Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

A silicone grease suitable for potable water. They sell it in the plumbing sections of any hardware store. You don't need a lot, just enough to make it shiny and a bit slick.
 
You have an air leak somewhere. I would check the unions and make sure the orings are greased and the connection is tight, but don't crank down on it or you will destroy the oring. Check the glued joints. I had to put a wrap or two of Teflon tape on the street elbow inside the overflow to stop it from pulling air.

i am going to replace a section just below the union where it sounds the loudest...it looks a little crooked, but other than that i have no idea how to find an air leak...
 
i am going to replace a section just below the union where it sounds the loudest...it looks a little crooked, but other than that i have no idea how to find an air leak...

If I were you, I would quit messing with it, and start over. The air leak could be anywhere in the line. At this point you are just chasing your tail; the union merely upping the turbulence enough for it to exacerbate the problem. The air leak could be a pin hole in a glue joint—something you are not going to be able to locate.

The biggest thing I would change is the hard pipe to flex transition. Due to the sudden pressure drop, when the water exits the barb fitting, they tend to act as venturis (ETSS downdraft skimmers used barb fittings for the venturi) that can suck air in passed any seals/clamping you use, and will cause noise as well.

I also do not recommend unions be used in drain lines. Their usefulness is very questionable, and well designed drain lines can be serviced from above, not requiring disassembly. Quality valves can be serviced in place as well, as they disassemble in place.
 
If I were you, I would quit messing with it, and start over. The air leak could be anywhere in the line. At this point you are just chasing your tail; the union merely upping the turbulence enough for it to exacerbate the problem. The air leak could be a pin hole in a glue joint—something you are not going to be able to locate.

The biggest thing I would change is the hard pipe to flex transition. Due to the sudden pressure drop, when the water exits the barb fitting, they tend to act as venturis (ETSS downdraft skimmers used barb fittings for the venturi) that can suck air in passed any seals/clamping you use, and will cause noise as well.

I also do not recommend unions be used in drain lines. Their usefulness is very questionable, and well designed drain lines can be serviced from above, not requiring disassembly. Quality valves can be serviced in place as well, as they disassemble in place.

There is no hard pipe to flex in my drains. What I am going to do, is redo the entire main siphon from the bulkhead to the union. The union I purchased at HD is the one on the drain now and is a piece of junk compared to the one I just purchased at Lowes. I am still going to try to use unions as I think being able to break down the drains is important if I am to ever move with this tank.

If this doesnt work, then i know that the air leak must be below the union and at that point i will redo that if needed.
 
There is no hard pipe to flex in my drains. What I am going to do, is redo the entire main siphon from the bulkhead to the union. The union I purchased at HD is the one on the drain now and is a piece of junk compared to the one I just purchased at Lowes. I am still going to try to use unions as I think being able to break down the drains is important if I am to ever move with this tank.

If this doesnt work, then i know that the air leak must be below the union and at that point i will redo that if needed.

I was probably crossing up threads...that happens on occasion. If it does not apply, do ignore it. :)
 
Design question. Currently restricted with space within my internal overflow and I have 2'' stand pipes and bulkheads in place. The problem I am running into is the there is not enough space to fit the elbows in there I have even gone down to a 1 1/2 and it is still not fitting, I can go down to a 1 inch but I feel it will restrict too much flow.

I can probably deal with it on the emergency standpipe but can I leave the elbow off completely and just use the open ended bulkhead on the other 2? or will this cause problems?
 
I was probably crossing up threads...that happens on occasion. If it does not apply, do ignore it. :)

i just replaced everything i mentioned above, same problems. im losing faith. my gate valve is thread thread with a bunch of teflon paste. I dont know if thats the issue or not. it definitely sounds like a water fall though, so im assuming it is not working properly....should i not use a union at all? i dont know where i could be going wrong. no screw cap even, slip!
 
can my return pump not be strong enough? I feel like it is really weak...its a quiet one 4000, but it is really used, bought off craigslist
 
Take a flashlight.... look into the overflow box... I bet bubbles are forming due to the waterfall and being sucked into the siphon.
 
^^ this is the reason why the next one I build will have a deeper external box. The weir waterfall does this unless I put a piece of plastic canvas in the box to break the water's fall...then it runs bubble free
 
Alright I almost have my setup complete but need a couple pointers. I remember reading somewhere that I can only put a valve on my full siphon line and leave it off my open channel and emergency line. Am I remembering correctly? Also in regard to; my three slip street elbows in the overflow; do I need to glue them in? I am running a reeflo super dart gold return pump and was wondering, will I need turn my return valve down on the pump or will this overflow handle all of the flow? Thanks in advance for the replies.
 
Alright I almost have my setup complete but need a couple pointers. I remember reading somewhere that I can only put a valve on my full siphon line and leave it off my open channel and emergency line. Am I remembering correctly? Also in regard to; my three slip street elbows in the overflow; do I need to glue them in? I am running a reeflo super dart gold return pump and was wondering, will I need turn my return valve down on the pump or will this overflow handle all of the flow? Thanks in advance for the replies.

??????
 

You can include valves on the open channel and emergency for maintenance but they do not have a functional purpose with regards to the drain system. The slip elbows do not need to be glued, and I wouldn't advise it.

The actual flow rate of your pump will depend on many factors but the system can handle at least 2000gph as designed.

Edit: I thought I had read that Bean had tested it up to 3000gph but I can't find it. The article states he typically runs 2000gph through his.
 
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No the siphon should be silent... or nearly silent. If air is getting sucked in, or it is cavitating, it will not be silent.

Bean- I have redone the plumbing 3 times now and still have the same issues.

could it be the size of my over flow, the strength of my pump, and the size of my plumbing that is not allowing for the siphon to start? the pump seems very slow, the overflow is 4x4x48, and the plumbing is all 1.5''. I am thinking that i do not have enough volume initially to start the siphon. what do you think?

thanks a bunch, btw, im really really tired of cutting 1.5" pvc with 1 & 5/8th's cutters....
 
Bean- I have redone the plumbing 3 times now and still have the same issues.

could it be the size of my over flow, the strength of my pump, and the size of my plumbing that is not allowing for the siphon to start? the pump seems very slow, the overflow is 4x4x48, and the plumbing is all 1.5''. I am thinking that i do not have enough volume initially to start the siphon. what do you think?

thanks a bunch, btw, im really really tired of cutting 1.5" pvc with 1 & 5/8th's cutters....

There have been other reports of starting issues, with lower flow rates and large bulkheads. In terms of bulkhead size, unless you are targeting flow rates up towards 2000 gph, you don't need bulkheads over 1" in size. (max flow for a 1" bulkhead is ~ 1500 gph or so at 24"/1667gph max theoretical.) It could be you are being victimized by this syndrome, although it seems to be hit and miss.

One of the nice things about siphon systems, this one in particular, is though there are many variables, there are a finite number of things that can cause issues. There is also a "session fallback" e.g. the original design. In troubleshooting, beyond the basic "biggies" such as air leaks, outlet depth in the sump, horizontal runs, etc. Look at deviations from the original design. It is not a hopeless endeavor, as the number of potential problem areas is finite, as I said; it is the results that can be somewhat unpredictable.
 
I have a couple questions. Ive got my Beananimal overflow set up installed. Everything is dead on the right height. Im using a larger custom built acrylic overflow box. It is set at the right levels for my weater height. I can get the overflow to eventually get going but it takes forever to do so. Im running a Laguna 2000 with about 5ish feet of head. Its running about 1400-1500 gph. I love it when it finally gets going but sometimes its like it takes an hour or so to get where the main siphon and the second siphon are doing the job. I get some gurgling but the water level rises. So I adjust the true gate valve and it gets completley silent. BUT if I kill the power to the pump and restart it.. It takes forever for it to finally get going. Im trying to figure out what im doing that causes this delay. I love the set up when its flowing right. All I hear is just a little water over the overflow noise.

Is the air tube only for air or is it designed to suck water if the level in the overflow hits a certain level? Does the main siphon with the adjustment need to be in the middle? Or can I put any of the pipes anywhere in reguards to each other?

Really would like this to be easier for the dial in time and not have an issue everytime I power things down.

The system is a 125g tank. 55 gallon sump/wet dry. Its for a fresh water set up. (I know.. lol, But no one talks about this on the forum im normally on) Its a laguna 2000 pump running at about 1500gph flow right now. I used the 1.5 inch drain tubes with a 1.25 elbows in the overflow box with 1.5 bulkhedas with a reducer. The return is 1" Currently I have the main adjustable siphon on the outer side the secondary drain with the hose in the middle and the emergency overflow on the innner side of the overflow. Overflow claims to be good for 2400gph. When it works and I get it to FINALLY do what its supposed to. It has no issues handling everything the pump can put out and more.

Just trying to figure out what I have not right. Thanks ahead for helping a "Freshie Cichlid guy" out,
 
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