Overflow questions

[jrp1588]

I'm going to be moving in the next few months, and since I have to tear down my tank to move, I figured it would be a good time to get a tank that doesn't have nasty scratched up glass. I currently have a brand new Marineland 75gal sitting in my basement, back glass painted black, ready to go.

I'm wanting to get away from my noisy eshopps HOB overflow. I'm fairly sure only the bottom glass is tempered on this tank, so I should be able to do some drilling. What would you suggest? I want it to be as quiet as possible while still getting good flow. I've been looking at the Glass-Holes 700gph overflow, but I've read a lot of reviews saying it's noisy, and an equal amount of reviews saying it's silent. I really like it's small in tank footprint though.

I'd also like to drill for the return line to eliminate all the crap I have hanging over the rim of my tank. This would probably be a couple inches below the water's surface, how do I keep a siphon from forming during a power outage and flooding my sump? With my current over the rim return, simply drilled a small hole near the surface to break the siphon, but with a drilled return, I don't see a way to do it.

 

[Lynnmw1208]

I have the glass-holes 1500gph overflow and it's not noisy imo. Of course it depends on how you plumb it. I get a little bit of a trickling noise because I have my drain pipes running straight down. I also got the 3/4" return kit with the loc-lines and the flare nozzles. Definitely great value! For reference, I would make a wooden template to drill. It would probably be much easier than creating a little notch like I did.

 

[Lmart]

You should look up the "bean animal" silent overflow thread

 

[jrp1588]

looked at it, it looks expensive though.

 

[cm11599ps]

Get a large enough sump to handle any siphoning.

 

[jrp1588]

well i guess that would work. hope my sump is big enough

 

[jlong11]

they have valves that only open one way to prevent the siphon so u dont have to worry about that but i forgot what there called maybe someone can help

 

[jrp1588]

Check valve, when i first started I installed a spring type. All the deposits froze it open. There are flapper types that would probably work better, but I've read they are not to be trusted

 

[Lynnmw1208]

you guys talking about gate valves?

 

[cm11599ps]

You're talking about check valves. They are designed to only allow water in one direction. While they may work on a brand new install, I wouldn't trust them on a tank that's been operational for any length of time because things will collect in the tubing/piping and the valves won't work properly. They may close a little, but not all the way so the tank would still siphon, just at a slower rate.

Get a larger sump and have no fear.

 

[jrp1588]

Well, the sump is a standard 29gal which is going under a 75gal tank. the return will be only a couple inches under the surface. The sump is roughly half full while running. I think I'll be alright.

Back to the overflow. I'm wanting the 700gph unit, mostly for the simplicity of only having one tube to deal with and one hole to drill (never drilled before, very nervous.) My return pump is a mag 9.5, currently dialed back to 500gph with a ball valve. How noisy will the glass-holes overflow be at this level or a bit more?