DIY Calfo/Bean Overflow

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
JRUnyon21;4768338; said:
BeanAnimal emailed me back.

"It does not need to terminate below the water, but if it doesn't then the valve needs to be near the end of the standpipe. In a nutshell if the standpipe does not runn full, then air can travel back up the pipe and cause problems. Valving the end (or necking it down) will allow it to run full bore and prevent air from traveling back up."

I can see how having the valve up top could easily create problems like you said Clay. It appears you were right(to a degree! lolol). It appears that as long as the termination of the standpipe is the bottleneck then I will be in the clear. This gives me a lot of ideas to avoid splahing noises. I am gonna keep asking him questions. I'll keep updating for those of you interested(prob no one).
Click to expand...

I am.
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Awesome! My pitiful understanding of fluid physics isn't totally worthless :) I'm glad you got an answer that works for your situation. So the answer is to dial back the flow until it runs full out. Good deal. I'll remember that for my future tanks. I would imagine the same principle works for a herbie as well. Just a matter of dialing it in.

Bean is a very good source of knowledge, and it's great he's as helpful as he is when it comes to responding.
 
The situation you're talking about is like what I'm running. I use the Herbie method. I have a valve at the end if my syphon hose that is dialed back to keep the hose full of water. The end of the hose is in my drip tray box that has a layer of filterfloss and water in it so that the end of the hose is under a layer of water (although very shallow). This makes it quiet, as there is no splashing. (I also have some sponges sitting in the drip tray surrounding the end of the hose to absorb any minor splashing.) The water dripping from the tray through the bioballs makes the only water movement noise, and this is very minimal.
 
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Sorry, but I won't be able to get a picture for a few weeks as I'll be away, but here are some simple diagrams I put together:

herbie.gif
This is a simple diagram of the Herbie method. The gate valve is dialed back just enough to keep the outflow hose from the tank full of water. The overflow hose is open and is only used if the main hose gets clogged for some reason.

trickle.gif
Here is how the trickle filter in my sump is set up.
I created the Drip Tray by cutting down a plastic storage container and drilling holes in the bottom. It is deep enough to hold a layer of filter pad and water. To keep the bottom of the container from bowing due to the weight of the water, place it on egg crate for support. If the water starts to overflow the drip tray, then I clean the filter pad. I have sponges around the end of the pvc pipe to eliminate any splashing, but also to back up the water from the filter pad to the gate valve. This is to ensure that no air is in the system which can make a burbling sound. The water drips down through the drip tray through a bag of bio-balls down to the water level in the sump.
 
I'll post some pics of my Herbie method later today. In the meantime, here's a video of how I first had it set up (I've since modified the setup to be a true Herbie pipe).

In this video, I had a Durso standpipe, but I also had a valve on the drain line to quiet it down. While the setup was very quiet, I didn't have an emergency drain line (very risky thing to do!!!) This will give you an idea of how quiet it can be. Now that I have the emergency drain line in place, I have no worries :)

[YT]THLswfuP3DE[/YT]
 
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