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diy overflow mounted on back of tank

H

hurtback

hello all---i'm looking for DIY sites that show how to make an overflow that you mount on the BACK of the tank--so that nothings hanging in the tank and you have to use a tube for flow from inside the tank to an outside overflow box then into the sump
thanks for the help
steve
 
M

mladencovic

Is this what you are looking for?


thumb_540_25_07_07_4_49_33.GIF
 
H

hurtback

this is what i'm trying to explain what i want to do---maybe i didnt explain it the right way---sorry for that---i understand what and how he did it, but was wondering if theres anyone else out there how's done this---in his images it looks like he also cut out the glass using a dremel---i havent been able to get in touch with him to find out if he did and why he cut the glass---i also wanted to ask him how easy was it to cut the glass

http://steve68.com/50 gallon.html

steve
 
J

JasonR

That was my tank we did
It is not to hard to put the notch in the glass we used a rotozip tile bit.
If you do it this way there will be no tube to loose siphon you will just have an external overflow.
If you go here into my Gallery on RC there are some more pictures
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=153457&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

How big of a tank are you going to do?
The smaller the harder it is without cracking the glass

Where are you located?

Jason
 
M

mladencovic

thetiler said:
That was my tank we did
It is not to hard to put the notch in the glass we used a rotozip tile bit.
If you do it this way there will be no tube to loose siphon you will just have an external overflow.
If you go here into my Gallery on RC there are some more pictures
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=153457&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

How big of a tank are you going to do?
The smaller the harder it is without cracking the glass

Where are you located?

Jason
Click to expand...

I am curious, why did you need the overflow box in the first place? Simple hole and the pipe/tube connected to it would do the same job.
 
H

hurtback

jason, hi ya---i'm gonna try it on a 55 gal ,then on a 125 that i'll be setting up---someone else sent me this site--but it says steve68---this was the only site i was sent--i emailed steve68 but have not received a reply---i was askin him if he cut out the glass--well, you answered that question---i do have a rotozip tool---
i'm in north brunswick-any other tips/help you could share?
steve
 
H

hurtback

jason, another few question---
why did you use glass?
why 2 holes in the bottom of the overflow box?
why make the overflow box as long as the side of the tank?
steve
 
Edwardw771

Edwardw771

NJRC Member
steve did the same thing on my friends 120. making it viewable on 3 sides. Man what a cool tank it turned out to me. I'll try to find pics.
 
H

hurtback

hi edward 777---do you have any pointers to pass on---did you make the overflow out of glass or plexiglass?
how many holes are on the bottom?
what size did you make the overflow?
did you cut the glass out from the tank?
anything else you could pass on would be most helpful
thanks,
steve
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
If the tank is glass then the overflow should be glass. Otherwise you're not guaranteed a seal between the glass tank and the plexi overflow. The teeth on the other hand could be (I believe, double check this with Jason) made of plexi.

Two holes at the bottom of the overflow box provide for a "safe second" in case one of the drains inherits a snail or gets algae in it.
 
JohnS_323

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Here is a pm I got from Steve a while ago when I was planning on doing this to one of my tanks:

steve68 said:
Hey John :)
i would make the box 12w 10h by 3 deep, that should give u enough for a durso or stand pipe, as far as flow goes im sure by now u know how to get what u want right? but if not i would put 2 one inch drains with the slot across the tank being 1 to 1.5 wide.
let me know what else i can help u with ask away :)
Click to expand...

The overflow was going to go on the side of the tank, where the dimensions are 18" deep by 24" tall. The reason to use glass is because the silicone doesn't really stick too well to acrylic/plexiglass. It's OK for an internal baffle but not for something that would be supporting any weight.

You can use a rotozip with a tile bit to cut the slot and the holes. Go slow and make sure the cut line stays wet.

I hope this helps. Let me know you have any other questions.
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
The surface disturbance is great for gas exchange and will allow the DOC (disolved organic compounds; the film that forms on an undisturbed surface) to get mixed in to your water column, but skimming that DOC off of the surface and spoon feeding it to your skimmer would be a much more efficient way to remove the DOC from your system.

With a couple of holes you're going to have sucking noises like mad. The whole teeth thing prevents that from happening, allowing you to set a durso standpipe in the overflow box without sacrificing tank volume for the durso height. The overflow box is an "industry standard" implementation. Seems to me that if it didn't work so well it wouldn't be so widely implemented, especially by custom tank manufacturers.
 
H

hurtback

ok phyl---makes sense about the glass overflow---once i read that, i coulda hit myself in the head---should have thought of that meself---also, 2 holes is better--i'm sure i'll have more questions---i've gotten alot of onfo from this group already---
now its time to start making plans
thanks again
steve
 
M

mladencovic

Phyl said:
The surface disturbance is great for gas exchange and will allow the DOC (disolved organic compounds; the film that forms on an undisturbed surface) to get mixed in to your water column, but skimming that DOC off of the surface and spoon feeding it to your skimmer would be a much more efficient way to remove the DOC from your system.

With a couple of holes you're going to have sucking noises like mad. The whole teeth thing prevents that from happening, allowing you to set a durso standpipe in the overflow box without sacrificing tank volume for the durso height. The overflow box is an "industry standard" implementation. Seems to me that if it didn't work so well it wouldn't be so widely implemented, especially by custom tank manufacturers.
Click to expand...

Overflow box is not necessary at all for surface disturbance and the skimming of the surface film. Of course, assumption here is that return flow will not be too high, so that hole is not totaly submerged and that at least some of the surface will extend into the hole, but this assumption MUST hold for the overflow box as well, or it won't be skimming the surface water either. As for the noise, I agree that the overflow box is convnient for a durso standpipe, but the same principle could be achieved without the whole box. You just need to muffle the resonance of the air bubbles that are sucked in with the water.
 
blange3

blange3

Here are Anthony Calfo's thoughts.

He favors a longer thinner slice of surface water flowing into the overflow to maximize the amount of surface proteins skimmed.
 
B

Brian

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I have both of these kinds of overflows in my system, My fuge has the hole with a bulkhead and my display tank has an external overflow. The hole just seems silly to me, It can get clogged VERY easily, and if I turn up the flow it gets REALLY noisy..sounds like someone sucking the last bit of soda out of the glass with a straw..I couldnt handle that in the display.

Not sure if it's been covered yet... Are you sure that the glass isn't tempered?
 
H

hurtback

hi ya blange3 ---those kenya trees are doing good---again thanks........
and thanks for the link to more info about the overflows----
just 1 question for anyone.......i've noticed in 2 of the DIY sites they have the overflow mounted on the side of the tank. any reason other then thats where they wanted to put it?
i'm in the planning stages of a 125 or 260--the 125 is not rr, the 260 is. now, if i go with the 125 should there be 1 overflow in the middle back of the tank, 2 overflows on the back but evenly spaced away from the center, or 1 on the side?
man, so many questions, lots of things to think about, plan, make ,setup, buy!!!
but thats whats so much fun
thanks
steve
 
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