Overflow

[30mini]

Was looking to drill into the back of my 46 Bow front for overflows. I was going to be using 1" bulkheads for the drains. My idea is to cut two or three holes, the have a 90 elbow facing up and that being used as the overflow. Will this work okay? I would have a T outside the tank for more airflow on each drain to try and reduce the noise. Any criticism is appreciated.

 

[wiggie89]

your surfing skimming wont be as good as a box. But it will work

 

[30mini]

Would I be able to get more surface skimming if I were to make a box the length of the tank, making the bottom about 2 inches below the bottom of the elbo?

 

[tack-msv]

I tried the elbows only, and wiggie is right. Surface skimming suffers tremendously without the box. I just drilled out the in-tank portion of an old overflow box to match the tank holes. Used the bulkheads to attach the box to the tank and that did the trick. If the tank wasn't already up and running, I would have siliconed around the box to prevent detritus and such from getting between the box and tank. A box the whole length would work awesome! Two inches is about exactly the distance from the bottom of the bulkheads to the bottom of my box.

 

[30mini]

That's what I'll try then... it's gonna be a fun project!! Looking forward to doing this... will have pictures to accompany while it is in progress! Just have to wait for my diamond bits to get here, then it's off to the races!!

 

[aroundtuit]

Check out this link for a Calfo/horizontal overflow. There's lots to read, but some really good ideas and info.

 

[30mini]

Thanks aroundtuit! There are actually a couple of designs in there like the one that i'm planning. I'll try and get a picture on here of what it is, that way you all can critique and give me some other options/ideas on what to do!

 

[30mini]

idea!

idea!

here is my design. Let me know what you think

 

[30mini]

bump

 

[tack-msv]

Looks good to me. Some people have varying opinions on teeth or just a weir, but you can decide on that for yourself.

 

[30mini]

Was thinking about just a wier, easier to make with glass, then putting some eggcrate all the way across to keep snails out.