Silent and Failsafe Overflow System

Yes I’m thinking that is the problem as well. If I would have a stronger pump and maybe the valve half open would it still pull around 960 gph or is it less? I’m thinking about which pump to buy. :)

If you have the valve half open on a 1" pipe, it will pull less than 960gph. How much less? I don't know.

I like my sumps lower flow so detritus settles. I run about 2x total volume through my sump. My sump is 100g so about 7x sump volume. I have a 400 gallon system and my return is about 750gph.

If I had your system, I would only want about 200gph max on my return and use 1/2" for the drains.

If you are pushing 900gph on your return, that's 30x total volume through your sump. If you have a 10g sump, then you are running 90x of its volume. That's a fast sump.
 
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Hi. I have had and been using a Bean Animal Overflow for several years and it works fine and dandy. However, now they have these really neat rollermat filters for mechanical filtration. Is it possible to setup my overflow to use one?
 
Hi. I have had and been using a Bean Animal Overflow for several years and it works fine and dandy. However, now they have these really neat rollermat filters for mechanical filtration. Is it possible to setup my overflow to use one?

To me it seems straight forward. In lieu of filter socks the rollermat would take its place. it might require some ingenuity but I don't see a reason why not.

What concerns do you have?
 
Placement and plumbing

Placement and plumbing

If you're familiar with the placement of the return pipes (other than the emergency), you will notice that they are submerged. That affects back pressure and noise cancellation.

So, how would you use the rollermat when the water feeds it from above?
 
bean animal setup

bean animal setup

hi community, regarding bean animal ; i found this diagram ; is this an accurate diagram of the setup?
thanks
494621971565899139
 
I agree. I've set up only bean animals on all of my systems. Only truly works like a bean animal if the siphon is submerged under the water line and the air can purge from it. If it's not submerged it will never become a true full siphon
 
I agree. I've set up only bean animals on all of my systems. Only truly works like a bean animal if the siphon is submerged under the water line and the air can purge from it. If it's not submerged it will never become a true full siphon

If course it will ;)


So a few notes:

If the flow volume is low and and the siphon standpipe is a very large diameter, then you are correct, the area between the valve and the sump may not product a true siphon. In this case submerging the end of the siphon (thus preventing atmospheric pressure from destroying the vacuum) will maintain the siphon. At higher flow volumes this does not become a problem.

We sometimes run into an issue at lower flows, where the volume is not sufficient to purge the standpipe of air. Drilling a small hole or two just above the (running) sump water line can fix this. The small hole will allow the standpipe to purge the air, but is not large enough to fully interfere with the siphon.

An alternative fix would be to place the control valve closer to the sump. This will ensure that he entire length of the standpipe (down to the valve) is always under full siphon.

Cheers...

-Bean
 
bean animal setup

bean animal setup

Dear Bean: this Friday i am finishing up the plumbing (hopefully) on my 150g. I have a couple of questions: My tank is bottom drilled and with the bulkheads will support 3 drains 1.5" each. Since it is an internal overflow i wont be incorporating the T and the screw top PVC standpipe just the 3 returns with elbows (primary, secondary, emergency). each will have an elbow (possibly with strainer) the third being upturned (the third will be 3/4" from weir. all three will be in a row same height. with the emergency being upturned so in effect higher. the secondary will have a hole drilled in the top of elbow (what size drill bit do you reccomend?). the sump is in the stand below; the stand is a little taller than normal (maybe 2 feet taller), my pump is the large varios 8 adjustable. and i have a gate valve on the primary only. So with that small hole it will break the siphon and only a small amount of water will flow into that pipe? should all the pipe be glued within the overflow?
do you see any problems?
grateful for your input
PS i think your site is down.
thanks Carl :reading:
 
If course it will ;)





So a few notes:



If the flow volume is low and and the siphon standpipe is a very large diameter, then you are correct, the area between the valve and the sump may not product a true siphon. In this case submerging the end of the siphon (thus preventing atmospheric pressure from destroying the vacuum) will maintain the siphon. At higher flow volumes this does not become a problem.



We sometimes run into an issue at lower flows, where the volume is not sufficient to purge the standpipe of air. Drilling a small hole or two just above the (running) sump water line can fix this. The small hole will allow the standpipe to purge the air, but is not large enough to fully interfere with the siphon.



An alternative fix would be to place the control valve closer to the sump. This will ensure that he entire length of the standpipe (down to the valve) is always under full siphon.



Cheers...



-Bean



Bean,

I have a question for you. In my new setup I've discovered that going from 3/4 from the external box and upsizing the pipe is not working. I have my Spears gate valve about 2 feet above the sump.

I feel that I am not getting a full siphon due to the height of my gate valve and the upsize of my pipe.

Would lowering the gate valve to the sump allow the 1 inch pipe to fill and create a full siphon?


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Lowering the valve will certainly help. What is the flow rate of the return pump?

Also, the discharge end of the siphon standpipe should be submerged .5" or so during normal operation.
 
This has probably been asked but there are thousands of posts and it would take forever to search for it, so I'm asking again sorry but I just picked up a used 75 gallon with a corner overflow (1" & 0.75" predrilled) is it safe to drill a third 1" hole to convert to a Bean? Image below, sorry it's not the best, I still have to clean everything.
919b2292f0efd95a355234f6bf2afc90.jpg


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2 problems. You can't get another hole into such a tight area and still have enough integrity in the glass and the bigger issue is that there is a strong chance that aquarium has a tempered bottom after it was drilled at factory so cannot be drilled again.
You can engineer something similar (2 drains, no emergency) using both existing holes as drains and just have your return over the top of the aquarium rather than through bottom

AM
 
2 problems. You can't get another hole into such a tight area and still have enough integrity in the glass and the bigger issue is that there is a strong chance that aquarium has a tempered bottom after it was drilled at factory so cannot be drilled again.

You can engineer something similar (2 drains, no emergency) using both existing holes as drains and just have your return over the top of the aquarium rather than through bottom



AM
Thanks, after doing a bunch of research yesterday I was afraid of that. Didn't realize some manufacturers tempered glass after drilling till yesterday. I had that thought too, just running it without an emergency drain. I think my sump is big enough to handle the amount of water from the tank of there is a power outage but I'll have to make sure to have a high water sensor in the sump to turn off my return pump if my drains ever clog.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
Thanks, after doing a bunch of research yesterday I was afraid of that. Didn't realize some manufacturers tempered glass after drilling till yesterday. I had that thought too, just running it without an emergency drain. I think my sump is big enough to handle the amount of water from the tank of there is a power outage but I'll have to make sure to have a high water sensor in the sump to turn off my return pump if my drains ever clog.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

they call that the herbie overflow. It's still quiet just without that final added safety measure.
 
If course it will ;)


So a few notes:

If the flow volume is low and and the siphon standpipe is a very large diameter, then you are correct, the area between the valve and the sump may not product a true siphon. In this case submerging the end of the siphon (thus preventing atmospheric pressure from destroying the vacuum) will maintain the siphon. At higher flow volumes this does not become a problem.

We sometimes run into an issue at lower flows, where the volume is not sufficient to purge the standpipe of air. Drilling a small hole or two just above the (running) sump water line can fix this. The small hole will allow the standpipe to purge the air, but is not large enough to fully interfere with the siphon.

An alternative fix would be to place the control valve closer to the sump. This will ensure that he entire length of the standpipe (down to the valve) is always under full siphon.

Cheers...

-Bean

Hi Bean...

So I'm running into this exact issue. I have a 300 gallon tank that I am running about 900-1200 gallons per hour through. It is plumbed with 1.5 plumbing in to the basement. The total length of pipe is about 50 feet with 15 feet of head.

Is one of the fixes preferable in this scenario? I would like to keep the valve closer to the tank if possible but also want to fix it correctly.

Thanks!
 
I would suggest submerging the siphon standpipe and/or reducing the diameter at the discharge end. You can reduce down a pipe size or use a valve. 1.5” at 15’ of head can move a tremendous amount of water.

Ideally, the adjustment would be at the sump end with this much head, but you can likely find a good balance by using a valve near the floor upstairs and submerge/reduce at the sump. Remember, tumbling water and cavitation make noise, a full pipe does not.
 
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