Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

[leochngyh]

mine, triangle overflow. No air sucking sound at all. Have to mention this first, last time I post in RC and most of the question is about the sucking sound.

With 2x1" pvc. Tested with 5K lph return pump and still have room for higher flow rate.

Back of the overflow. No gate valve, straight to sump.

Cable tie to prevent the gravity and pressure pulling the PVC away.

Egg crate to prevent funny fish from going in. Had this save my Blue Tang, it likes to jump for food and sometime it just goes up to the overflow and slowly bounce it body back to tank.:bounce1::bounce1:

Look from front of the tank. I like this coz the overflow is like hidden from the front view and have a very wide area of surface skimming.

 

[MeuserReef]

teesquare, nicey done! What effects have you seen from the dual siphon tubes?

leochngyh, you have a nice setup but arent you missing a tube!?

 

[teesquare]

Thanks!
I have needed to adjust the length of the pipes from the 2 siphons - in the sump. I lengthened slightly the 2nd siphon , causing a slight differential in back pressure , thus forcing the 1st siphon as the "priority"
They both stay full, and with valving, flow is easily adjusted as with any -
Come ck. out the build thread for this one if you like:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1762906

 

[leochngyh]

leochngyh, you have a nice setup but arent you missing a tube!?

Tube???

 

[MeuserReef]

Tube???

Tube = Pipe

I noticed that your setup only uses 2 pipes, not 3. No emergency drain, correct?

 

[uncleof6]

Looks like they are both open channels to me-- note the fittings on top of the caps.

J

 

[teesquare]

So - it is neither silent or safe.....:hmm2:
T

 

[uncleof6]

So - it is neither silent or safe.....:hmm2:
T

You got that tank boxed up and ready to ship yet?

J

 

[teesquare]

Building a crate it now Jim...will that be Visa, or Mastercharge???:fun2:
T

 

[leochngyh]

Tube = Pipe

I noticed that your setup only uses 2 pipes, not 3. No emergency drain, correct?

Yup, just 2 pipes. Have not think about the emergency last time but so far using it for 2 years and it still able to handle my 5k lph return.

 

[Jgoal55]

Hey guys. Quick question. I finally got around to setting up the beananimal overflow and it works great when I fine tune it. It is virtually silent but I can hear water running down the pipe but not loudly.

However, when I restart the system (turn the return pump back on) I have to tune the gate valve to get it to quiet down again. I know that it takes a bit for the sir to purge after restart, but I waited about 20 minutes. Any ideas what's going on?

 

[jbryks]

i have all the parts to start drilling this overflow and i just have one question...i am going to use 1 1/2 bulkheads and am just wondering how far down from the black trim should i drill....the one thing that i dont see to much are the size of the internal overflows...any info would help pics too..


jordan

 

[BeanAnimal]

Hey guys. Quick question. I finally got around to setting up the beananimal overflow and it works great when I fine tune it. It is virtually silent but I can hear water running down the pipe but not loudly.

However, when I restart the system (turn the return pump back on) I have to tune the gate valve to get it to quiet down again. I know that it takes a bit for the sir to purge after restart, but I waited about 20 minutes. Any ideas what's going on?

Your siphon stanpipe is likely submerged too far into the sump and during startup the open channel is taking most of the flow. The siphon standpipe should only be an inch or so under water. You can also drill a few holes in the standpipe right above the sumps water level to help ensure that the siphon starts easily.

 

[Jgoal55]

Thanks William. I took a look and all three pipes are probably about 1.5 inches or a bit less under the water line. You think that's too deep? If so, should I drill holes in all of them? Would that cause too much splashing?

I made the mistake of gluing those last sections of pipe before marking the water line.....

I dont know if this matters, but the siphon channel and the open channel elbows in the overflow box are at the same level.....should the open channel elbow be higher?

Also, when I finally tune the siphon channel to where its silent, it seems that virtually no water at all comes down the open channel, thats what should be happening correct?

thanks for your help.....pics here if you think theyd help: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1687207&page=7

 

[Jgoal55]

i have all the parts to start drilling this overflow and i just have one question...i am going to use 1 1/2 bulkheads and am just wondering how far down from the black trim should i drill....the one thing that i dont see to much are the size of the internal overflows...any info would help pics too..


jordan

Jordan....Im not really sure I understand what you're asking here but I used 1.5" bulkheads and they work great....not sure what black trim you are referring too so I cant help you there.....just wanted to let you know the 1.5s are a good size imo.

 

[Daimyo68]

Jgoal55:

I dont know if this matters, but the siphon channel and the open channel elbows in the overflow box are at the same level.....should the open channel elbow be higher?

They can be at the same level without issue. If I remember correctly, BeanAnimal's are at the same level. I just finished my BA setup, all at the same level, no problems at all.

Also, when I finally tune the siphon channel to where its silent, it seems that virtually no water at all comes down the open channel, thats what should be happening correct?

Yes. If any water at all is flowing down the open Channel, you will not even hear it.
The Open Channel (right) standpipe is open to the air via the airline attached to it. Because air is allowed in, the standpipe will not siphon or gurgle. The excess flow that is not being handled by the Siphon (middle) standpipe quetly flows through the Open Channel (right) standpipe. Because the flow is very low, very little air makes its way to the sump.

Jordan: I believe your talking about how far down should you drill your holes. If thats the case, a general "rule of thumb" is 2x the size of the bulkhead hole. So for your 1.5" bulkheads, the holes should be 2 3/8" apart, and 2 3/8 down from the top edge of the glass, not the trim. Someone verify that?

 

[BeanAnimal]

Jgoal:

The system works fine if the siphon and open channel wiers are at the same height, but if you can set the open channel standpipe higher than the siphon, you will help ensure that the siphon starts first.

If you decide to drill holes in the standpipes, the only one that needs drilled is the siphon standpipe. Drill the holes just above the waterline of the sump (as observed during normal operation).

 

[Jgoal55]

great thanks....ill give this a shot tomorrow or monday......thanks again for the help.

 

[tonyespinoza]

hey beananimal - can i use this sort of pipe without issues? i have no idea if any of the various types of pipe are more or less inert relative to sea water. i will be running things like ozone on this large system. http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24369&catid=730

 

[Cjsparky]

So I was looking into a Bean drain system for my 125 RR, and have a question. Since in theory, a full siphon can accomodate a huge amount of drain capacity, is this set-up a possibility.

I have a standard 125 6' Reef ready, with 2 overflows, 2 bulkheads per overflow. So I was thinking using one of the current return bulkheads for the full siphon, the currentdrain in the OTHER bulkhead as the regular dynamic drain, and the 2 other bulkheads as the emergency overflows. My tank is supplied with a Mag-18.

CJ

edit, my return lines would be plumbed behind the tank, and would peek over the tank and hang on the back, then would be terminated with the aimable locline returns.