Calfo Style Overflow boxes

[Jeremy Blaze]

Finally got these done and glued into the tank. Check out my gallery for pics.

 

[Lt Hudson USMC]

Looks great! What size BH's are they and what diam pipes? Have you run any wather through it to see how loud it is? I am planning my set up and I need a quite drain plan.

 

[MarkS]

Very nice! Anthony will be proud!

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Thanks for posting the pics here. The bulkheads are 1", pipes merge into 1 1/2". I will run water through the system tonight or tommorrow. I will post how loud it is then.

Return pipe is 1", with 3/4" Lock line.

Anyone notice the small shelf along the bottom of them?

 

[Lt Hudson USMC]

I was wondering if the was going to be your snail shelf.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Close, btw, I love the kitty sniper!

 

[Lt Hudson USMC]

Thanks, I wish I had one over here in Iraq! Actually it is not as bad as the press is making it out to be. So, what is the shelf for?

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Okay, I'll tell. I plan to sit small pieces of zoos and star poylps on it, so they can grow and encrust the boxes.

 

[Lt Hudson USMC]

Not a bad idea!

 

[andycook]

I did that but without the teeth. Nice thin surface layer is goes over my 6' long overflow.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have the same plan also ... no teeth. 75G with the overlfow the full length. I am concerned about getting alll 3 stockmans in sync... They are 6" on center (right rear of tank). Should give me a nice thick layer instead of a waterfall. Lookin for black glass to form the boxes.

You plan on using open bulkheads or elbows downturned?

Any thoughts?

 

[andycook]

You'll quickly see if the floor or the stand are not level

 

[BeanAnimal]

I will use a machinists level to true the edge of the overflow without regard to the acutal top of the tank. I kinda figured that with such a thin sheet of water, mistakes would be quite obvious! The level I have access to is acurate to a few thousandths over 4 feet.

 

[andycook]

I built the overflow level with the tank top. Unfortunately, I'm off a tad so the left 25% gets less flow than the rest. It is hard to jack up a 180 gallon tank but I'll do it someday soon. The flaw was that I built the stand level but the basement floor where I put it wasn't.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

So far I am using just open bulkheads. Got it up and running, had a pump problme, so I have a temporary pump on it that is a little small. It has some noise, not to bad, but I am sure the bigger pump will quite it down. So far so good.

 

[Vincerama2]

BeanAnimal,

Why not put the tank where you want it, then fill it with tap water, then let the water stand and then you can mark the actual "level" of the water, taking into account the tank location, stand imperfections, tank imperfections, etc! Then when you install your perfectly straight overflow, you can use that mark as a reference!

V

 

[N8MAN1068]

dude..that looks nice...
it's mosdef giving me another idea on how to do my tank.
i dont want a hang on overflow w/ siphon issues...'slotting' my tank makes me nervous....
but drill 2 bulkheads then glue a box around it the length of the tank vs the heighth like a traditional overflow....interesting

 

[space-ace13]

Jeremy, that looks great. I wanted to run one like that the full length of the 180 I'm setting up. What are the dimensions of the overflows you built, and how big is the shelf you put on it?

 

[BubbaDude]

How'd you cut the slots so even, with some kinda template?

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Lets see, they are 6" tall, 4" wide, and 30 " long. The shelf is only 1/2". I did not make it any bigger because I did not want the shelf to be that noticable.

As for cutting the slots, I did them on a table router, with a dam, so they would all be the same depth, the straightness of them whas freehand.