HOB Overflow box for 75g

EvMiBo

EvMiBo

VictoriaConcordiaCrescit
Alright well needless to say I know zilch on these guys. My tank that I've been putting things together for has an internal overflow and I plan on always having tanks with them... BUT, my buddy is making his 75g cichlid tank into a reef tank (not drilled, and doesn't plan on getting it drilled). So i'm trying to help him make a wise choice.

Search is down, so what would you guys recommend? I think I've heard good things about Deltec but I'm not sure. I'm going to try and search around for how these guys actually function but in the meantime would appreciate a quick tutorial from any of you guys. He'll have a 20-30g sump/fuge about 3'-4' below. Would appreciate the help. Thanks. :)
 
I would convince him to drill it. Its is very easy to do. The next best thing is a Lifereef. The are the best designed, most reliable overflow available. Whatever you do, stay away from the "continuous siphon" type overflows that require a vacuum pump to maintain siphon. Stay with a U Tube design.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Scott. By the way he's been looking into this one: CPR CS90 Overflow Box ... They seem to have good reviews. I'm going to look into the lifereefs, thanks again. Anyone else? :D
 
Whatever you do, dont get the CPR. This is the type I warned about. They are terrible.
 
I have to concur with Scott.

If it can't be drilled, get the lifereef overflow box. I would strongly suggest staying away from the CPR one -- I don't like that design at all.

BTW -- I have a lifereef one on my 75, and has been working flawlessly for 5+ years now.
 
Gotcha about the CPR, can you explain what the difference is between the continuous siphon and the U Tube Design (what makes the continuous siphon bad and the U tube good??)? Also, where can you purchase a lifereef online?
 
I'm going to have to disagree with both of them only based on my own past experiences. I've had the U tube overflows and I had 6 floods from them on 2 different tanks. Drilled is by far the best and i can agree with them on that. BUT i have owned a CPR overflow for about 4 years now and have not had 1 flood. The main things you need to remember with them is to ALWAYS have a spare Aqua Lifter pump handy and have a pre-filter on it. These pumps are garbage and they die at least once a year. That's also the reason why they're $12 and not more. You can hook it to a powerhead but i prefer the Aqua lifter. The main difference between the two occurs when you lose power. Here in Long Island i seem to lose power anytime a bad storm rolls through. With the U tube design if any air gets into the tube the siphon will not automatically occur and you have to aid it in using a plastic tube to draw the air out manually for it to begin working. This is where the CPR has a huge benefit. Since the aqua lifter draws the air out itself once the power resumes, you do not have to worry about the return pump starting up and there being no siphon. This is how all of my floods occured and i will no longer use a U tube design. However they are more expensive and that's usually why most people don't like them. Just my own opion though and it usually takes a bad experience in this hobby to bring it about!
 
A good, properly setup U Tube overflow only needs the laws of physics to maintain a siphon. There are no moving parts, no motors, nothing to plug in that will fail. No airline tube or nipple that will clog and fail. The velocity of the water going through the U Tube keeps bubbles from accumulating. It will NEVER accumulate air and need evacuating. Unfortunately, there are some very poorly designed overflows, and others that are not set up correctly which can and have caused problems.

The CPR can not maintain a siphon on it own regardless of what you do to it. It has a wide flat integrated C channel that always accumulates air and relies on an external vaxuum pump to keep it running. This has been proven to be a very failure prone, problematic design.

As I stated earlier, get a good quality U Tube overflow. The Lifereef is as bullet proof as you will find. Many people have run them for years on end without a single issue. This board is littered with people with CPRs causing floods. It is an inherently failure prone design.

I like the Aqualifter pumps. They are a much better product than the CPR overflows. they make great topoff pumps. A better use than a band aid for a poor overflow design.
 
good advise. If you look around the site you will find that someone constantly posts a 3 tube overflow system that is supposedly full proof.
 
The '3 tube" system is a drilled system. That is an entirely different discussion.

I'll reiterate this. There is no reason not to drill a system that is not yet set up. Its is VERY easy to do. Adding a HOB overflow is for when you have a system up and running and don't want to tear it down.
 
Is there a way to tell if the back side of the tank is tempered or not? If I remember correctly drilling doesn't work on tempered glass - correct? Even though I hear people say how easy it is, I would hate to advise him to get the 700gph one with the holesaw and have the tank shatter in the back. I don't plan on leading him in the CPR direction, if I don't convince him to drill (and depending if it's tempered or not) I'll tell him about the lifereef.
 
The only tanks I've seen that are tempered on all 5 sides are some 55G Perfectos. How old is the tank and do you know the brand? There is often a "tempered glass do not drill" sticker on the bottom of the tank meaning that pane is tempered.
 
I don't understand this debate, and since I might get a CPR, can't I add a U tube siphon for redundancy? At worse I cut a knotch or drill a hole on the CPR
 
Scott- I will be able to talk to him tomorrow, but like I said it's a 75g, and I would think it's an AGA, but not for sure. I'm unsure of how long he has had it but I don't think it's more than 5 years old. I'm pretty sure he has the sticker on the bottom of the tank, but again, not for sure. I'm going over to his place tomorrow to discuss all of this.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13323883#post13323883 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RaddReef
I don't understand this debate, and since I might get a CPR, can't I add a U tube siphon for redundancy? At worse I cut a knotch or drill a hole on the CPR
Click to expand...

I'm unsure if you can actually do this, I would assume the answer is a no. But, why would you do this if you can just buy the lifereef??? :confused:
 
I have a cpr.... I have 3 aqua lifters that go on in 1 month rotations..... then go on vinegar for 2 months until its their time to go again.... its a bit of a hassle and unreliable.... I've been able to catch my tank and remedy before they completely flood, but they slowly take on air which weakens the siphon especially if they get a few big air bubbles so it slowly raises the water level.... if it goes on it will lead to a flood..... I'm so glad I am building a new setup so I don't have to worry about that..... I'm drilling my next tank..... but I've heard nothing but good things about the lifereef overflows.... wish I would've got one first....

I can't vouch for any other u tube overflows because I've heard a lot of them were designed poorly.... but I've never heard of a flood w/lifereef....
 
Well I am glad i actually added to this subject. The overflows i had before were not lifereef and that might be the problem. After reading all of this and all of your opinions I am almost certain I will change my CPR out for a Lifereef immediately. 1 question though before i do, is the gurgling a major problem with them because with my CPR its horrible with it and takes me about 25 mins of playing around with it before i can get it stop!
 
There are people who say all Overflows are the same. That is not the case. There are design differences that make the Lifereef better than other U Tube overflows. Are there other good overflows? Yes there are. There are others that will also give you reliable service, but IMO, and knowing what the design differences are in the LR, they are the most reliable that you will find. The reputation they have speaks to that as well.

The gurgling will happen in any open standpipe type overflow. They have an Aqua silencer option that works well.
 
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