Has this been tried?

[tufacody]

I have a 70 gal tech that is a gigantea tank. I'd like to remove the powerheads from the display area. I use the tech durso. I was thinking about cutting holes in the overflow about midway down, and siliconing in some powerheads, so the input is underwater in the overflow but the flow faces out. Ideally I'd like to sink a mag in there on a sqwd, but I don't think there's enough room. Anyone do this before?

 

[celano]

I've never seen anyone do exactly what you're describing but I have seen a couple guys retrofit a Sio Polario into the overflow.The results seemed promising at first but I never did see any real follow up....
It might be worth looking into if the mag5 w/sqwd is to big to fit.

 

[Shane Hoffman]

I see no reason why it wouldnt work. Only thing to think about is removal for maintnance and insuring all gaps are sealed to keep nosy critters out.

 

[evsalty]

Will you still be using the overflows to feed a sump? I ask because I see potential for too big of a pump to drain the overflow faster then it can keep filled. this could also cause a fight for the water with the satndpipe. A small pump probably would not be an issue though.

 

[tufacody]

Yes, it will still be on a sump. I thought about this too, but wouldn't it just cause the overflow to refill quicker?

 

[roadcrew]

you would drop the water level in the overflow area by the volume of water in the pluming and in the pump your using. your stand pipe then becomes too tall.

 

[Chibils]

You'd likely need a larger overflow so that it can generate a larger volume of water flowing into the box itself.

 

[laverda]

A bigger concern is that in a power outage the tank will now drain to the level of the pumps. So the pump outputs need to be kept pretty high up.
I have a SQWD in the back of 6 ,12 and 24 gallon nano cubes so you should be able to fit one in your overflow. It takes some mods to make them fit, but mostly it is just shorting them up. I thread the output on one side to fit inside threaded elbows. Then I use a threaded lock line end through the bulk head into the other side of the elbow to hold it in place. It actually makes a very clean set up.

 

[evsalty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15469524#post15469524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by laverda
A bigger concern is that in a power outage the tank will now drain to the level of the pumps. So the pump outputs need to be kept pretty high up.

Not true if the stand pipe is above the pump. It will still only drain to the level of the standpipe. You are right though if the standpipe and pump were at the same height.

 

[GQuinn]

If you are talking about an Oceanic Tech 70 the overflow is glass covered with black acrylic. At least that is how my old one was constructed. It may be hard to get the holes in the overflow.

Gary

 

[HighlandReef]

seems like a good idea but i would be worried about whats gonna happen when you lose power, i wouldnt want half the tank on the floor

 

[tufacody]

Wouldn't a siphon break in the return from the mag stop the backflow from that?

 

[evsalty]

In the overflow the standpipe height and sump return siphon break will determine how much goes back to the sump. The extra pump hiding in the overflow should not have any bearing on draining the tank unless you lower your standpipe to the same height as the pump. At that point it is still the standpipe that would be the determining factor.

Biggest thing to make this work would be to know how much your overflow is able to pull from the tank. Then you need to know how much your sump is taking from that (what your return pump is pushing back to the tank). Then you can determine what your max size extra pump can be.

 

[laverda]

evsalty you are correct to some extent. Most tanks have the stand pipe 1- 3" lower then the overflow. That can make a big differance and easilly flood most sumps. I know it would on my system.

 

[evsalty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15472638#post15472638 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by laverda
evsalty you are correct to some extent. Most tanks have the stand pipe 1- 3" lower then the overflow. That can make a big differance and easilly flood most sumps. I know it would on my system.

That is easily fixed by having your sump levels be able to handle that extra water. That is part of proper sump sizing and baffling height.

Also return pump size comes into play on that one as well. If you have a large pump on there and are running the drain at close to full potential then you will end up having to have more water in the system to prevent cavitation of the pump. At that point you have less room to prevent floods.

All of this has to be considered when setting up a system if you want to never have a flood.

 

[DarG]

You can modify the pumps hidden in the overflow to pull water from the display. In other words, drill the overflow for the intake and the discharge of the pumps you wish to use and plumb the PH intakes with soft or hard tubing and have them draw from outside the overflow box, from the display itself. Use a strainer on the intakes to protect critters and pumps. Make sure the intake and discharge holes in the overflow are sealed and you have none of the potential pitfalls mentioned above as long as the pumps have sealed volutes.

 

[tufacody]

Drilling the overflow to include the suction end is what I want to avoid. I don't trust nems even to strainers. Overflowing my sump in not a concern in my case, as its huge (about 200 gallons).
My concern is more with draining the DT dry than it is overflowing the sump, as I would want the output holes to be at about mid-level.

 

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15473270#post15473270 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tufacody
Drilling the overflow to include the suction end is what I want to avoid. I don't trust nems even to strainers.

Sorry, must have missed that in your posts.

 

[GQuinn]

Are you talking about drilling a Oceanic Tech 70 Tank overflow box?

Gary

 

[addicted2reefin]

i wouldnt do it, cause u would be pulling water out of ur overflow box, and thus lowering the level of water in it. a better idea would be to ad a 90 to ur return line and a few tees, and have them flow out at different levels. there u would have the same effect and now extra powerheads.