Acrylic overflow box or DIY overflow??
- Thread starter jcardona1
- Start date
I don't care about pretty, so I like the DIY's. You can prevent clogging with a cone shaped cover / strainer.
I have the CPR CS202...it is rated at 1500 gph and I am putting about 100gph more than that with a few modifications. It is dead silent, starts and stops flawlessly, but the reason I love it is that it only dips down in the tank 5 1/5". I painted it black to match the background and you can barely see it....even with the lights on.
No knock on a DIY, I have done them myself, but I do prefer the more finished look of a CPR.
I've used both, DIY has one huge drawback, you can't 'see' if you've lost your siphion. All CPR overflow boxes use a clear U-tube, I have never see a DIY overflow with a clear U-tube.
I use nothing but the CPR style boxes now, mind you none were bought new, all have been used from fish store teardowns, etc. U tubes of different sizes are available too.
I use nothing but the CPR style boxes now, mind you none were bought new, all have been used from fish store teardowns, etc. U tubes of different sizes are available too.
Personally I'd get rid of the CPR box - only because I don't want to rely on a pump to keep it going. I bought a Eshopps PF-1800 to run on my 150 gallon tank and it's ok. I say ok, because I'm always tweeking or modifying something and although it worked fine out of the box, I wanted something a bit different (and not on the market) so I had to modify it.
Either way - stock or modded - it does the job of pulling water from the tank and not losing siphon so it stops fine if the power goes out and starts again when the power comes on without any worries.
I do agree with drilling the tank if you can. I really wish I had thought ahead enough to do this and I still might at some point.
I have also run the DIY type overflow. I liked it a lot but it wasn't doing what I needed it to do. I now know it was just a learning curve the noise issues I was having were related to how I built it. I could rebuild one again the right way to be quiet - and I've seriously considered it too - I have the PVC sitting here at the house, but I just modified the overflow again and I'm pretty happy with it.
I'm running a steadman standpipe design in the Eshopps as a mod.
Either way - stock or modded - it does the job of pulling water from the tank and not losing siphon so it stops fine if the power goes out and starts again when the power comes on without any worries.
I do agree with drilling the tank if you can. I really wish I had thought ahead enough to do this and I still might at some point.
I have also run the DIY type overflow. I liked it a lot but it wasn't doing what I needed it to do. I now know it was just a learning curve the noise issues I was having were related to how I built it. I could rebuild one again the right way to be quiet - and I've seriously considered it too - I have the PVC sitting here at the house, but I just modified the overflow again and I'm pretty happy with it.
I'm running a steadman standpipe design in the Eshopps as a mod.
