I remember reading somewhere that Bean ended up raising his.
Silent and Failsafe Overflow System
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
I remember reading somewhere that Bean ended up raising his.
sleepydoc
Team RC
His original design had the elbow ¼" and teeth cut into the elbow. He did away with the teeth and raised the elbow further off the floor of the overflow box. You can also cut off a bit of the elbow if needed.
Re: eliminating the tee, yes, you can do that. The main purpose of the tee is to allow for easier access for cleaning.
Re: eliminating the tee, yes, you can do that. The main purpose of the tee is to allow for easier access for cleaning.
uncleof6
Active member
Function way before aesthetics. Function is being able to get into the tops of the standpipes, without taking the plumbing apart. That means tees with threaded caps, sealed with a non-hardening thread sealant. The pipes need to be cleaned out periodically. The tees make that a very simple process.
Paint the plumbing black, and "stage effect" will make them disappear. (dark background, bright foreground.)
As far as function of the drain system, you can "get away" without the tees, but you sacrifice the other part of "function." There is a cost to everything that gets changed.
I give the why you shouldn't before saying you can, or can get away with, or yes you can; more often than not, upon hearing what they want to hear, they stop reading, ignoring the problem with doing that...
hbash
New member
Fittings Galore
Fittings Galore
You can find most any PVC fitting you may need at one of the following places:
And I wouldn't change my design to meet the difficulty in finding a part. Just hunt a bit more.
Fittings Galore
You can find most any PVC fitting you may need at one of the following places:
And I wouldn't change my design to meet the difficulty in finding a part. Just hunt a bit more.
Before I install my overflow box, is it ok if I use this elbow?
http://http://m.ebay.com/itm/321523385425?_mwBanner=1
http://http://m.ebay.com/itm/321523385425?_mwBanner=1
Well, my hand has been forced. The ones I have, unless they slide into the bulkhead are too long for my overflow box. I have to cut off the neck, almost to the downturn to get my overflow box on, and then I have about 1/8" between the wall of the overflow and the elbow (on the side..about 1/2" on the bottom).
chogendoorn
New member
I'm working on finishing my tank now, I have implemented this system because the idea sounded very good to be. I am having one problem, I cannot get my middle standpipe to run full siphon unless I close the open channel standpipe almost all the way, which makes that open channel standpipe almost useless. If I try starting the system up with both wide open, the open channel handles almost all of the flow first (and I can't figure out why), resulting in a very noisy air and water mix. The hole for my middle (siphon) standpipe is 1/4 inch lower than the other 2 standpipes, and the middle standpipe empties into the sump a little lower than the open channel standpipe. Might that be my problem? Does anyone have any thoughts?
chogendoorn
New member
Just answered my own question...I cut the full siphon standpipe so that it is the highest in the sump, and now it works. Amazing.
mmn
New member
Videos?
Videos?
Hi
I am getting ready to try to build this system into my 125g tank. I would like to see one in operation and I've been looking online for videos, but it seems like with what I've found people call pretty much any 3 pipe drain system a Beananimal. I've not found any yet that fit the design used in this thread.
Can anyone recommend or point me to some vids that show implementation as it was designed?
Regards
Michael
Videos?
Hi
I am getting ready to try to build this system into my 125g tank. I would like to see one in operation and I've been looking online for videos, but it seems like with what I've found people call pretty much any 3 pipe drain system a Beananimal. I've not found any yet that fit the design used in this thread.
Can anyone recommend or point me to some vids that show implementation as it was designed?
Regards
Michael
Thunderfan
New member
I am in the process of setting this up on my 75g. I have no holes so have to drill them. Since I am drilling anyway I thought I would go ahead and do 1-1/2" the way I read beans original description is he used 1"because that's what size his hole where already. Now here comes the questions that have probably been asked before many times I just haven't ran across them. If I am using 1-1/2" bulkheads and 90s just like the original design. How far down from the top of the tank do I need to drill my holes? I am going to put a box on the inside. Does that box determine my water level in the display?
Thanks for any help.
Thanks for any help.
sleepydoc
Team RC
1.5" bulkheads are way overkill for a 75 gallon tank; 1" would be just fine.
See this thread for clearances
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23235315&postcount=7
uncleof6
Active member
Before delving into hole placement, let's look at your flow requirements, and the possible/probable consequences of using 1.5" bulkheads, on a system that will be running under 750 gph. A 1.5" bulkhead will flow low to mid 3000s gph, with a drop of 24" accounting for friction losses. The same "drop" with a 1" bulkhead, will flow around 1500 gph with 1.5" pipe, (as in the original design) double what I would consider reasonable for a 75gallon tank. Most drops will be a bit longer, (higher flow capacity,) but I think you get the idea. The question this raises is why bother with such large bulkheads, when they are simply overkill, and there have been starting issues reported in system running large bulkheads with "low" flow rates... ...bulkhead/pipe size is somewhat of a subjective topic, in that some figure there is no reason to use a pipe size larger than the bulkhead size, though there are parameters that make it rather objective, such as flow rate, length of the drop, friction loss etc., as well as keeping the open channel easy to maintain silence. Since 1" bulkheads, with 1.5" pipe (original design) has such a very wide operating range, I can't see a reason to use 1.5" bulkheads, unless you are targeting 2000 gph +, but I do see reasons not too.
Hole placement (yes you are right it has been covered a thousand times) is pretty objective. The minimum distance is one hole diameter from the edges of the glass, and each other, to the edge of the hole. Allowing for the weir is a bit trickier, and you need plumbing in hand to figure out how much to adjust the holes down, if needed, to get the water level in the "main" area where it needs to be (top of the weir) with around a 1" drop into the overflow (water level.) The water level will end up in the upper half of the downturned elbows, depending on the running adjustment. There is not a formula for it, it is old fashioned tape measure. (I did almost micrometer measurements for 1" and the distance is 2 7/8" down from the bottom lip of the trim inside the the tank, (2 3/4" - 3 1/4",) to hole center. (with 1" elbows; 1.25" elbows will be different.) How critical is it? You have to be at least 1 hole diameter down, you have to clear the trim on the outside of the tank (bulkhead nut) and then the rest is how long is the water fall going to be.
Thunderfan
New member
I am all for using all 1" everything is cheaper and easier to plumb. If the experts say that is plenty big enough that's what I'll do. This is my first system and I want it to be as trouble free in operation as I can. It sounds like the concensus is 1" to achieve that. So the measurement it looks like I need is 2-7/8" from bottom of trim to the center of my hole. I can pick up bulkheads and pipe fittings locally so I will set up with that measurement and see what it looks like.
uncleof6
Active member
Read what I wrote very carefully. 2 7/8" from the bottom of the trim is going to put them way too low. Do use 1.5" pipe external to the tank. 1.25 street ell is fine for inside the bulkheads.
Thunderfan
New member
Clear as mud, thanks.
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