Need Advice on 220 Overflow Setup

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Fish Tank Travis

Fish Tank Travis

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2016
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Dayton, OH
Hello all,

I am supposed to pick up my 220 gallon tank this Wed and I think I am getting a pretty good deal ($400 for the tank only). One of the downsides is that the tank has not been drilled for an overflow, and I am set on running one. I guess there are advantages and disadvantages to this. I will be able to set up the overflows the way I want to but of course I will also have to pay for them. I have been contemplating trying to build my own but I ultimately have decided I would rather buy one from a reputable source and then drill my tank.

This brings me to my plans for my setup. I plan on running a 55 gallon sump underneath and so the theoretical total system gallons will be 275 gallons. I would like turnover the system about 6x per hour, which comes out to 1,650 gph. I will be plenty happy with about 1,500 gph but I plan on using two Rio 20HF pumps, which are both rated for about 870 gph at 6' head height (my head height will probably be closer to 4-5' though so I can always throttle them back if needed). I want to run two pumps for redundancy and then keep a third as a spare that will also be used as a transfer pump during water changes.

With that, I am looking at the Custom Aquariums H2Overflow. Each one is rated at 1,200 gph so I know I will need at least two. One of my questions is, should I be happy with two of them being capable of flowing a total of 2,400 gph or should I really add the third so I can be capable of over double my desired flow rate? It is hard to accept buying three of these at $70 each but they look very nice and I want to set this up right the first time so that I don't have to try to add another hole later.

Also, I plan on using the Custom Aquariums 3/4" siphon break return. I will be using two of them and will get the ones that install into a bulkhead (my reason behind having all of the returns and overflows going through bulkheads is so that I can keep a lid tight on the tank with no holes possible since I will be keeping fire eels in this tank). Do you think that these two 3/4" returns will be capable of flowing enough for the pumps I have chosen?

Lastly, if you don't mind letting me know what you think of the overall setup I have described here, I would greatly appreciate it. I am wanting to keep the water level higher, above the frame of the tank, and it looks as if these will do that for me and will look decent inside the tank.

I know there are many more details to still figure out with this setup, such as the design of the sump and layout of substrate and décor in the tank, but I am trying to take this one step at a time and this is the step that I think I need to work on after getting the tank.

Thank you all,

Travis
 
hey Travis, have you considered getting the tank drilled? there is nothing wrong with using two of those overflows. Your plans seem pretty good, I believe these overflows have a dual drain so I'd recommend T'ing the two drains off into one to go into the sump, this way you only have two pipes going into your dump instead of 4. I think $400 for a 220 is a good deal, I'm currently selling two of mine for around 500 so you are right on with the price. two 3/4" returns will be enough for the 2400gph flow. A 3/4" pvc pipe pressure fed can produce around 2150gph. As long as your pumps can handle the overflows it should be fine, if not add a ball valve on the intakes.
 
Thank you for the advice. I don't mind the extra holes for the additional overflows and pump feeds. I would like to have one overflow close to each rear corner and then put the two pump feed lines toward the center. Or, I would like to put an overflow in each of the rear corners, and a third in the center (if I end up using three). Then I will space the pump feed lines about halfway between the center and the corner returns. Just to clarify, the overflows are each 1.5" and the pump feeds will each be 3/4". I would prefer to have 1" pump feeds but Custom Aquariums only makes 1/2" or 3/4" and I really want to use them. I am sure that the 1.5" line can handle the overflow but I'm not sure the skimmer design can handle flow above 1,200 gph. I feel like it's a good idea for the overflows to be able to handle double the capacity in case one of them ever gets clogged. I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid or not but I want to be sure that I do everything possible to try to keep the tank from overflowing.
 
How thick is the bottom panel? I would make sure its not tempered and drill it, its not that hard, their are several videos on it and will be alot cheaper
 
Just curious but why do you say that I should drill the bottom panel instead of the back panel?

I figured that with drilling the back I can keep everything up towards the top and not have any more pipe in the tank than I need to.

Here is a link t the overflow I want to use.

http://www.customaquariums.com/c-2-h2overflow.aspx

I just need to decide if I want to use 2 or 3 of them for my setup.

Either way, this is a link to the pump feed line I want to use.

http://www.customaquariums.com/p-400-34-siphon-stopper-complete-fitting-w-bulkhead-and-elbow.aspx

I will be using 2 of these, one for each pump.
 
I personally see no advantage of these over using a regular 90° elbow yes the will skim a little more of the surface but that's it. 75 dollars for this overflow or 2 dollars for an elbow
 
Given the design of the overflow, I don't think it makes sense to drill at the bottom as was suggested. In fact, I think the design is intended for the drain to go out the back side. If the back is covered, you also don't see the pipes as well. The disadvantage is it's harder to access if the tank is close against a wall, vs. the pipe running at the bottom and underneath the stand.

I can see how someone would want to use the overflow/skimming. Some of it is function and some is for a finish look too. For the return, you could easily achieve the same thing with some PVC and loclines and still have a "finished" look too.

OP, my strength isn't math, and I know there are more equations that can definitely say if you need a third or not. I just know when it comes to hydro/liquid it's been tough to predict how it will flow based on factors like how the water is returning and the current. I would lean torwards that and turning up the pump rather than having the overflow as the bottleneck. Food for thought.
 
millerkid519 said:
I personally see no advantage of these over using a regular 90° elbow yes the will skim a little more of the surface but that's it. 75 dollars for this overflow or 2 dollars for an elbow
Click to expand...

Believe me, if I could get away with something like just an elbow, I would. The issue with that is that I will be keeping two fire eels in the tank and I want to make sure they don't find their way into the sump, or worse, get stuck in the overflow pipe. Eventually, they will probably be big enough to not have to worry about it but right now they are both about 4-5" long and will easily find their way into a large elbow.

I do know that two overflows will be enough to handle the flow I am aiming for but if one of them ever gets blocked for some reason, I might be over the limit of one overflow's capability and risk flooding the tank. This is the only reason I am considering adding a third overflow. If I have good reason to believe that the design of these overflows puts the risk of them getting blocked at a minimum then I will just go with two.
 
I am, however, beginning to think that the additional $70 for a third overflow is really a small price to pay for peace of mind and not having to worry about flooding.
 
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