Silent overflow pipe?

[jaybfresh]

I saw this being discussed over on a nano site that apparently shall not be named. A poster over there used expandable hose for his overflow drain and claimed it was dead silent... the idea being the hose will expand or contract as needed but always remain full. He made a "snail-proof" cover to the overflow to stop anything other than water getting into the pipes. Seems like finding expandable hose suited for potable water has been the biggest hurdle for the others that wanted to try this.

Thoughts? Ideas? Ridicule for a stranger that will probably never see this?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

expandable hose?

 

[jaybfresh]

Something similar to this

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202257...toreId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=202257630#.UWgsjHccPZt

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

interesting- but not something I'd want to use!

Is dead silence the goal?

 

[jaybfresh]

My pipes are quiet enough, but I just thought it was an interesting concept to share.

A silent and adaptable overflow would probably catch on quickly, if it works in more than one isolated case that is.

 

[SkiFletch]

Interesting attempt to cheat physics. The idea is constant siphon that will respond to changing flow rates?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

It's a pretty cool idea, amazing how simple and elegant it is. I've thought about trying to insert an air-filled bladder in a rigid drain pipe which would accomplish the same result (silence of a siphon but self-tuning of a mixed flow) but this seems much more realistic.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

My syphon is super silent other than the reeflo pump that runs it, but it does need regular fine tuning depending I believe on the air preasure. For me it's a balance between not hearing the little trickle in the sump and the water falling into the over flow boxes. I have a very easy to adjust syphon design using two valves: one set, and another smaller fine tuner. I don't mind making a couple minute adjustments on the handle once in a while. I don't run standpipes, but it could work plumbed into anywhere in the plumbing design. Thanks for the idea.

 

[jaybfresh]

I do the big "no no" and close a gate valve on my single drain until just a tiny trickle can be heard. Luckily I would never be able to flood either my main tank or sump... the worst that could happen is to run my pump dry.

But, this seems like a good way to run full siphon with minimal risk. It will be interesting to see what happens if more people actually try this. I might try it in concept with a spare tank so I won't have to worry about feeding reef safe material.

 

[SkiFletch]

Can you buy that by the foot, or is it only in rolls?

 

[jaybfresh]

Can you buy that by the foot, or is it only in rolls?

Someone found a place that sells by the foot... I'll see if I can dig up the link

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd love to experiment

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

But, this seems like a good way to run full siphon with minimal risk. It will be interesting to see what happens if more people actually try this. I might try it in concept with a spare tank so I won't have to worry about feeding reef safe material.

The biggest obstacle I would see is mismatching the "range" of flowrates you're going to need to the size of the plumbing. Clearly if the hose is too small even as a full circular cross section it's just not gonna work. But I could imagine if you used a hose too big, it would just act like a normal durso and continue to suck air...

So the question is, for a given hose size, how much of a range is there before water level in the overflow box isn't stable any more?