overflow help

[davcheng]

ok. i'm gonna go with the ball valve for now, and then maybe later when i get things working i'll try the T fitting and route some water back instead of throttling it.

i also found a nice quick way to make a strainer type thing over the top of the overflow. i got a pvc floor drain that was supposed to fit a 2" pipe, then i got a small section of vinyl tubing and put it over the tip of the inlet, thus making the 1" pipe large enough to fit the 2" floor drain. i then put the floor drain over the tip of the inlet and added some silicone on the inside and outside so that it wouldn't slip easily.

i might post a picture later if i'm not too lazy. it's pretty sweet. i'm gonna test all of this out tomorrow when the pvc cement and silicone all dries.

 

[KaiserSousay]

T to send some water back into the sump to be re-filtered. Adding a valve to the branch lets you adjust how much goes back to the sump.

+1
Valve, ball or gate.
Ball is cheaper, but harder to make small adjustments.
Valve goes on the line heading to the tank.

 

[Danger_Chicken]

+1
Valve goes on the line heading to the tank.

Putting it on the main line creates more of a restriction. Having it on the T branch lets you adjust it while not putting a restriction in the main line. Unless you have a goal to be able to shut off the entire return line I wouldn't put it there.

ok. i'm gonna go with the ball valve for now, and then maybe later when i get things working i'll try the T fitting and route some water back instead of throttling it.

Spend the time to do it right the first time. You'll be much happier in the long run.

 

[davcheng]

ok some pictures of it completed

this is the grate i was talking about. this is made from 2" pvc floor grate connected by enlarging the 1" pvc tube using a vinyl tube, then placing the grate over and siliconing to make it unmovable.

this is the overflow on the inside of the tank

this is the overflow on the outside

this is the sump with the ghettoest drip plate ever... a top plastic covering of a aluminum baking tray

some pictures of a few of the inhabitants

ok, now a question. i had a jebo 838 (i think... it had 4 trays) and a eheim pro 2 2128 i think on the tank. i've replaced both with the new 10g sump (the tank is 40g). will this filter better than having two canisters?

its 1" pvc overflow, quiet one 2200 pump (throttled back a little) at 4 ft head roughly. should i put my canisters back on, or can i use this exclusively (i have room for more media in the sump which i am going to try to get soon)? by this i mean, do i have the same filtering power or more than i did before? thanks

 

[Danger_Chicken]

I always run a canister with W/D for better mechanical filteration. The amount of elbows you have on your over flow is why it's draining so slow, but still plenty for a 40g. You could use a smaller pump. I like your end cap!
How is your setup on noise? At the drain and input of the sump?

 

[davcheng]

it makes some noise, about as much as a hob i think, maybe less at the drain. the inlet has a few sucking noises of water, but thats about it, and its not always. and thanks for the compliment on the inlet!

i had to make that many elbows because i was following the diy pvc overfow. my tank is not drilled.

 

[flowerpower]

PVC is great to work with. I thing you may be able to eliminate some noise by putting a cap on the vertical branch with the open end. It also doesn't have to extend so high.
A good method for a DIY bio tower is to use rubbermaid drawers. They sell thin ones that fit into a 15gal while leaving room for the pump. The good thing about using the drawers is that you can access the media easily, and you have more media elevated out of the water in contact with O2. Just a though.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

Having your over flow facing vertical in the tank is causing the water entering to suck in air as well. And the large amount of air inside in drain is lowering its amount of water it can drain.

For example a 1'' drain filled with 50% air will only be able to drain as much as a 5/8''- 3/4'' pvc over flow.

To fix the problem intsall a turn down on the top of the over flow. Using 2 90 degree fittings mated together. And then if you get a sucking noise install a piece of air line on top of the 90 thats on the main line and out a airline regulator on it to adjust the airflow input to the minimum that works.

That should bring the drain GPH up alot.

 

[davcheng]

hm... ok i might look into the downturn inlet thing, thanks for the heads up!