whats the best way to quiet down an overflow box?

[gmneil]

i just got a 40breeder its drilled for 2 1" bulk heads with a custom overflow box.

inside the box are 2 1" pipes with 90 degree elbows. out of the back of the tank there is a "T" off of each bulk head.

i have a mag 9.5 on it and it handels the flow fine i belive it could even handel more,

what are my options to quiet down the overflow box, it isnt noisey in the sump just very loud up in the tank.

woul capping off the top ot the tube going up off of the T in the back of the tank, and inserting a tube with a valve allow me to make it completely silent?

or what other options do i have??

once i get this figured out i will start a bulid thread showing the tank form start and ongoing..

 

[acdraindrps]

My suggestion would be to valve one hole down until it only drains water, not air, while the other hole has a stand pipe slightly higher than the water level and is used as backup only. Gate valves work good because you can fine tune them better than ball valves. It is the mixture of air/water that causes overflows to be so loud IMO (as well as the splashing in the sump).

Of course this will only work if one of your drain holes can handle the total flow of your mag 9.5.

 

[gmneil]

i dont think it can, i tried raising the second pipe 2 use it as an emergency pipe and the water slowly went up in the overflow box untill it was going down that pipe as well..

i can throttle back the mag 9.5 but i was happy with the flow, and it alternates with the 1" sqwd i was using. i might have eliminated the need for extra powerheads

 

[superkat]

would this help?

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe-ken_stockman.htm

 

[gmneil]

actually when i plugged the top of one of the pipes and raised the other one in the overflow box, i realized that one pipe will handel the full mag 9.5, so im gonna add a valve tomorrow..

will a ball valve work because i never have seen gate valves in stores before, altho that may just be because i have never looked for one before,

do any of our local stores carry gate valves in 1" or 3/4"

 

[acdraindrps]

You can find gate valves at Lowes I think...

Salty Dave will use PVC reducers until the drain cant keep up with the pump. He then notches the PVC reducer with a dremel until the drain just barely keeps up. An alternative to a gate valve, as they can be quite bulky in a filter sock.

 

[gmneil]

i think i will give that a try tomorrow, if i cant get that to work i will do the gate valve option. i may be able to plumb it in way before the filter sock i just need to see if i would be al=ble to reach it there

 

[acdraindrps]

i think i will give that a try tomorrow, if i cant get that to work i will do the gate valve option. i may be able to plumb it in way before the filter sock i just need to see if i would be al=ble to reach it there

Its best to put the gate valve at the end of the pipe, so that no air is allowed into the drain pipe. You may be able to plumb the valve in line not at the end, as long as the end of the pipe is submerged in the sump.