Keeping my dovii fry from getting sucked into the overflows

[twhittle]

A little advice needed here. I have a breeding pair of dovii in a 180 gallon tank with two pre-drilled overflows. The overflows have intakes on the bottom, middle, and top. In the past, my fry have been sucked into the bottom and middle intakes, not really to the top. Can I place a screen of some kind over the intakes on the bottom and middle or will that mess with the way the sump works? I am kind of new to sumps so I want to be sure. I have an old screen door that I was thinking about cutting up and using the mesh to cover the intakes with. any thoughts or advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[pelleeklund]

I built a screen by using a Dremel to cut two squares out of a 3 or 4 inch high, 3inch diameter PVC pipe. It was basically a top and a bottom of a tube connected by two small slivers of PVC on the sides. Then I got a paint screen, put it around the PVC, slid it onto my intake and zip tied it to the intake tube. If that makes sense to you, it worked well for me. I wouldn't use the old door screen if it's metal though. It will rust out and could probably bang up your fish. Good luck.

 

[duanes]

I also use screen to keep fry out of overflows even on the surface skimmers.
I do find I need to rinse them often, to keep the tank from overflowing, and usually have a few fry slip thru during the process.

 

[MyGiants]

I've put sponges over Inlet cones on canister filters and HOB filters. An overflow that will be tricky you don't want to get clogged and overflow your tank. Not sure what you can use that will not need constant cleaning from restricting waterflow. I think I would transfer them to another tank. Maybe the fry will never swim up in that area. And when they get a little bigger you can put a larger screen mesh just small enough to keep them out but not so fine that will cause it to clog quickly.