How to make HOB overflow flood proof?

[rolikesfish]

How can I make my HOB overflow box flood proof? Like I am not sure what I have to do to make it flood proof. I don't know what to do, I do not want water all over my floor. Can someone send me a site with some pics of videos? Also would a HOB overflow be the best option?

 

[muttley000]

throw it away and drill the tank :rollface:

 

[stevek480]

I was thinking the same thing when I read the thread title. I'm not sure an overflow box can ever be 100% flood-proof, but I've heard the LifeReef overflow boxes are the best.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I second both posts above... It will never be flood proof. Neither will drilling a tank, but it is a lot closer.

 

[sjm817]

Get a good overflow (Lifereef) and set it up properly with the right amount of flow. This is as good as it gets with HOB.

 

[outy]

i made my cpr almost %99 flood proof which is as good as it gets and I never had a issue in a few years before I drilled.

I used a aqualifter down by the sump, there was always a syphon going so the aqualifter didnt have to even turn on. if to many airbubbles were present it worked perfect and I unplugged my system time and time again to try and get a hiccup out of it and couldnt

 

[sedor]

Best way to flood proof your system is to drill your sump near the top and add a drain that will lead either outside or to a drain in the home. Unfortunately this is not a reasonable solution for the location of most peoples tanks and if your going to do that you might as well just drill the tank. It is possible to drill a set up tank it just makes it a little tougher.

 

[cirionrc]

cpr makes one that has a piece on top of the siphon tube that you connect a vacuum pump to (really cheap). Sometimes bubbles collect in the siphon tube and then over time it will cut off siphon, but this pump will continuously clear out air of the tube so siphon will be maintained. Also, in an event of a power outage, all flow stops, but sump pump will overflow your tank and no siphon. But with CPR the vacuum pump will suck the air out of tube and hence suck in water and start the siphon. CPR makes an awesome one. Not very expensive either.

 

[sjm817]

The CPR overflows which can not maintain a siphon without the aid of a an active device such as an Aqualifter are what have caused so many problems. A well designed overflow wont accumulate air to begin with and has no need for a vacuum pump to remove it. In other words, the vacuum pump on the CPR is there to fix a problem a siphon overflow shouldn't have.

 

[RichardJ]

I don't about how to make anything 100% "proof" but "sedor" has the ideal way in my mind. Here's what I did..

the lifter pump is continuously pulling water (and air if it there) from the top of the "U" in the overflow box. When you do this.. just make sure that you position the output tube of the lifter pump in a place the doesn't put more air bubbles into the system. I use the green screen material (you can see in the lower photo) to hold the output tube in place. This works for me.

RJ

 

[vikubz]

Get a U-tube overflow. As long as your pump has enough flow you won't get any bubbles trapped, and the U-tube will not lose siphon when the power goes off.

 

[Robb_In_AZ]

drill the tank for sure. CPR overflows failed on me several times in a couple years for various reasons. This was back in the 90's though, maybe CPR boxes have improved, but Ill never go back.

 

[hardimanm]

The best advice is once it is set up....test...test...test. Cut off the return and test to make sure the backflow does not flood the sump and your overflow box is at the right level to stop flow from the DT
Make sure you have siphon breaks set up on your return line. Drill a hole in the return just below the water level to prevent backflow. And make sure your sump can hold the excess water in case of failure in the return pump or the overflow

 

[vegasr]

Get a good overflow (Lifereef) and set it up properly with the right amount of flow. This is as good as it gets with HOB.

I bought a new Lifereef Overflow last month and it is great. Excellent build quality and works perfectly.

Too bad I'm going to sell it as I upgraded to a tank that has a built in overflow.