Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

i put this on another thread so sorry for duplicating....

hi all,

8 ft tank will have dart pump pumping around 3000 gal

i am thinking of doing the 3 lines in 1.5" to properly handle the flow...

what size do i need the box to properly accommodate the fittings and also to provide an extremely quiet flow into the box...

the box will be an in tank box plumbed out the back wall ..

also what is the space required behind the tank to properly plump the bulkeheads?

the other questions is what parts do i need if i am upsizing the photo shows 1 inch bulkheads, i will go 1.5.. do i just up everything the delta and the outside stuff is 2"
 
larryfl1 said:
i put this on another thread so sorry for duplicating....

hi all,

8 ft tank will have dart pump pumping around 3000 gal

i am thinking of doing the 3 lines in 1.5" to properly handle the flow...

what size do i need the box to properly accommodate the fittings and also to provide an extremely quiet flow into the box...

the box will be an in tank box plumbed out the back wall ..

also what is the space required behind the tank to properly plump the bulkeheads?

the other questions is what parts do i need if i am upsizing the photo shows 1 inch bulkheads, i will go 1.5.. do i just up everything the delta and the outside stuff is 2"
Click to expand...

I am planning something very similar, but have not finished my research.
Some data points:
1) It seems that 1000 GPH is almost, but not quite, full-siphon in 1.25" pipe.
(That was with a short 6" drop, and two 90-deg bends).
2) Couplings have smaller ID than pipe, and really mess things up.
So upsize those.
3) If your pipe is large and siphon velocity low, air gets caught in pipe,
and can keep the full siphon from ever starting.
Hope that helps.
 
And - if you got to the very first 5 pages of this L-O-N-G thread:cool: you will the answer to 90% of the questions that everyones asks. And - I mean before the thread split. The very first 5 pages.

I am in no way trying to be rude, I am trying to save you a lot of time.

Bean did a great job of putting pictures and words together in such
a way as to make this method practical for everyone (unless you do not have a sump below the tank:dance:)

T
 
Bean, as others noted, they drilled the hole to place the open drain higher than the siphon. I saw that your three holes were level. Have you noticed any problems with this?

I'll be running 1.5" piping for these with the 1" bulkhead, an in-tank overflow, so I'm not too fond of possibly drilling the open drain hole higher than the other two. I'll be using a plywood "template" for the hole drilling.
 
The only reason bean ran them all level is because that was a concept design he also has all his pipes able to function as open channels they can all be level and it will still operate perfectly it just may take longer for the siphon to get the air out of the system so if you raise the open up some it makes more water go into the siphon first therefore making it establish sooner.

I did the same thing as you pipe sizing wise and bulkhead size if you cruise over to my build you can see. I brought mine up by 1/4" it really is not that noticable.
 
bean,
just wanted to let you know that all I did was dremel another slit 1/8" lower on the full siphon line and not the full siphon has the time needed in a power outage to restart... it works every time as designed.

This drain system is probably the best one that exists out there. i continue to be amazed just how accurate and consistant it is. It keeps the water line in the trays right where it is adjusted to and can be fine tuned at any point. Love it! thanks again.
 
I do have to add one interesting fact about my system...

since i only have about 350 GPh overflowing over each wall when I simulate a cloged full siphon line the secondary never kicks into full siphon. I drilled my hole through the side wall of the pipe on my secondary so i don't have a loop. therefor in order for the secondaryt line to turn into a full siphon i must have enough water volume where the water level goes above the side hole, again since in my case I don't have the water volume it makes that gurgling noise...

I actually like this feature (happy accident :D) its like having a natural alarm that tells you something clogged the first line... FIX IT! otherwise, it may take some time to realize that you developed a clogg if the secondary is as quiet as the primary full siphon.

I think its important to realize though that if you have larger water volume to handle that can only be safely handled via a full siphon this meathod would NOT work. so kids don't try this at home :D
 
chimmike said:
Bean, as others noted, they drilled the hole to place the open drain higher than the siphon. I saw that your three holes were level. Have you noticed any problems with this?

I'll be running 1.5" piping for these with the 1" bulkhead, an in-tank overflow, so I'm not too fond of possibly drilling the open drain hole higher than the other two. I'll be using a plywood "template" for the hole drilling.
Click to expand...


Mine are all at the same level, and have no apparent problems. (all encompasses more than a couple systems.) It appears, bean did not have issues, with the original design, all being on the same level, either.

No two systems are ever quite the same, and though I have some ideas, I don't really want to speculate on why some systems have problems and others do not....

Jim
 
I understand that Bean has tested this system using 1" standpipes. Obviously, the 1.5" would be optimal, but would 1" be sufficient for a 40g? Return pump will be an Eheim 1262 with about 3-4ft head.
 
I think my only concern is with the actual drain to the sump through the siphon. I don't want it to be loud, but I don't want to submerge it and cause it to take a long time to re-create the siphon in a loss of power situation. So I'm thinking of drilling a hole in the siphon drain just above the water line in the sump...............but I'm not sure yet. Maybe I'll enclose the drain with a larger pipe, submerge that pipe, and drill a hole in that above the water line.
 
coralcruze said:
I do have to add one interesting fact about my system...

since i only have about 350 GPh overflowing over each wall when I simulate a cloged full siphon line the secondary never kicks into full siphon.
I actually like this feature (happy accident :D) its like having a natural alarm that tells you something clogged the first line... FIX IT! otherwise, it may take some time to realize that you developed a clogg if the secondary is as quiet as the primary full siphon.
Click to expand...

If the secondary kicks into fail-safe mode as a full siphon, it will flush the overflow box and then usually begin to gurgle as the siphon rate is MUCH higher than the return pump.... so it will be very noisy :)
 
BeanAnimal said:
If the secondary kicks into fail-safe mode as a full siphon, it will flush the overflow box and then usually begin to gurgle as the siphon rate is MUCH higher than the return pump.... so it will be very noisy :)
Click to expand...

so what you are saying is that this wasnt an accident... This is actually the way the secondary was designed in the first place? basically its designed to gurgle... how cool is that? :lol2:

in my case since there is such little water going over the wall and into the tray the secondary only full siphons for mear seconds in a simulated clogg situation than starts its nasty loud gurgle alarm to warn you of a clogged primary.

Hey, I think you should mention this feature on your web... unless its already in there. This feature makes it a no brainer. everyone should implement this system into thier tank, i just don't see why anyone wouldn't.
 
With this system, what size return pump would be best on a 75g tank? Also, is it ok to make the overflow box out of acrylic for a glass tank?
 
I have a 75g and am doing a BeanAnimal overflow. I plan on using an Eheim 1260 as the return. I'll be using 1" bulkheads with 1.5" pipes on the drain.
 
poppafish29 said:
I have a 75g and am doing a BeanAnimal overflow. I plan on using an Eheim 1260 as the return. I'll be using 1" bulkheads with 1.5" pipes on the drain.
Click to expand...

Ah ok that definitely helps.

Another quick question though, would a Mag 7 pump with 1" PVC drains work just as well?
 
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