Fuegofish777
New member
like it says, what is the best HOB overflow box? are the CPR's any good? any info appreciated.
-thanks
-thanks
What is the best overflow box?
- Thread starter Fuegofish777
- Start date
der Riff-Konig
Premium Member
That's what I have on my 125 and both 58's. Never a problem. Sturdy and precision made.
Salty Brother
New member
I heard that the CPRs arnt good, they can fail in some way or something. I have a Eshopps on my tank from premium aquatics, I really like it!
Salty Brother
New member
Yea the lifereef and cpr are two different styles. The cpr uses an air pump to suck air and starts a siphon some how but i dont know. The lifereef is a U-tube which are great, after you start the siphon once you never have to do it again. After water changes and power outages, it will start right back up again.
Good Luck
Good Luck
jgoodrich71
Premium Member
I will always recommend the ones that use a U-tube. I have had one CPR and it was always losing siphon as air gets in it. If you get a CPR you need to get the Aqualifter pump to keep the air out. With the U-tubes, you don't have to worry about a sepatate pump.
sttroyiii
Premium Member
Ditch the U-tubes and build your own weir overflow. I just made my own using Melev's DIY instructions on his webpage. After I fixed a leak, I only had to suck the air out once, and now it never loses siphon. I bought an Aqualifter and now its useless. All you need is the thin acrylic from HD, acrylic cement from hobby store, a box cutter to score the plastic, and a pocket torch (~$5) from HD. It will take a couple of hours for your first one, but you will end up with a better product than any of the ones mentioned, but you saved a whole lot of money. A dremel tool with the sanding drum is really helpful for making it pretty, you dont have to use a router. I just cant see paying $60 for a plastic box with a tube.
Dubbin1
Active member
I have used both U-tube and CPR overflows with no problems at all. IMO the lifereef are WAY over priced for what they are. You can get U-tube overflows for half the price and they work just as well. You also need to make sure your return pump is big enough or it will not push the bubbles through the tube and stop the siphon. I think this is 99% of the problem that people have with all overflows.
Wombat_101
Reefer
When I had a Lifereef it never failed me, now I have a pre-drilled tank.
Go with a Lifereef and have no worries. A few dollars more now may mean saving a lot more down the road.
Go with a Lifereef and have no worries. A few dollars more now may mean saving a lot more down the road.
Fuegofish777
New member
thanks everyone for all of your inputs. i really appreciate it! it seems as thoguh the lifereef boxes are getting good reviews from you guys, but im with dubbin1 on this one, i just dont have the cash. i did check out the weir on Melev's website. that's actually what the cpr ones are right? i was able to get a cpr from a member here shipped with the lifter pump for a very good price. so i know some of you didnt recommend it, but of anyone i spoke with that had personal experience only one was bad. i've heard about just as many u-tube types that had problems. not only that, but i measured it out and the u-tube overflow boxes wont fit in my tank because of the euro-bracing, which i dont want to cut. so i went with the CPR. thanks for all the help again everyone. if this doesnt work out i will definitely give the DIY weir a shot.
reg828
New member
i use cpr for my 75 gallon more than a year now with no problem. just make sure you clean the siphon hole with tootpick or so every month, sometime algae will build there. also, need aqualifter. the aqualifter will siphon all the time. you need to have the siphon water either back to your tank or sump, make sure longer deeper into the water to make it silent for the bubbles noise. if theres a noise in your overflow because of water going down the drain, you can adjust the tubes, down more so that air can escape and believe me its quiet. need to clean the prefilter for once a month. the best about cpr, they dont stop siphon as long as maintenance is done once a month.
IndyOceans
Premium Member
I had a CPR quite a while ago. the problem I had was I also had a tang. When I feed nori on a clip the fish would tear into it and almost always a small fragment would get into the overflow and would clog the air removal port. Almost had a couple of floods.
I would disagree. Lifereef has design advantages that are not readily apparent. For one, it is one of the few that lives up to its flow claims. As an example, my "600 GPH" Amiracle which is a very good overflow, could barely keep up with a Mag5 and could not keep up with a Mag7. My Lifereef laughs at a Mag7. I've seen other posts of flow capacity issues with numerous overflow brands. For another, the deep skimmer box design creates more pressure on the water going through the U tube. This is a better design since it can push more water through, and better force accumulated air through as well. I believe it is what make the Lifereef so reliable.
As far as the CPR goes, I had one too. Horrible. It failed twice in 3 months. Both times from an air nipple clog. The Amiracle and Lifereef have both been completely reliable.
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