or even buying a bit and doing it yourself. Bits are pretty cheap at places like glass-holes.com.

 

[jeremyhowe]

Thanks for the input. Im trying to not spend a lot of money by doing an overflow system on a non-custom tank. How reliable are the u-tube style overflows?

 

[roblou]

I am using the single from lifereef.com: http://www.lifereef.com/siphon.html

I have only been using it for ~5 months, but so far it has never caused a problem and has never failed to restart after power loss, etc.

Based on its design, I don't see how it would ever fail, barring the utube being lifted out, or something completely blocking the flow. Also, no need for an aqualifter pump, etc like some overflows need/recommend for restart issues.

 

[TotalVapor]

+1 on the gravity, your display will only drain as fast as you can pump it back in so long as the overflow can handle it.

Pump shuts off and your sump fills up.

 

[fishwishmarge]

get it drilled, you will wish you did!

 

[jrgilles]

buy an overflow box off ebay (sometimes called a wier box). They are pretty cheap, and you won't need much capacity for a 15 gallon tank.

Use gravity to take from the overflow to the sump.

Get a pump in the sump to bring water back to the tank. Make sure you check the "head pressure" of the pump. If it doesn't say what the head pressure is at different heights, its probably not a good pump to get.

For example, a 500 gph pump might just be 300 gph at 3 ft., 200 gph at 4 ft.

As a rule of thumb, every 90 degree bend counts as another foot of head pressure.

Figure out what pump you want and what it will be delivering to the tank at head pressure, then get an appropriately sized overflow box.

I have 2 overflow boxes and they work great. One I have as a backup incase one clogs, so its partially overflow protection, and I'm also running a 'herbie' drain, which runs silent, but you need to have 2 overflows.\

rob

 

[Blindloser1080]

I second the lifereef overflow. I've had one since November, and have never had a problem

 

[NWDiver]

I used an overflow box with a single u tube for more than a year with no trouble. I do like the idea of two tubes, making it redundant. Make sure to set the height correctly, so you don't overflow your sump in a power-out situation. My overflow was an eshops that also held prime in a power out situation. Simple, and works as long as the tube remains unblocked.

 

[thatguy559]

here get this kit http://glass-holes.com/Super-Nano-con-Dientes-Overflow-Kit-nanodienteskit.htm drill it your self (its really not that hard) i did this for my 100g that didnt have a overflow...i didnt want to get an external overflow. its really easy and you cna take it with you when you are done with that tank or want to use it on a different tank. hth

 

[thatguy559]

oh yeah that kits comes with everything you need to drill the tank except the drill. has a template too.

 

[thatguy559]

the one thing i found out about drill 20g tanks and less is to put a piece of duct tape on the other side of the hole and just let the weight of the drill do all the work

 

[nano24]

Drill it. I got a Glass-Holes.com one for my 37...youll love it.