Overflow Questions

[joeytoe]

This may seem like a Dumb question. But Im going to ask anyways.

Why do certain Aquariums have them, an what real purpose do they serve?

Ive only seen them in Saltwater tanks, an was just a lil bit curious, as Ive never had a tank with them.

 

[MrfisH]

Hey we can be clueless dummies together.

 

[Plantguy]

They do lots of things.. they skim the top of proteins, aerate the water a bit, and allow you to keep a constant water level in the aquarium when coupled with a sump.

Jonathan...

 

[Miles]

It helps protect from things getting into the sump, and to properly allow a specific amount of water to flow into the overflow, keeping the natural siphon leading down to the sump at an even GPH rate.

Alot of times people will want to turn over alot of water in a saltwater tank, and you can do so using large overflows. If you use multiple canisters or other devices to 'drain' water into a filtration system, it will get clogged and be alot more maintenance than an overflow.

 

[hardb0iled]

Sump wet/dry filters dont suck! They only have a pump to pump water back into the tank from the sump. So to get water into the sump it has to drain from the main tank under gravity somehow. Syphoning does not work because its nearly impossible to reliably match the syphon rate with the return pump rate, and if its not matched then you can either overflow your tank or overflow you sump! So an overflow is the best answer, the water will overflow and drain from the main tank at the same rate at which it is being pumped in from the sump.

Hope this makes sense?