well i plan on setting my 130 gal again and was going to do a DIY 30 gal sump. stock will be two silver arowanas. im experienced with the whole sump and overflow deal but ive never made an over flow from pvc. the reason i cant use the overflow i have is that it doesnt reach down far enough for me. (i plan on keeping the water level about 4 inch from the top of the tank) sooooo with a DIY overflow what determines the height of the water in the tank, is it the tube inside the tank? or the tube outside of the tank. i plan on running about 900 + gph so would it be smart to build two 1" overflows or two 1.5" overflows. thanks. hope all of that makes sense.
DIY over flow for low water level?
- Thread starter Ancient_Fish_Master
- Start date
the height of the tube inside the tank determins the water level. As for the overflow, it depends on the return size.
jefferymoorhead;5099061; said:
the return will be made of 1.5" pvc. or if i get a dif pump it will be made of 1" pvc pipe.
MC.Arowana;5099644; said:
haha yeah. that was my original plan, just wanted to know any input on a sump. seems a bit more finicky to do with lowered water levels.
It isn't the U tube(s) that determines the level of the water in the tank. The U tube(s) should always be submersed inside the tank and outside the tank in the overflow box. It is the down pipe in the overflow box that determines the water level. The entrance to the down pipe needs to be above the ends of the U tube(s) both inside the tank and in the overflow box. The entrance to the down pipe determines the water level. The U tube(s) just keeps the water level inside the tank and inside the overflow box at the same level via siphon.
Getting the siphon started in the U tube(s) with a long drop might be a bit of a chore, but once started it should remain intact as long as the water level never goes below the ends of the U tube(s). I think the easy way to start the siphon with a large drop and large U tube is to shove a piece of air hose up the U tube to the top of the bend while the ends of the U tube are both submerged then suck out all of the air. You would, of course, need water in overflow box as well as the tank.
Getting the siphon started in the U tube(s) with a long drop might be a bit of a chore, but once started it should remain intact as long as the water level never goes below the ends of the U tube(s). I think the easy way to start the siphon with a large drop and large U tube is to shove a piece of air hose up the U tube to the top of the bend while the ends of the U tube are both submerged then suck out all of the air. You would, of course, need water in overflow box as well as the tank.