Simplest overflow . key points of consideration

[gloup81]

Hello guys im glad im back after 9 years of absence

my plan is to have in my bedroom not a reef but rather a rockpool in a 50cm ~15g display tank and a smaller one standing beside the display to act as refuge/sump conected with a simple U shape 1 inch pvc pipe ( remenance of my box overflow ) ill be having a 300lph and a ~1000lph pump wheres the small one will be on 24/7 and the big one in daytime

ive done the initial tests and works really good but havent tested it in real life situation where microbubbles will acumulate overtime in the overflow pipe , what are the things i should be worried about what are any potential pitfalls for this kind of scheme ?
ill be supporting the u shape overflow with a herbie one which it want be as big so to act as a pure emergency system where all the return pumps will be workin but rather for surface skimming in daily intervals , the opening/hole of the inside of the herbie will be sitting just above the water lvl and it will be triggered when i put an extra pump forcing more water from the sump to the display tank thus raising the water lvl

what i havent thouight of ? what i do miss out ?

the u shape pvc pipe has worked in my system 5years and never failed even if it was suckin whole big bubbles due to the tubulance generated in the inside box but in the box it could get a water lvl difernce great enough to force the acumulating bubbles out of the pipe , i was keepin an eye over it for many months when i initially plumped it and it was always keepin an equilibrium of trapped air inside the hose and the raised flow it was produced

i need more testing , i need to see what happens if i manually instert pockets of air in the overflow , the height diference is way less than what can be achiaved in a box inside the tank so i suspect ill have to go with much lower water lvl that what originally thought , u see on the testin runned the system 2 days with the water lvl of the display tank on the lip of the glass and the sump's lvl was about 3 cm's less , that means the pressure inside the tube is not as big , i tested out a 1,5 inch u pipe and there the pressure is almost absence , i could moove 4k litres in a system less than 60litres and the height diference was less than 1cm , and thats not good since im intending to acumulate the debrits in the sump so to remoove it as easy as possible , with no pressure in the tube the debrits that tent to sit fast may get to the intake of the overflow but cannot do the travel and get back in the tank again thus the 1.5 inch acts counteractive as decrits acumulator / filter

maybe i still need an inside box after all ? or bumb the overall flow from ~1300lph to 2000+( bigger height diference more pressure inside the pipe less trapped air ? but sure less water volume overall

ok guys i done some " write n think " thingy here , i hope my thoughts translated in a language which i dont speak very well ( trust me i sound much worse than what i write ) make a sense to you , if u got anything to say apart that i need to stop murdering english plz input it . it will be much appriciated

 

[MayoBoy]

Seems like a lot of work and potential problem - any reason you don't just make it simple and get a 20 gallon tank and give 15 gallons over to the display and the other 5 over to the fuge? If it's a glass tank you could put a glass divider in and if it's acrylic, put an acrylic divider in. You can grind teeth into the top for the overflow either way and you'll NEVER have to worry about a snail blocking anything, a broken siphon, etc.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

THE most important aspect of U-tubes is for the flow to pull any air bubbles OUT of the tube.

 

[gloup81]

Seems like a lot of work and potential problem - any reason you don't just make it simple and get a 20 gallon tank and give 15 gallons over to the display and the other 5 over to the fuge? If it's a glass tank you could put a glass divider in and if it's acrylic, put an acrylic divider in. You can grind teeth into the top for the overflow either way and you'll NEVER have to worry about a snail blocking anything, a broken siphon, etc.

well im unlucky in reefin terms to leave in greece and as everyone here more or less have restricted funds plus my space is limited at least in width but im lucky enough to have these old tanks standby and a wide asortment of pumps , originally wanted to make a 10g fw planted with an uber carpet plant and breathtakin aquascape , when i calced the money i ll have to spent i turned my head to the barrells filled with dead , long gone dry globally selected rock and said ... all i need for this is salt and if im gonna make it even cheaper i just go to the beach gather some water , sterilize it ( not that it needs it but since im startin dry i wanna go pest free ) , well i did took water from the ocean and im curently aclimating my temperate species of hermits and snails both in temps and salinity in a 2gal jar but i kept the rocks and fishes in "made up" saltwater, yeah i didnt memntioned i have a little bicolor blenny and an equally small watchman waiting/tryin to stay alive and u ll say that im simply crazy but if u see where i saved the blenny from u will understand , bare bottom display in dimensions of my sump ( curently quarantine tank ) 3-4 tiny blue tangs chasing each other and 2 other yellow tangs and altogether a black blenny which i was pretty sure thats a midas juvenile unlike the rest juvenile blennies which were kept in other tanks and was already bicolor apart from the fact that i saved the blenny and showed color on the 2nd day i got it , now 7 days later is indeed a bicolor blenny , apart from that , in greek reefbussines theres no quarantee ill have the chance to ever meet such young blenny , and goby , i took the gobby since i was already takin a fish home withno seawater of any kind apart the cycling rock , since i went for bullseye lets double bet

im planning to reach my space limits which are : bow front 120cmL 25cm wide while the bow can reach to 32cm( 32cm wide with the sides beeing 25cm ) and max height of around 30cm , but for this to happen ill need a custom tank and further reenforcing the book case im gonna put all these , its not as dramatic as it may sound because the bookcase/desk/workarea is 100% made of 1 inch mdf and a carpenter will come to advice me , im pretty handy in woodcraft and im pretty sure i can sleep on that self for years or untill i fall in my sleep but the carpenter will come either way since hes a friend and want charge me

so yeah , im a cheapo actually but atleast i know what i want to make and thats not a coral reef and above all , im all ears .. and eyes :bigeyes:

where excatly u set the " lots of work " i figured out i can create a mini storm from as litle as ~1500 lph in the display while the sump gets a steady , particle traping flow to allow me to syphon them from a bare bottom and keep the sand bed syphonin to its minimal , what extra work i do miss ? as you already have understand i have open more than 10 fronts and im kinda juggling to make them come and sit altogether in the right moment , so extra work doesnt scare me beeing vague , what are the pitfalls ??

 

[gloup81]

THE most important aspect of U-tubes is for the flow to pull any air bubbles OUT of the tube.

i sat 2 hours after posting the thread and decided ill go with an inside box and ditch the herbie , but this time ill make a another style of box unlike my old one that was the typical diy somewhat rectancular box of the 2000's , i need something really thin and not bulky , seamless preferably , tinted yet seethrough any suggestions ??