Bean animal overflow - 1 1/4" bulkheads

[rebekwl]

Hi there, I'm hoping someone can help with a couple of overflow questions:

We're currently working on designing a bean animal overflow for the 220 peninsula that we're setting up. We're thinking 24" long overflow box with 1 1/4" bulkheads.

1. how far apart do the bulkheads need to be? (acrylic box)
2. is 24" adequate space, or maybe even too much space?
4. Does anyone have suggestions on overall box dimensions?
3. does anyone have a specific supplier they would recommend who can build the box to our specs at a reasonable price?

Here's a pic of what we're looking to accomplish.

TIA for any help! :)

 

[rebekwl]

Anyone? I'm thinking I may have posted this in the wrong spot!! :)

 

[fasterfred]

What kind of flow were you looking at? I've got one setup on a 55 gal with 1 inch pipes and had to dial it way down just to let my pump keep up with it .running at aprox 800 gph and probably could hit 1200 or so.

 

[fasterfred]

If you could do a coast to coast on the narrow end 3 or 4 inches wide and deep and full width of the tank. With an inch and a quarter you should hit 2000 gph or more.

 

[lennyd19]

I have a modular marine over flow on my 50 peninsula from eBay. Well built. You can PM him and he will custom make it to your specs. Also I believe reef savvy makes them also. If you know your dimensions of your tank I would order overflow and give that to tank builder. That way there is no discrepancies.

 

[TaylorPilot]

That's a nice video you have there! LOL Are you going to be using an inner and outer box, or is it going to be an internal overflow with the plumbing inside that box. The video there I used 1.5" drains. How much flow are you planning on running?

 

[rebekwl]

Thanks all!

We actually have looked into Modular Marine and are considering the below unit with 1/2" shaved off on each side to make sure it fits on the end of our tank (since we're going to be doing a peninsula style build).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2400-gph-LO...ounted-aquarium-surface-skimmer-/201291919549

We want to do an outside overflow and have decided that it may be easier to just use the 1.5" bulkheads that come with the 2400 GPH unit. We will have ~300 gallons of overall volume, so will look to have approx 1500 GPH going through the sump. The piping will go throgh the wall and approximately 5 feet over, so I think we should be able to account for the head loss with the 2400 GPH capacity and even be able to dial it down a bit. Does that sound about right?

If we reduce the plumbing to 1.25", do you think it will be difficult to get the 1500 GPH flow we're looking for? We have limited space to plumb through the wall, so that's the main reason we are looking into using smaller pipes.

 

[TaylorPilot]

At 1500 GPH, you could get away with 1". I might even suggest running 1" on the siphon line because it will allow it to purge easier at startup. Using 1.5" drains would work great on your open line and emergency drain. I use P-trap drains and for the open line, just use the one with a built in cleanout. It works really well. The clean outs come with two pieces. Don't let it confuse you, cause you only use the one piece.

 

[TaylorPilot]

I will add that the secret is to give yourself enough vertical height in the box to separate the drains so that your siphon is completely submerged, the open line is used to set the height of the water level while running, and the emergency still have about 2 inches of space above it before the system floods.

 

[rebekwl]

Perfect, thank you for your feedback! This really helps a ton!

 

[TaylorPilot]

Let me know if you have any other questions. I have installed more than one of these at this point! LOL

One more point. The outlet of your siphon into your sump should only be about 1" below the water surface. If it is much deeper, it makes it very hard if not impossible for it to purge all the air. When installed properly, the whole system should purge and stabilize in a matter of 15 seconds or less.

 

[rebekwl]

Let me know if you have any other questions. I have installed more than one of these at this point! LOL

One more point. The outlet of your siphon into your sump should only be about 1" below the water surface. If it is much deeper, it makes it very hard if not impossible for it to purge all the air. When installed properly, the whole system should purge and stabilize in a matter of 15 seconds or less.

Thank you! Will keep that in mind. I'll definitely let you know if any more questions come up. Thanks or your help!

 

[TherealplexiG]

does anyone have a specific supplier they would recommend who can build the box to our specs at a reasonable price?

I guess Taylor pilot and Rick from synergy already have wonderful products you might wanna look into.

 

[rebekwl]

I guess Taylor pilot and Rick from synergy already have wonderful products you might wanna look into.

Thanks, I'll look around and see what I can find.

If you could do a coast to coast on the narrow end 3 or 4 inches wide and deep and full width of the tank. With an inch and a quarter you should hit 2000 gph or more.

We've now decided to put the tank on a different wall than we originally planned, so we're throwing around the idea of possibly putting the overflow on the back of the tank instead of doing the peninsula. If we do this than I do really like the coast to coast approach, although I'm assuming the cost will be much higher.

 

[TaylorPilot]

Not much if you are just buying glass sheets. The stuff is pretty cheap. Only issue I have with that style setup is that typically you can see inside the overflow from either side of the tank. You could always mask off and paint that part of the tank so you can't see in. You'll just have to be careful about chipping it when you are cleaning the tank.