a good overflow box

[jksteele010]

I'm getting rather sick of my overflow box siphon stopping because to much air gets in it. i've got a cpr 1200 and the way i'm sucking air out just doesn't seem to cut it so i'm looking to do something different. are there any OF boxes that work good or are they all bad and i just need a RR tank

 

[Krbekk]

Knock on wood, I have never lost the siphon on my overflow. I used a hot soldering iron to make a hole in the top of the U-tube. I supper glued a small inline check valve in the hole and then ran a short piece of air line to the outlet side of a Maxijet power head. The maxijet will pull a constant vacuum on the utube keeping it full of water.
I know it's not the best pic in the world but it shows both connections.

 

[ixouttheeyes]

Lifereef OF boxes are supposedly the best in the biz and have quite the following. I've had no experience w/ them and can't support that claim, but would encourage you to do a search on them. They claim "In the 20 years that the Lifereef Prefilter Box has been sold not one has failed to re-start when the power comes back on or has failed while in operation!" --from Lifereef.com

Personally I have used and can vouch for Eshopps overflows which, you may be interested to know, are kept in stock at at least one lfs. I must also add that I've made two important modifications to this product. 1)I bought a stockman standpipe to baffle noise and keep critters out (works famously) 2) Though I do monthly power failure tests and have never had an instance where the OF didn't restart, I continue to utilize an aqualifter pump (most of the time).

 

[sharky's machin]

+1 on Eshopps. I've only had mine about 30 days but it works great. I have tested the power failure and it works famously.

 

[richieb]

I use a Eshopps type of overflow box. I clean out the u tube about once a month and have never had a problem restarting it. Search the net and you can find a few different models of stockman pipes to quiet the noise. I made one from some pvc pipe i had laying around, they are really very simple to make. I had the to modify the opening a little at a time to get the flow where I wanted it and no noise and it works perfectly. Email me if you want some pics of mine.

richie

 

[okiejaco]

I have a Lifereef and it works great. Can't comment on the Eshopps, think they are based on the same principle. I made one of these for my overflow and it helped out a lot.

http://home.everestkc.net/jrobertson57268/HGB/HGB_construction.html

 

[JasonF]

++ Lifereef

Just buy an extra U tube so you have a spare while you clean it (they need a vinegar soak about once a year).