Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

[Mrramsey]

I just want final validation before I drill this puppy. Is 1.5 inch PVC and bulkheads ok or too much?

Regards
Michael

I'm no expert here but unless you are wanting to exceed 1800-2000 Gph there is no need to deviate from beans original design. I would assume that this would work fine but I cannot say for sure and it would be better answered by someone who has. I too would not mind clarification as I am preparing to drill a 120 of my own.

 

[bmooney31]

Ok I originally set up my system a year ago, and while I thought it was working properly after reading a little more I'm wrong. I'm getting bubbles from my drain lines so I know I have to work on that, but my main concern is my return pump. I have a 220 and a 125 sump, and I made the mistake of buying way too big of a return pump. My pump is rated at 4100 at 0 head loss. I do have it feeding a manifold that goes to three reactors and then through a ball valve and on up and splits to two runs into the tank. I have the ball valve after the reactors dialed way back to decrease the amount of flow from my returns. My Bean system is actually silent but I know it's now correct, and its time to fix it. My questions is what are the problems of having too large or a pump? Also what are the problems with having the pump dialed back so much if I'm able to match the flow with the valve on my siphon to quiet the system down? Please let me know cause at this point I think I'm going to have to downsize my pump. If that is the case does anyone know a good calculation to figure the flow needed to run three reactors and 2 returns off 1 pump? Thanks in advance

Bob

 

[Mrramsey]

Ok I originally set up my system a year ago, and while I thought it was working properly after reading a little more I'm wrong. I'm getting bubbles from my drain lines so I know I have to work on that, but my main concern is my return pump. I have a 220 and a 125 sump, and I made the mistake of buying way too big of a return pump. My pump is rated at 4100 at 0 head loss. I do have it feeding a manifold that goes to three reactors and then through a ball valve and on up and splits to two runs into the tank. I have the ball valve after the reactors dialed way back to decrease the amount of flow from my returns. My Bean system is actually silent but I know it's now correct, and its time to fix it. My questions is what are the problems of having too large or a pump? Also what are the problems with having the pump dialed back so much if I'm able to match the flow with the valve on my siphon to quiet the system down? Please let me know cause at this point I think I'm going to have to downsize my pump. If that is the case does anyone know a good calculation to figure the flow needed to run three reactors and 2 returns off 1 pump? Thanks in advance

Bob

My pump is oversized for my return as well. I have a tee just above the pump on the return that just dumps back into my sump. I use a ball valve on the run back to the sump to alleviate the excess pressure on the pump rather than restrict the flow on the return to the tank.

 

[bmooney31]

I have another question. Are you supposed to glue the elbows into the bulkheads on the drains in the overflow box? I didn't know if not glueing then is the cause of my bubble from the drains. Thought they might be drawing air

 

[Mrramsey]

Yes mine are glued in. I did think about just using a little silicone on those elbows just to make them removable but decided to just glue them.

 

[MattM3]

Thanks for the input uncle.

 

[mmn]

I'm no expert here but unless you are wanting to exceed 1800-2000 Gph there is no need to deviate from beans original design. I would assume that this would work fine but I cannot say for sure and it would be better answered by someone who has. I too would not mind clarification as I am preparing to drill a 120 of my own.

Didn't really think of it as a deviation. He said he used 1" bulkheads because that's what he had on hand. But that's why I'm asking!

Regards
Michael

 

[Mrramsey]

Didn't really think of it as a deviation. He said he used 1" bulkheads because that's what he had on hand. But that's why I'm asking!

Regards
Michael

It would make assembly simpler for sure not having to deal with bushings and reducers. I think it will be fine because the dynamics are the same. I may just use 1.25" for mine.

 

[mmn]

It would make assembly simpler for sure not having to deal with bushings and reducers. I think it will be fine because the dynamics are the same. I may just use 1.25" for mine.

Guess I could always reduce it if needed. Hard to enlarge it though!


Regards
Michael

 

[Powdermonkey]

At what depth should the full siphon be under water. From top of weir to bottom of overflow is 8.25". Thanks!

 

[Mrramsey]

At what depth should the full siphon be under water. From top of weir to bottom of overflow is 8.25". Thanks!

I don't think there is a set depth. My water level in the overflow is about 1.25" below the overflow weir, which is just to the top of the 90 degree elbow of the main channel.

 

[ohioreef71]

I'm loving my beananimal setup with one drawback. I need a way to keep fish from going over I've seen the eggcrate stuff but is there anything better. My new royal gramma took 2 trips over and on the 2nd trip he was unlucky enough to get sucked into my skimmer intake,all that was left was half a purple body. This is also a reason I don't run filter socks so if a fish does go over they won't get tumbled to death. Any feedback or pics will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mrramsey]

I'm loving my beananimal setup with one drawback. I need a way to keep fish from going over I've seen the eggcrate stuff but is there anything better. My new royal gramma took 2 trips over and on the 2nd trip he was unlucky enough to get sucked into my skimmer intake,all that was left was half a purple body. This is also a reason I don't run filter socks so if a fish does go over they won't get tumbled to death. Any feedback or pics will be greatly appreciated.

You know I saw a really cool idea somewhere but am going to do it on my new build as well as my other bean overflow. They had cut glass to cover the top of the overflow like a lid. They used clear adhesive pads like you would use under the base of something on a table to make a stand off. This left a 1/4" or so gap for the water to flow through. This was the least restrictive idea I have seen.

I tried eggcrate as well as the black gutter mesh but nothing looked as good as the glass. They also restricted the flow over the weir to some degree. I hope I described that well enough.

 

[monkiboy]

are you using an external overflow box? if so like me, i just use a strainer on the 100% siphon.

 

[Mrramsey]

I tried strainers on mine and while it did keep the fish from being sucked into the sump, I get tired of fishing them out of the overflow.

 

[Kyle918]

So I have redone my plumbing and filled back up with tap water for a test. Everything is much much quieter than before. Thank you for all the tips guys.

One thing though, the system is only dead silent when only the main syphon is used. If the open channel is used as water rises in the overflow box, it creates water noise. The ball valves of course make this annoying to fine tune but I heard gate valves are leaky at times...

Am I doing anything wrong with the open channel or does it just require than much fine tuning to get the flow just right in that channel to not cause noise?

 

[Dolinka]

Bean animal for 90"x 30"x22"

Bean animal for 90"x 30"x22"

Hi,
I'm planing to upgrade from my 125G to 230G.
The new tank will be in wall, visible 2 faces (long face). I like bean animal overflow that I have on my 125G tank. On the new thank, is it possible to have a simple bean animal overflow on one side (short side) ? or 2 on each opposite side?
And is it better to have two return on opposite side or a simple one?

And if it is possible to have only one overflow and return, is it better to have them on same side or opposite side?

The sump will be under the tank et the return pump, maybe Eheim compact + 5000 or more.

Thanks!

 

[Kyle918]

Spent some time playing with the system and it is now running completely silent and using the open channel for an extremely small amount of flow. The ball ways made this very tedious to accomplish so I may switch it out for a gate valve. I can always but the ball valve back should I need to since I would be replacing from the union down.

I had one other problem. The main siphon drain had a hard time starting...the open channel would take on too much flow even though it was a half inch above the siphon drain. I have to remove that and make one that stands a bit taller in the overflow to allow the main siphon to purge enough air to start the siphon.

For anyone else looking to build this overflow, stick to the main design. It runs flawless if you do and it is dead silent. My return pump is all I hear now which is pretty quiet itself. Thanks again!

 

[SGT_York]

Hi,
I'm planing to upgrade from my 125G to 230G.
The new tank will be in wall, visible 2 faces (long face). I like bean animal overflow that I have on my 125G tank. On the new thank, is it possible to have a simple bean animal overflow on one side (short side) ? or 2 on each opposite side?
And is it better to have two return on opposite side or a simple one?

And if it is possible to have only one overflow and return, is it better to have them on same side or opposite side?

The sump will be under the tank et the return pump, maybe Eheim compact + 5000 or more.

Thanks!

Most just go with one overflow and put the return on the other side.

You could go with a siphon on each side but it is tricky to balance. A strong powerhead on the return side of the tank creating a surface current pointed at the overflow will help the surface skimming.

 

[Dolinka]

Most just go with one overflow and put the return on the other side.

You could go with a siphon on each side but it is tricky to balance. A strong powerhead on the return side of the tank creating a surface current pointed at the overflow will help the surface skimming.

Thank you!!