Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

[woodnaquanut]

This system is incredibly easy to troubleshoot, as there are only a handful of things that can be wrong. No need to be "me" to troubleshoot it.

But you give such good detailed answers!

We should count up how many times you have told people there is no need for a valve on the open drain! You deserve a :beer: for each.

 

[uncleof6]

But you give such good detailed answers!

We should count up how many times you have told people there is no need for a valve on the open drain! You deserve a :beer: for each.

Welll, Bean put one on his, when he developed the system. Wish he had not done that It is fine to put one on, if you must, as long as you realize you don't want to use it, which makes it pointless... Bean was pretty clear about it though, and stated it was for maintenance purposes.

 

[m0nkie]

thanks uncleof6 and Mrramsey! I got it! time to cycle the tank!

now the loudest thing is my LED lights and powerheads..

 

[Mrramsey]

thanks uncleof6 and Mrramsey! I got it! time to cycle the tank!

now the loudest thing is my LED lights and powerheads..

Haha I wish I could say that. I am ditching the mag 24 this week. My other tank has a mag 18 and it is just a subtle hum.

 

[Mrramsey]

Mrramsey: Your systems has the same basic issue that m0nkie's system has. You need to go through it a piece at a time, as indicated above. Increasing the size of the air vent will have the opposite effect than what you want. Increasing the size, means more air and consequently less water allowed, without bubbles. The folks that advise on quieting dursos have the physics reversed. It is not about letting more air in, it is about reducing the amount of water, for the amount of air you have. The balance is the point where water flows on the walls of the pipe, with calm air (not moving) in the middle.

NOTE: If the air vent line inlet is below the inlet to the dry emergency, too much water will flow in the open channel; the main siphon will not start, because the open channel will take too much flow...(yes that is circular) that is why I say take it off to get the system running right, and for testing the first level failsafe, the dry emergency, which should take water first, before the open channel, in the event of a siphon blockage. The only time the open channel should trip to siphon is if BOTH the siphon and dry emergency are blocked...

When you put the air vent line back on, if the system starts acting up, well...you know what the problem is...

As always thanks for the clarification Uncleof6! I have it really well tuned now. Well at least til the new pump is in lol.

 

[redcoatd]

Use 1" instead of 1 1/2"?

Use 1" instead of 1 1/2"?

Hi,

I know bean recommended 1 1/2" pipes for his system...but I only have a 75 gallon tank.

Does it make sense to just go with 1" pipes? What's the max flow I can get out of them?

cheers!

David

 

[Raoul5Duke]

I have an external overflow box with 3x 1.5" bulkheads drilled on the bottom. Unfortunately the bulkheads were drilled too close together for me to get a traditional "durso" style (T with a street 90) fitting in there beside one another. I can go with 1.25" inch fittings and make it work or I could use 1.5" fittings with the syphon drain a straight pipe, the emergency a straight pipe and the auto adjusting drain the traditional durso style. Which method would work best?

 

[m0nkie]

can't fit something like this?

 

[Raoul5Duke]

can't fit something like this?

It can't with 1.5" pipe but it will with 1.25". I just looked at it again and I think the only way it works is with 1.25" so I will go with that. Its the same setup in the picture but the pipes are probably a 1/2" closer.

 

[Mrramsey]

It can't with 1.5" pipe but it will with 1.25". I just looked at it again and I think the only way it works is with 1.25" so I will go with that. Its the same setup in the picture but the pipes are probably a 1/2" closer.

1.25 will work or you could cut the fittings down some. You don't need the full insertion depth of the fittings for our purposes.

 

[m-six hundred]

Hey everyone, I have a question about the placement of the gate valve. Does it have to be near the top of the drain like i have see everyone doing or can i place it at the bottom of the drain? Like near the sump. Below is a picture of my plumbing and I do not have much space for a gate valve but I thought I could place it at the bottom of the bulk head going into the sump. Whats everyone's opinion.

 

[Mrramsey]

Mine are at the top but others have it at the bottom. I don't think it really matters a whole lot. I think some have claimed that there is some cavitation if they are in the middle or something.

 

[uncleof6]

Hey everyone, I have a question about the placement of the gate valve. Does it have to be near the top of the drain like i have see everyone doing or can i place it at the bottom of the drain? Like near the sump. Below is a picture of my plumbing and I do not have much space for a gate valve but I thought I could place it at the bottom of the bulk head going into the sump. Whats everyone's opinion.

What is that pipe behind the other two doing? I am not seeing a properly implemented BA system here....

Yes you can place the valve below the bulkhead, as long as the pipe outlets are less than 1" below the water level in the sump, when you are done.

 

[m0nkie]

^i think those 2 are his returns.. I see 1 more bulkhead to the right that's not connected to anything. Kinda hard to tell but it's there

 

[bcunningham]

M0nkie, I never even thought of putting on an external overflow so I can implement this, thank youuuuu for the pic!

EDIT: I cant PM yet, need 10 posts :/
I want to setup the BA drain on my tank, and I only have a single 1" drilled bulkhead currently for my drain. I saw your pic using the external overflow, and was like bam! that's all I gotta do is add on the external box, but do you think the single hole from my previous bulkhead will be good enough to supply the external overflow? I'm guessing the hole is around 1.25" or so, won't know for sure until I cut it out.

 

[Chrisjbarry]

Here is a couple pics of the one I did after reading this thread.

 

[redcoatd]

Hi,

I know bean recommended 1 1/2" pipes for his system...but I only have a 75 gallon tank.

Does it make sense to just go with 1" pipes? What's the max flow I can get out of them?

cheers!

David

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

thanks!

 

[Mrramsey]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

thanks!

You could do it like that. The flow would be reduced. I have a 72g with a 20g sump that is all 3/4" I get like 5-600gph max out of it. That being said my tank was already drilled and intended for the BA setup. Had I done it I would have just used the 1" bulkheads and 1.25" drains like I did on my 120g.

There have been others that have used all 1" and I think I read a few instances of 1/2" somewhere obviously on a nano tank of some sort. I would recommend sticking with the original design specs though. there really is not a huge cost difference between 1 and 1.25 or 1.5" pipe except the valves.

 

[Chrisjbarry]

You could do it like that. The flow would be reduced. I have a 72g with a 20g sump that is all 3/4" I get like 5-600gph max out of it. That being said my tank was already drilled and intended for the BA setup. Had I done it I would have just used the 1" bulkheads and 1.25" drains like I did on my 120g.



There have been others that have used all 1" and I think I read a few instances of 1/2" somewhere obviously on a nano tank of some sort. I would recommend sticking with the original design specs though. there really is not a huge cost difference between 1 and 1.25 or 1.5" pipe except the valves.

My friend has 1/2" all around on his 40 breeder with a 20 long sump. Think he's using a mag 7 for the return and feeding a tlf carbon reactor, but he does have a taller stand so no bending over to look at the tank.

 

[chucklez]

No, you cannot. That will make every single drain line an open channel, (air sucked in through the open channel and dry emergency lines) and if going to do that, may as well use 3 dursos, because that is all the performance you will get out of it.

I gotcha. When i posted it that late at night I wasnt thinking. But here is another for you. Does the emergency need to be a siphon, or can you just turn that into a durso basically? Again, I am more looking at conserving space.