Built-In Overflows Questions...

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PeacockKeeper

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 23, 2008
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Sacramento
Hey all,

I was just wondering what you guys put in your built-in overflows? I thought about this for a while and cannot decide what to do. I was thinking of putting a piece of egg crate on the bottom and then fill it up with bio-balls (which would be a B**** to clean when the time comes) or fill it up with bags of ceramic rings. What do you have in yours?

Another question: Wouldn't the water entering the overflow be noisy since its falling or do the overflow have to be full of media and water?

Thanks.
 
So you're saying that cut a piece of PVC about an inch short of the slots on the overflow and then when water fills up the overflow it will drain down the PVC pipe?

Do I need to fill the overflow with bio-balls or just leave it empty with just a single PVC pipe?

Please clarify "drain cap". Is that just the screen that fits on the bulkheads?

Also, if water is coming from the top, how are the water on the bottom of the overflow going to get filtered? Is the bottom a dead zone?

Thanks.
 
Yes just the PVC pipe and let the overflow box fill with water. You buy a drain cap that goes on the end of the PVC or you can get a PVC cap and drill holes in it. I have both and both work. The PVC cap with holes drilled in it is really quiter and works better for me.
 
Forgot you can sand or rub the PVC on concrect to make it easy for bio to grow on it. Never had any problems with this method.
 
Few different ways to do it.
Some options are,
*standpipe and fill the surrounds with bio media control the flow and noise via a ball valve to the sump.
*drain cap on the bulkhead and fill with bio balls to the top and control the flow into the sump with ball valve thus creating a little backpressure which keeps everything quiet.

Bio balls will float so if your bulk head is a little low or you don't have a comb screen you will need to add something on top of them to keep them down like a sponge if you intend to fill the overflow with water. Bio balls work better when exposed to the air.

As for cleaning, pretty simple, close the ball valve and flood the overflow with the sump pump running. Let it fill to the top and open the valve all the way and let all the water flood out of the overflow taking with it built up gunk. Do this a 2-3 times. If you have a decent sized bulkhead then I don't think clogging would ever be an issue. Good thing about bioballs is they are a lot more difficult to clog than most other media due to their size and the abilty for water to pass through the slots. Trade off of bioballs are they are not as efficient as most of the ceramic/sintered glass type medias. But for a overflow area I think they are worth using.
 
PeacockKeeper;4456259; said:
Hey all,

I was just wondering what you guys put in your built-in overflows? I thought about this for a while and cannot decide what to do. I was thinking of putting a piece of egg crate on the bottom and then fill it up with bio-balls (which would be a B**** to clean when the time comes) or fill it up with bags of ceramic rings. What do you have in yours?

Another question: Wouldn't the water entering the overflow be noisy since its falling or do the overflow have to be full of media and water?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I do, egg crate and everything. I call it a bio tower. You maximize your drop. Basically the water falling from the top of your tank to the sump is filtered and exposed to bio media while it's dropping down to the sump. You get great wet/dry exposure and great O2 exchange. My "bio tower" is filled almost to the top of my overflow with bio balls, then I put filter pads on top of the bio balls and change those out every other week. The pads are just a pre- filter. The main filtering is still in the sump but those pads get 80% of the crap out and they are easy to clean because they are at the very top. Just doing this dropped my nitrates from high teens range to below 5. Same water change, same fish, same food, if anything the fish are growing so you would think water parameters would get worse but they are stable. I think this is do to the added bio media and the wet/dry exposure of the water splashing down the bio tower.
 
Egon,

So on the bottom of the "bio tower" you have a screen cap on the bulkhead and then fill it up with bio-balls? That was exactly what I was thinking of doing until the others suggested the PVC pipe which I liked also.
 
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