going from 2 glass holes boxes to 1 eshopps overflow

[jacksonpt]

The What
I currently have 2 glass holes overflow boxes on my tank. I want to replace them with 1 eshopps eclipse box.

The Why
The glass holes boxes have been very reliable, but I need to quiet down the drains, specifically the splashing of water as it enters my sump. Based on everything I've read, running the majority of my drain water via a siphon is the best way to accomplish this.

The How
That's where all of you come in (hopefully). My plan is to keep both of the glass holes internal boxes. One of them will be connected to the eshopps external box, the other will have a plugged bulkhead so no water will run through it.

My questions -

1. The eshopps box uses 2 drains... 1 will be full siphon, the other will be teh slowest trickle I can manage. My understanding is that this is a Herbie setup, correct? Is a herbie setup the same as a bean setup, but without the 3rd emergency drain?
2. To make the conversion, I'll have to disassemble the glass holes boxes/bulkheads. Any suggestions on how to remove the bulkhead nuts? There's not a lot of room to work, and they've been in place for a couple of years...
3. Any tips/suggestions for how to run the drain lines into the sump to minimize splashing/water noise?
4. **secondary concern** If possible, I'd like to run the drain lines in such a way that facilitates easier use of filter socks. I don't use them often, but when I do, I'd like to be able to change the socks without ending up looking like I just feel in the pool and/or having to remove my skimmer (shared drain/skimmer compartment). I can post a pic if it would help.

Thanks all!

 

[Lsufan]

First off, I would completely remove the glass holes boxes. U will need the bulkheads to hold whatever overflow u decide to get onto the tank. Any of the ghost type overflows will come with a interior weir & a external box. So u will need to ditch the existing boxes. Depending how your tank is drilled u may have to drill new holes for the new box.

1- A herbie & bean are definitely different, but they both use a syphon drain. On a herbie u are supoosed to keep the emergency drain dry. By having any water in the emergency u are taking a chance of it getting clogged. On a bean setup u run a trickle through the open channel but that is ok because u still have a dry emergency drain. They do have people who use a herbie & have a trickle drain from the emergency, but it is a risk.

2- A big pair of channelocks would probably be the easiest way to get the nutt loose if u can’t do it by hand.

3- With a syphon drain u want to have the end of the pipe submerged, but no more then 1” below the water level in the sump. By having the drain submerged u won’t get any splashing & a syphon won’t have any bubbles in it to cause any issues. If u submerge it more then 1” it can have issues purging the air from the pipe & create issues with the syphon starting. So just submerge the pipe 1/2” to 1” into the sump & u should be fine.

4- I would place a union just above the sock. Then all u have to do is unscrew the union & remove the last section of pipe that goes into the sock. I will post a pic of what I mean, but it definitely makes it easier changing the sock. I actually placed my valve under the stand & used a true union ball valve. So I use that union to remove the pipe to change the sock. U can do the same thing with a regular union like I did on my open channel drain which is the one in the back of the pic.

I would seriously consider a different type of box over the eshopps. I know they are more expensive but if I purchased a ghost type overflow box I would get eighther a modular marine or the synergy shadow. Brs carries the synergy & I see it on sale at times. I made my own ghost style overflow box because I like to have as long of a box as possible for the surface skimming. Both the mm & synergy comes setup for a beananimal drain instead of only two holes like the eshopps. I wouldn’t setup a tank without a bean drain. Those boxes are much better then The eshopps, plus it’s so small that I could see it having consistency issues if u try to run more then a few hundred gph through it.

[/url][/IMG]

 

[jacksonpt]

Not trying to be argumentative... just trying to understand before I tear apart the overflow setup on an established, running tank.

1. Why would you ditch the glass holes boxes entirely? I've already got the eshopps - why can't I use the glass holes box as the internal box and the eshopps external box? Assuming, of course, that the holes line up (which from my measurements, they should).
2. So a bean is just a herbie with a "trickle" line then? Realistically, I can't get a bean setup installed on my current tank without essentially starting over. In which case, it would just be easier to buy a new tank and start from scratch, which I don't want to do if I don't have to.
3. There's no way to get channel locks to the nut - the glass holes box is just too tight.
4. Thanks for the pic - that helps.
5. Why would you not go with the eshopps, simply to have a 3rd drain line? My tank is only a 38g, and I'm not pushing much flow through the overflows, so noise/flow capacity of a herbie shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Lsufan]

I should have probably asked for more details before I commented to much because what u currently have definitely changed things. I was just giving ideas, not trying to tell u what to do because I couldn’t without knowing more about your setup. I just prefer the modular marine or synergy over the eshopps, but with a 38 gallon tank I think the eshopps will work ok. I think they are fine if u are only running a few hundred gph through them. I also didn’t know that u already had the eshopps. I thought u where still trying to determine which way u were going.

How is your setup now. 1 drain in each overflow?

The main reason I said u would need to remove the existing overflow box is because the interior weirs are made specifically for the exterior boxes that come with the ghost type overflows like a eshopps, & the chances of the holes lining up with the heights of the boxes being correct are slim. Most have two bulkheads that hold the box in place & that even makes the chances slimmer that they will work out. It looks like yours only has one bulkhead to hold it in place so that helps with the chances of it working out.

A bean has more redundancy then a herbie because u essentially have two backup drains. The open channel which is the drain with the trickle, helps keep everything stable if u have any flunctuation. So once u get it setup & dialed in u don’t have to touch the valve. The syphon drain on a herbie will be just as quiet as a bean, but u may have to mess with the valve sometimes to keep it stable. That is why some people run the trickle down the emergency on a herbie, it helps keep everything stable. Doing that does raise the chance of it getting clogged though. If u keep two overflow boxes in the tank & are only using one, instead of capping off the box u aren’t using u can turn a 90 facing up & keep it just below the rim of the tank. It would only see water if u have a clog in one of your main drains. It will allow u to have a trickle in the emergency & not have to worry about it getting clogged because u would have another emergency.

The overflow boxe is what would decide what drain setup u would use. The one u have only has the two holes so u don’t have much of a choice but to use a herbie. The other manufacturers have there’s setup with 3 holes for a beananimal. I didn’t know u already had the Eshopps.

It isn’t a herbie that would limit the flow. A herbie can handle 2,000 gph & more & remain quiet. It is the small size of the eshopps box. That is the main reason I prefer the other manufacturers. With to much flow it can have stability issues. With only a 38 gallon tank I think u will be fine because it should be able to handle 200 to 400 gph without issues.

Without a pic I can’t help much as far as how to get the nutt off.

 

[jacksonpt]

OK, so let's start at the beginning.

I've got a standard 3', 38g glass tank. I drilled it for 2 glass holes overflow boxes, and it's been running for about 3 years with an eheim 1262 return pump throttled back significantly, but I can't really guess/estimate actual flow rate.

For a few different reasons, I want to move away from the glass holes boxes, but I'd REALLY prefer not to tear down the tank and start over. Ultimately, I'd like to have a MUCH quieter overflow setup while maintaining a high level of reliabitliy.

My thought was to replace one or both of the glass holes boxes with the eshopps. I know it's not the ideal, but I can't do ideal on an already established and running tank. So I'm trying to make the best out of what I have. And with that, I take you back to my original post.

 

[dublo8]

You can make those glass holes silent using a reverso in conjunction with the durso. Pics

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[jacksonpt]

Good to know, thanks. Maybe I'll try that first...

 

[Harry Muscle]

You can make those glass holes silent using a reverso in conjunction with the durso. Pics

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

I'm actually working on this for my setup ... any chance you could post a video of how quiet or loud your sump is with the reverse durso?

Thanks,
Harry

 

[dublo8]

I'm actually working on this for my setup ... any chance you could post a video of how quiet or loud your sump is with the reverse durso?

Thanks,
Harry

As soon as I have a moment. There is zero noise in the plumbing. The only bit of noise I get is at the overflow where the water drops in. Even then its super quite. I think a big part of it is tuning your pump output as well.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[jacksonpt]

Is the durso plumbing at the top functionally different than the stock elbow/air line that comes with the glass holes boxes?

Also... I've got 2 glass holes boxes. Do you see any problems T-ing them into a single line just before the reverso?