Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

No the overflow will NOT adhere to the paint. The paint will not likely last INSIDE the overflow. You still must have an INTERNAL box to create the weir, just use dark glass to build it.
 
These are all really good questions. For Andrew, you need to silicone your drain box on before painting, and yes, it's impossible to hide those glue seams. I'm not sure how you think you will cut a slot in the glass unless you have some kind of cutter I'm unaware of. For my acrylic, it was no problem, eliminated the need for an internal weir. A router worked just fine for cutting acrylic. And painting the inside with fusion paint is no problem for acrylic either. Structurally it worked out fine, I left 2" of material below the center brace to keep everything tied together.

Your idea for mounting an acrylic panel is a good one, could even be glass which would be my preferrence if you could get smoked glass. Otherwise black acrylic for sure. Since I doubt you can slot glass I think you're going to be stuck with building an internal weir in some format or another - coast to coast, corner box, center box, etc.

What most do is build their rock-scaping to hide what shows on the tank backs, or the have an internal weir with drain holes in it so they are hidden. Then the back of the tank can simply be painted color of choice, black being by far the most common.

For fishman, an internal box or weir is not needed if you can slot the back. As mentioned, I'm not aware of a way to do that with a glass tank.

The biggest advantage of a long spillway, either a coast to coast internal weir, or a larger or multiple internal overflow, is the surface skimming you gain. That was one of the things I was trying to accomplish, and with two 11" long slots I get 22" of spillway to surface skim. Works really well BTW.
 
Thanks,
Yeah I saw someone in a post on here who started by drilling two holes then used a diamond bit on a dremel to connect the holes by carveing out a slot to make a long slit. Seemed like it would take forever and may just be more work than its worth.

Maybe I should just do a small internal box. I was hoping to maximize tank space. You guys think smoked glass is dark enough to hide the plumbing with Metal Halides shining on it all from above?

Andrew
 
TheFishMan65 said:
Why must you have an internal box? Seems a slot along the top would do as well - maybe not structurally.
Click to expand...

I missed the part about him cutting a slot... no internal box is needed, but you must be very aware of structure (the reason most folks shy away from the slot when all is said and done) :)
 
cpandrewschmidt said:
Thanks,
Yeah I saw someone in a post on here who started by drilling two holes then used a diamond bit on a dremel to connect the holes by carveing out a slot to make a long slit. Seemed like it would take forever and may just be more work than its worth.

Maybe I should just do a small internal box. I was hoping to maximize tank space. You guys think smoked glass is dark enough to hide the plumbing with Metal Halides shining on it all from above?

Andrew
Click to expand...

You would use a diamond hole saw to cut the corner radius on each end and then connect the holes with a diamond (continuous rim) blade on a circular saw or angle grinder. Your skill with the tool and/or the jig or straight edge will determine how well the cut comes out or if the tank survives.
 
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Thanks for the clarification guys. I don't have one of these yet (my next tank will), but I enjoy the discussions and think I understand it the design.
 
So what is everyone doing to prevent fish from taking the plunge over and through the falls. I just found my clown sitting I in my filter sock he if still alive a little bagged up but should be good.

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canopy is complete for my new 72g bow front. Now on to this step. Picking up all the parts this coming week. Biggest question I can think of at this point is what size return pump to use?? Mag5? I'm guessing 1" return line should be fine.

Thanks for answering my previous questions.

Gus
 

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How many return lines? I have a mag 5 running one of my returns, but a rio2100 running the other and the fuge t off. I don't think a mag 5 would do two return lines. I ran 1 inch return lines as well.
 
I guess that is preference. Forgive me, what size tank? Mine on the 120 has a return at each end. You could do one in the middle and loc line it in different directions. Mine shoot straight out and the powerheads take care of it from there.
 
Well thinking about it, here is my reasoning.

One pump does wonders and is powerful. You'll most likely get more head, be able to t off without issue, and MAY be cheaper.
Running two gives a little more flexibility. If one goes, you still have water flowing back into DT. You can mix and match flow for your areas. They are more readily available locally.

One return pumps a bunch of water to one spot. Two returns breaks it up and let's you customize it a little. Either way you loc line it if you want.
 
ram1500 said:
canopy is complete for my new 72g bow front. Now on to this step. Picking up all the parts this coming week. Biggest question I can think of at this point is what size return pump to use?? Mag5? I'm guessing 1" return line should be fine.

Thanks for answering my previous questions.

Gus
Click to expand...

I had to look up the mag 5 to find it's rated at 500gph. Depending on the height of your stand, you're going to lose a big chunck of that volume in head pressure.

Everywhere I read about pumps they raved about Eheim. They're bloody expensive but I found a deal on ebay for a 1260 ($125) which is rated for 650. My stand is 42" tall, plus the tank, puts the lift at 5', so the calcs say 450gph. It is dead silent, and I am very pleased with the volume it puts out. I used 3/4" vinyl hose and a single return, over the top so it could be drilled to stop back siphoning for power off.

Frankly I think splitting the return for that low of a volume doesn't really gain much. For tank movement I will have two of the Sicce Voyager pumps, got one 800gph in there now, will add another eventually and put them on timers or a controller for some psuedo wave/tide flow movement. Cheap and easy to do, very effective. The Sicce powerheads are really a nice unit as well. Also dead silent. My skimmer venturi makes more noise than all the pumps running.

Bottom line is that I think the mag 5 is a little small. I would recommend a mag 7 if you have to have a danner, even a 9 if you want to split off some flow to run other accessories. A 9 is a bit much if it's just going to be thru the sump. Again, I will say the same thing everyone else does, the eheims are really nice, the 1260 is ideal for that size tank.
 
I saw a lot of people have problems with painting the back glass of the overflow.I had the same problem, and i solved it by payting with black aquarium slicone.It is not toxic, it is resistent and it sticks to the glass very well.I took a plastic card, i put black silicone on it, and stretched on the glass.Let is dry 1-2 days, and you will have a black glass.
 
Eheim 3000 would work and it is dead silent. The Eheim compacts also have the ability to be dialed back which is a great feature.
Marineland has utility pumps that are dead silent too.
 
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