Overflow Idea

[bubba3085]

I am new to salt water and am currently lurking the forums trying to design my first setup. I am trying to be as patient as possible so I buy equipment that will last and work the first time. Typically I rush into hobbies and waste money; being that this stuff can get expensive I am trying to learn as much as possible and I would love some feedback on what I have come up with for my overflow.

I found a lot of old threads about a PVC "coast-to-coast" and I really like the idea and how low profile it looks in the tank. When painted to match the back wall it virtually disappears. Being that I am building a 29 gallon display I don't need a crazy amount of flow but I figured I would run two overflows; one siphoning and the other surface skimming. I will put a ball valve on the siphon in order to control the amount of water being handled by the surface skimming overflow. I haven't purchased anything yet so if this is a terrible idea for any reason please let me know. Typically the cons I've read about this kind of overflow are that they are noisy when handling too much water which shouldn't be a problem here. The tank will be in my living room so quiet and clean (i.e. no wires or pipes) is what I am shooting for. With a rimless tank and no hood I am going to have to get creative to keep it as clean as possible.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. :beer:

 

[bubba3085]

Maybe if I share some knowledge you'll be more likely to share with me.

Here is a great video about O2. You'll learn something or your money back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IkMg9cWk40&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[TundraGuy]

Ok bro you opened this up to opinion so here is mine. I see you want to run the Mp10 on your tank. This is a great device, love them. If you’re going to go for a wave motion in your tank the mp10 can make one in a 29. The things that kill the wave are rock placement and the overflow placement. With a cost to cost you will kill the wave not to mention create a very annoying sloping sound as some of the water rushes into the open slit in the top of the overflow. The second thing I see a problem with is your wanting to do a open siphon inside the tank. Its true this is the least noise producing way of removing water and you get the bonus of having no micro bubbles in the sump, but your operating on the pressure through a valve to be stable and a set rate. With the opening of the siphon being in the tank you’re exposed to clogging the opening. This is a no no. I would req you look into a bean animal set up. All the draw backs have been removed in this design. I have set these up and can tell you when built correctly you get a small box inside the tank, a failsafe for problem (like clogs, power loss, pump failures), silence from the overflow (literally), and they can handle a lot of flow. Plus looks like your creative so why not build a creative box to act as the work horse. Like you could make the box with only three sides, the two sides of the box could be cut into elongated triangles and the front could be one piece glued to these triangles and an angle. To make this work you would need to build an external bean animal. That would give you the smallest in tank foot print with all the pros of the bean animal and still get you the wave (if your into that).

 

[bubba3085]

Thanks. I am starting to realize its too hard to overcome the drawbacks of this type of surface skimmer. I am looking into the bean animal overflow; I am still trying to keep it as non-intrusive as possible. I will look into an "external bean" as even with a street 90 and drilling 1.5" from the top of the tank, which might be risky, would still yield a 5" deep box. I'd like to keep the overflow inside the tank as the tank is going to butt against a wall and be plumbed through to the sump. I am going to have to accept function over form to some extent here.

Thanks again for your reply.