Overflow kit questions?

[~RuSh~]

What's up guys. I received my (glass-holes.com) overflow kit in the mail a few days ago. Just browsing through it I realized that I doesn't have any emergency drain in the overflow... thought I was getting the one with the emergency drain, but I must have just clicked and bought, I was admittedly a tad excited and just clicked away.

I'd like to add an emergency drain using the kit I have. I was thinking I would just drill a hole next to the overflow box and plumb a pvc elbow into the inside of the tank turned upward (think I've seen this type of emergency drain in others videos).

Questions - can I use a smaller PVC diameter than the main drain? Or should I stick with the 3/4"?

Does it matter if I drill the emergency drain hole at the same level as the overflow box if the pvc elbow is higher than the teeth of the overflow? Or should I just automatically plan to drill the emergency drain hole an inch or so higher?

Any other tips? Comments I need to know about?

 

[JohnZena]

What's up guys. I received my (glass-holes.com) overflow kit in the mail a few days ago. Just browsing through it I realized that I doesn't have any emergency drain in the overflow... thought I was getting the one with the emergency drain, but I must have just clicked and bought, I was admittedly a tad excited and just clicked away.

I'd like to add an emergency drain using the kit I have. I was thinking I would just drill a hole next to the overflow box and plumb a pvc elbow into the inside of the tank turned upward (think I've seen this type of emergency drain in others videos).

Questions - can I use a smaller PVC diameter than the main drain? Or should I stick with the 3/4"?

Does it matter if I drill the emergency drain hole at the same level as the overflow box if the pvc elbow is higher than the teeth of the overflow? Or should I just automatically plan to drill the emergency drain hole an inch or so higher?

Any other tips? Comments I need to know about?

I would use the same diameter pipe and drill it the same height as the drain. What matters is the height of the emergency drain. It should be higher than the main drain. How much higher? An inch or so if you have the room.

Sent from my LGMP450 using Tapatalk

 

[~RuSh~]

So drill the two holes level, but raise the height of the PVC elbow above the overflow about an inch?

 

[nereefpat]

Is there an external component to this overflow, or do you just have an internal box with external pvc?

Are you wanting to run a syphon drain?

 

[~RuSh~]

Is there an external component to this overflow, or do you just have an internal box with external pvc?

Are you wanting to run a syphon drain?

External sump below the stand. 20g high. Not familiar with a siphon drain? The overflow box is drilled so it should work via gravity?

Like I said I'll be using the glass-holes (complete-in-and-out) system. Allows for 700gph.

 

[nereefpat]

I was just wondering about the overflow box.

If you aren't running a syphon drain system (Herbi, Bean, etc) then I don't see the need for an emergency. Emergency drains are for people running a syphon, in case the syphon gets clogged.

 

[~RuSh~]

Isn't there still a threat of a gravity drain being plugged?

 

[BMills15]

Sounds like you may want to do a little more research to figure out what type of overflow you want to go with. The link below goes over the major two used to my knowledge.

https://blog.marinedepot.com/education-center/charts-diagrams/durso-herbie-bean-animal-overflow

 

[~RuSh~]

I have the overflow already. I guess I was under the impression that drilled overflows are just as likely to clog as siphon overflows but I guess that isn't the case?

 

[nereefpat]

I was hoping somebody else would chime in on this.

The drain you are running is just a gravity drain with a durso-type standpipe, yes?

These drains typically have low flow going through them. Higher flows make them loud. At these low flows, the potential to clog is lower than a syphon drain. And if they do partially clog, it can still usually handle more flow...it will just be loud/er. You should never run a syphon without an emergency. People who run non-syphon drains (durso, stockman, etc) don't usually have emergency drains.

 

[~RuSh~]

http://www.glass-holes.com/images/700 mounted side.jpg

This is pretty much exactly what I have. ^^

 

[nereefpat]

I wouldn't try to incorporate an emergency drain into that. I would probably put some mesh over the top to keep snails and fish from getting into the box and call it good.

 

[~RuSh~]

Sounds good. It actually has mesh that comes with it.