Making an over flow for a turtle tank

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prcdslnc13

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 20, 2008
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I made the standard pvc overflow last night for my turtle tank. Everything worked great in my tests on it before I glued everything (of course). But once I glued everything and got the over flow in the tank nothing. I didnt get pictures before I left for work but I threw together a quick and dirty sketch of it in cad. After I drew it I think I figured out my problem but I still want to hear your opinitions.

Its in a 20L with about a 5 in deep water level. Because of this instead of turning the intake up I ran it paralelle with the bottom of the tank, drilled it like a spray bar and capped the end. I figured this would be more effiecent to pull waste and not the 1" diameter turtles that live in the tank :). The green line in the drawing is my water level. And the PVC is 1" in diameter.

overflow Model (1).jpg
 
Based on the drawing that you have, the water level will drop down to the level of the "T" on the outside of the tank. With this design, the "T" has to be set equal to the desire water height.
 
so I need to raise the tee? or the water hieght? Or both? if they are equal is that why Im losing the siphon right away?
 
prcdslnc13;3530517; said:
so I need to raise the tee? or the water hieght? Or both? if they are equal is that why Im losing the siphon right away?
Click to expand...

The T will be your water level, they will be equal The issue may be that you are only 4 inches under the water.. Not much pressure..

Perhaps you have the T too high? is it actually above the water?

You should also check the seams for a pressure leak..

Tell us how you are starting the flow,
 
Im starting the flow by covering the out feed pipe going into the sump with my hand and then sucking on the stand pipe. I dont have a check valve at the top yet so I cant try that just yet. I think it probably is an issue with the pressure. Would it help to try recreating it with a smaller diameter PVC? PVCs so cheap i dont mind experimenting.
 
You could try it with smaller, but the loss in siphon could be attributed to the low level of the "T". If you raise it up some, it should work. You need the "T" to be higher than the intake. The other thought is that you might have an air leak. Check all of your seams on the PVC.
 
The T is much higher then the intake as it sites now, about 4". The intake is actually at the bottom of the tank. I also checked the joints last night and didnt find any leaks. The Only difference between my tests and the turtle tank is When i was testing it with buckets the water level was all the way up to the top of the two 90s were it comes out of the tank. And now its just barely taller then where the T sits now.
 
Ok Could I be losing prime because im missing the bottom loop in the tank? I looked at chompers picture of the alternative style in the overflow sticky. So I understand what your saying about the Tee height now. Unfortunatly with the size of my turtles I cant raise my water level to where I would probably need to.

So. Im changing my design up a bit. If I add a second loop in the tank to go up and then back down to my water level, That should add the syphon lock that I need to keep the system primed. am I correct? pictures below.

Green line= water level.
Purple= new piping to be added.
blue = tank
red= overflow

overflow Model (2).jpg
 
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