Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

[Hybridhibrid]

Sleepydoc, thanks for answer. What du you think about places of holes on my drawing?
-1" Full siphon bulkhead center 3.75" from edge of tank
-1.5" open channel bulkhead center 3.25" from edge of tank
-1.5" emergency drain bulkhead center 3.25" from edge of tank
-bottom of overflow box 6.25" from edge of thank
-length of overflow box: 16"
-tank water level 1.25" from edge of tank
Sorry for my stupid questions, but this is my first sump, my first overflow, my first drilled tank and I don't want to ruin my 200 gal tank. So I'm a little scared

 

[uncleof6]

Sleepydoc, thanks for answer. What du you think about places of holes on my drawing?
-1" Full siphon bulkhead center 3.75" from edge of tank
-1.5" open channel bulkhead center 3.25" from edge of tank
-1.5" emergency drain bulkhead center 3.25" from edge of tank
-bottom of overflow box 6.25" from edge of thank
-length of overflow box: 16"
-tank water level 1.25" from edge of tank
Sorry for my stupid questions, but this is my first sump, my first overflow, my first drilled tank and I don't want to ruin my 200 gal tank. So I'm a little scared

Why are you going to use 1.5" bulkheads? There is no point to that. The original design used 1" bulkheads, and 1.5" pipe, and it would run 2000gph. Only reason to go larger than 1" bulkheads is if you are going to break the 2k ceiling.

Length of the overflow should be the full length of the back of the tank. Less than that, you are just cheating yourself and the system as a whole.

Spending a few days to a week, reading, instead of being in a rush and impatient, would yield you the answers to the questions you are asking, without getting conflicting or confusing answers.

 

[sleepydoc]

Sleepydoc, thanks for answer. What du you think about places of holes on my drawing?
-1" Full siphon bulkhead center 3.75" from edge of tank
-1.5" open channel bulkhead center 3.25" from edge of tank
-1.5" emergency drain bulkhead center 3.25" from edge of tank
-bottom of overflow box 6.25" from edge of thank
-length of overflow box: 16"
-tank water level 1.25" from edge of tank
Sorry for my stupid questions, but this is my first sump, my first overflow, my first drilled tank and I don't want to ruin my 200 gal tank. So I'm a little scared

I agree with what Uncle said (think I even suggested going with 1" bulkheads a few posts up.) Larger bulkheads are more expensive, have no benefit, and may actually cause problems.

Regarding the actual placement, the clearances are fine. Whether the actual position ok or not depends on the rest of the plumbing and tank configuration (elbows, weir height, etc)

 

[sleepydoc]

I'm in the process of building that overflow for my 40 breeder. Glass overflow 20x5x3 top will be even with bottom of top aquarium trim. Is that ok? And turned down elbows for syphon and open channel- what should be a distance to bottom of box ?

¾" should be fine. Make sure the holes are down far enough so that there is enough clearance between the top of the upturned dry emergency elbow and the lip of the trim.

 

[Kingfisher1980]

40b

40b

Ok folks. I know I'm not a reefer, well as far as tanks go. But I do need you guidance as I intend to employ the BAOF in my 40B planted tank setup.

I originally was going to build a glass box to hang on the back and do the overflow plumbing there. Upon further investigation I see that isn't necessary and that I can run the overflow inside of the weir.

With that being said. I am going to use an ECO633 (594 gph) for my pump. I have already purchased some of the plumbing for 3/4" overflows. I have a total of 5 3/4" bulkheads. However, I also have 3 1" bulkheads. Unfortunately all of the plumbing I have purchased was with 3/4" overflows in mind. I don't think I have the receipts to return the 3/4" plumbing bits.

Will the standard 3 pipe BAOF with 3/4" plumbing have sufficient flow for this setup? Or should I start over from square one and buy all new plumbing for the 1" bulkheads? (budget IS an issue)

I guess if need be I can use the 3/4" bulkheads for return lines and probably some of the PVC bits as well. However I would certainly prefer not to.

Thanks on advance for any input. From what I've seen from my searches 3/4" when gravity fed only flows about 330 gph and that's before accounting for head loss. I'm unsure if this flow rate is increased enough uner siphon to compensate.

 

[Mrramsey]

Ok folks. I know I'm not a reefer, well as far as tanks go. But I do need you guidance as I intend to employ the BAOF in my 40B planted tank setup.

I originally was going to build a glass box to hang on the back and do the overflow plumbing there. Upon further investigation I see that isn't necessary and that I can run the overflow inside of the weir.

With that being said. I am going to use an ECO633 (594 gph) for my pump. I have already purchased some of the plumbing for 3/4" overflows. I have a total of 5 3/4" bulkheads. However, I also have 3 1" bulkheads. Unfortunately all of the plumbing I have purchased was with 3/4" overflows in mind. I don't think I have the receipts to return the 3/4" plumbing bits.

Will the standard 3 pipe BAOF with 3/4" plumbing have sufficient flow for this setup? Or should I start over from square one and buy all new plumbing for the 1" bulkheads? (budget IS an issue)

I guess if need be I can use the 3/4" bulkheads for return lines and probably some of the PVC bits as well. However I would certainly prefer not to.

Thanks on advance for any input. From what I've seen from my searches 3/4" when gravity fed only flows about 330 gph and that's before accounting for head loss. I'm unsure if this flow rate is increased enough uner siphon to compensate.

3/4 will be just fine in a 40. I ran all 3/4 on my 72g bowfront and managed about 500gph.

 

[Kingfisher1980]

Well then I guess the next step is to figure out where to drill the holes.

 

[uncleof6]

Well then I guess the next step is to figure out where to drill the holes.

3/4" is too small for practical applications for marine systems. It plugs up far too easily, and the friction losses are extreme. The minimum bulkhead/pipe sizes for marine systems should be 1". The only exception would be pico tanks, and there would be no sense in going through all of this.

You will have a heck of a time getting a 3/4" open channel silent, which the silent flow capacity is ~ 25gph give or take. It is way smaller than the minimum practical durso, which is 1.25" pipe on a 1" bulkhead.

 

[sleepydoc]

3/4" is too small for practical applications for marine systems. It plugs up far too easily, and the friction losses are extreme. The minimum bulkhead/pipe sizes for marine systems should be 1". The only exception would be pico tanks, and there would be no sense in going through all of this.

You will have a heck of a time getting a 3/4" open channel silent, which the silent flow capacity is ~ 25gph give or take. It is way smaller than the minimum practical durso, which is 1.25" pipe on a 1" bulkhead.

But is there any reason one could not have a ¾" bulkhead with 1" (or 1.25") plumbing? For the flow rates he/she is interested in it seems like they should be adequate.

 

[Hybridhibrid]

Sleepydoc, Uncleof6 thanks for help!

 

[BS87]

3/4" is too small for practical applications for marine systems. It plugs up far too easily, and the friction losses are extreme. The minimum bulkhead/pipe sizes for marine systems should be 1". The only exception would be pico tanks, and there would be no sense in going through all of this.

You will have a heck of a time getting a 3/4" open channel silent, which the silent flow capacity is ~ 25gph give or take. It is way smaller than the minimum practical durso, which is 1.25" pipe on a 1" bulkhead.

By marine systems, do you mean strictly saltwater or do you mean aquariums in general? He mentioned it was for a freshwater tank, I'm not informed enough about the subject to know if there a difference.

 

[Ironwood]

Hi, I currently have a 72 gallon bow front with a 20 gallon sump underneath the DT. I have a 3/4 internal weir and an external overflow that has the beananimal system. All of the piping is 1.5". I'm thinking of putting a 40 gallon sump in the basement to free up space in my cabinet. My question is could I reduce the piping just before it enters the wall to be 1" instead of 1.5". On the main stand pipe I would reduce the pipe to 1" after the ball valve.
I just think the 1.5" is overkill for my setup. I'm also thinking that since the water will be falling ~5' the larger pipe would cause more noise. Thanks

 

[pdiehm]

Starting to hear some noise from the open channel pipe, does that mean too much water is flowing down that pipe? Distance down is about 4'

 

[woodnaquanut]

Starting to hear some noise from the open channel pipe, does that mean too much water is flowing down that pipe? Distance down is about 4'

That's what I'd look at first. Is the siphon wide open? If not, try giving it a tiny nudge open and see what happens with the OC.

Another thing to check is if you have a strainer on the siphon, perhaps it needs a cleaning.

 

[sleepydoc]

By marine systems, do you mean strictly saltwater or do you mean aquariums in general? He mentioned it was for a freshwater tank, I'm not informed enough about the subject to know if there a difference.

Aquariums in general. A ¾" siphon may handle the flow just fine, but a3/4" open channel can barely handle any flow before it starts to make noise.

 

[sleepydoc]

Hi, I currently have a 72 gallon bow front with a 20 gallon sump underneath the DT. I have a 3/4 internal weir and an external overflow that has the beananimal system. All of the piping is 1.5". I'm thinking of putting a 40 gallon sump in the basement to free up space in my cabinet. My question is could I reduce the piping just before it enters the wall to be 1" instead of 1.5". On the main stand pipe I would reduce the pipe to 1" after the ball valve.

I just think the 1.5" is overkill for my setup. I'm also thinking that since the water will be falling ~5' the larger pipe would cause more noise. Thanks

How much flow are you aiming for? You may be able to do that without an issue. The main problem will likely be the open channel pipe.

I don't have experience with basement bean setups, but you may need to put the valve on the siphon line in the basement. Not sure if it would have trouble purging air with a long drop after the valve

 

[uncleof6]

By marine systems, do you mean strictly saltwater or do you mean aquariums in general? He mentioned it was for a freshwater tank, I'm not informed enough about the subject to know if there a difference.

By marine systems I mean marine systems. If he is doing a freshwater system, then that is a bit different. Freshwater piping is less likely to become occluded, and the flow rates are less critical.

As for differences between Fresh and Marine systems, the fluid dynamics are the same, everything else is different.

 

[Ironwood]

How much flow are you aiming for? You may be able to do that without an issue. The main problem will likely be the open channel pipe.

I don't have experience with basement bean setups, but you may need to put the valve on the siphon line in the basement. Not sure if it would have trouble purging air with a long drop after the valve

Sorry for the delay. The max would be 1100 but more realistically 900. I think your right about the ball value especially to make it silent. It could be a pain to adjust the first time though. I plan on using ultra flex pvc so there won't be any sharp turns. Thanks

 

[Shawn O]

Hi uncleof6, I just bought a 55 gallon setup and want to ditch from the HOB overflow in favor of drilling the back and using a BA system. Planning on using a glass overflow box on the outside and a narrow weir box on the inside. Do you think 3/4 for all three pipes is large enough or should I go with 1" on all three? 1" just seems to me like overkill on a 55. Your thoughts?

 

[sleepydoc]

Hi uncleof6, I just bought a 55 gallon setup and want to ditch from the HOB overflow in favor of drilling the back and using a BA system. Planning on using a glass overflow box on the outside and a narrow weir box on the inside. Do you think 3/4 for all three pipes is large enough or should I go with 1" on all three? 1" just seems to me like overkill on a 55. Your thoughts?

how much flow were you aiming for? Depending on your flow, ¾" for the siphon may be enough. For the open channel pipe, it's pretty useless, though, as it can't really handle much flow without getting noisy. You can drill for ¾" bulkheads and then upsize the pipe, however. The other problem with ¾" pipe is it's very easy for snails and other stuff to occlude it completely.

If you're planning on an external overflow box, acrylic may be better. You have to keep the holes at least 1 diameter from the edges to keep it from being too unstable. Even a ¾" bulkhead requites at least a 1 ⅜" hole, meaning your box needs to be at least 4.25" wide.