so i recently picked up a 90 gallon acrilic tank that has a overflow box in the corner and 2 holes in the bottom i know nothing about overflow boxes and have no experiance in them is it better to use that or should i block it off and hook up a canister if i am to use it how do i do it??? any tips advice or layouts that someone knows of to help walk me threw it would b great not sure if it makes a difference but i would like to use a sand bottom
over flow box help...
- Thread starter Beave
- Start date
the overflow box is so you can get water off the surface of your tank and take it to a sump or other filter. you can still use your canister filter if you want. if that's what you want to do then i would get bulk heads for the 2 holes. plump a line from one hole to your canister and then a return line from you canister back to the tank. at this point you could have the return go over the top of tank or you could run the return line back into the 2nd hole and over the top of the overflow box. you will need to install a pump if your canister doesn't have one. you can do that on either side of the canister. a Mag pump is a good choice as they work in or out of water.
you can fill your overflow with bioballs to act as a wetdry filter if you want. there is a lot you can do with overflow boxes. most people use them to get water to a sump where they have all their filtration, heaters, ATO's and what ever other devices they have.
you can fill your overflow with bioballs to act as a wetdry filter if you want. there is a lot you can do with overflow boxes. most people use them to get water to a sump where they have all their filtration, heaters, ATO's and what ever other devices they have.
If it were mine I'd run a sump. 20 gallon would work. Run both holes as drains (Herbie style). Submersible pump. You could build a very efficient sump with socks for less than the cost of a canister.
you could do both system, like what i did, one over flow side goes to my sump and the other overflow goes to my canister filter. but i have to say that the side which goes to the canister, i have sort of a reserve valve that will also drains into my sump. (sort of a fail safe). i always like to have a back up for my back up. hope this will help and give u ideas.
Now with a sump if my power goes out i guess im S O L??? 90 gallons in my living room or is there some inspector gadget sh*t i can buy???
no not at all. if you overflow is like most, there are teeth at the top. these teeth create the water lever in the display tank. when you pick a sump it needs to be big enough so that you can run it at about 1/3 full, some come with a water line. then when your power goes out the return pump shuts off and the display tank drains to the bottom of the teeth. in your case probably less than 20 gallons. the sump holds that water until the power comes back on and the return pump pushes the water back into the display tank. (you can check this by filling your tank, if water enters the overflow before going over the top teeth then use the pipe suggestion below, if not then you don't need the pipe)
if your overflow has holes lower, then you set the water height by having a pipe stick up from the hole/bulkhead at the bottom of your overflow. i would set the pipes height at about the same as the bottom of the top row of teeth.
i hope this helps
if your overflow has holes lower, then you set the water height by having a pipe stick up from the hole/bulkhead at the bottom of your overflow. i would set the pipes height at about the same as the bottom of the top row of teeth.
i hope this helps
lol that makes sense i wasnt thinking when i made this post thanx guys for the help hopefully i can get this build on its way soon
Flooding is pretty avoidable. Keep your return high in the water column and drill a siphon break in the line just blow the water level....basically a small hole in the return that as soon as air enters, the siphon is literally "broken". That and a swing check on your pump output and your basically flood proof.
Herbie style drains and your flood proof under operation as well.
I have a 35 gallon tank that is pritty high should I use that for the sump and use 50 to 75% of the tank and use the rest for if the power goes out so i dont over flow and ruin my living room
that would work. remember you can adjust the volume of your sump, when running, to how much reserve you need when the power is out. stat with only about 10 gallons in the sump and get the whole thing running. mark the water level with a "sharpie" on the sump glass. then turn off the power and see how much the water level rises. make a second mark on the sump glass with everything off. it's good to do this when there is power because you can always turn the return pump back on to prevent a flood 
once you know how many inches of water is added to the sump when the power is off, you can change the level of you sump to what ever you want.
for my sump the overflow pipes come down to a filter sock and then the water flows over bioballs. from there the water flows over my heaters and then to the return pump and back to the display tank.
with a little silicone and some glass you can make different chambers in your sump for what ever you want. check out some of the sumps at http://barraquatic.com/sumps.php for ideas of what you may want. mine is very simple with only two chambers, a large one for all my stuff and a small one just before the return pump, my return pump is external but you can go either way with that.
once you know how many inches of water is added to the sump when the power is off, you can change the level of you sump to what ever you want.
for my sump the overflow pipes come down to a filter sock and then the water flows over bioballs. from there the water flows over my heaters and then to the return pump and back to the display tank.
with a little silicone and some glass you can make different chambers in your sump for what ever you want. check out some of the sumps at http://barraquatic.com/sumps.php for ideas of what you may want. mine is very simple with only two chambers, a large one for all my stuff and a small one just before the return pump, my return pump is external but you can go either way with that.