Customer Overflow

[RWS6605]

So I am working on a 55gallon hex (posted in builds) but have come to designing the overflow. Tank is drilled from the bottom so it will need to be a tall box. In a mock up I have it measured and 23 1/4” tall ( to allow for small gap between box and tank top), 12 “ wide and will be 4” deep

Here is a shot from the back.

The top

And side

The drain line height is adjustable and I would like the water level inside the tank to be no more that 1/2 to 1” below the top.

I am running a Quiet One 4000 pump that will have 4.5’ of height from the sump up to the return. Estimating rate at ~650gph.

I am trying to figure out how many teeth to make on the overflow. How wide to make them and how deep?

Am I overthinking this or can I just cut a bunch of 1/4” slots around the three sides and call it good. It will only flow what the pump can push so all I worry about is not having the “minimum” number of teeth. Hence also the gap over the top.

Would I just cut the teeth to the depth of the lowest water level I want (I.e. 1”)?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Ranjib]

bump

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

I can't help you with cutting slot sizes, but I had a similar problem trying to calculate how high to make my glass overflow. I decided to make an acrylic overflow insert that fits inside of the glass overflow. It has a mesh screen left over from making my lid with a black cover to block light and algae growth. I can adjust the height to get the desired water level by raising or lowering the insert. It also has the added benefit of being really easy to clean.

Here is the insert on the bench.

The overflow without the insert or cover for the external bean animal drain.

Overflow insert and drain cover installed.

Underwater from the front of the tank.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I can't help much with the depth of the overflow teeth. I think the 1/4 teeth will work. I just cut a long oval opening in the front of my overflow right near the top and the covered it with Gutter Guard plastic mesh and it seems to be working great (6 months old now).

But if I may make a very important suggestion? You have lots of room between the drain and the return at the bottom of the overflow box. I would ABSOLUTELY drill a 3rd hole, install another bulkhead (the same size as your drain) and set up an emergency drain. Just a straight tube that is a tiny bit taller than your normal water level. If the main drain ever gets any kind of clog or flow restriction (a snail, algae, anemone, whatever) the water level in the tank will raise and before it overflows the tank (and it can/will) it will go down the emergency drain first. And being a straight pipe it will be noisey if it's being used, which is what you want. You come home and hear the tank making a slurping noise and you'll know instantly that your emergency drain is in use and you need to figure out why!

Sure, it's a bit more work for you now, but if it saves you from an overflowing tank a year from now, you'll be so glad you took the time to do it. Personally, I will never, ever run another tank without an emergency drain. I couldn't do one in my current tank (no room in the overflow box). So I made the return an emergency drain and made an over the back of the tank dual return with lockline nozzles. But you won't need to do any of the stuff I had to do. You have room to just add a drain! There are more pics in my build thread (link in my signature below).

Here is the PVC return I added.

20180717_110021 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr


And here you can just see them over the back of the tank.

20180904_133514_resized by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

 

[RWS6605]

I can't help much with the depth of the overflow teeth. I think the 1/4 teeth will work. I just cut a long oval opening in the front of my overflow right near the top and the covered it with Gutter Guard plastic mesh and it seems to be working great (6 months old now).

But if I may make a very important suggestion? You have lots of room between the drain and the return at the bottom of the overflow box. I would ABSOLUTELY drill a 3rd hole, install another bulkhead (the same size as your drain) and set up an emergency drain. Just a straight tube that is a tiny bit taller than your normal water level. If the main drain ever gets any kind of clog or flow restriction (a snail, algae, anemone, whatever) the water level in the tank will raise and before it overflows the tank (and it can/will) it will go down the emergency drain first. And being a straight pipe it will be noisey if it's being used, which is what you want. You come home and hear the tank making a slurping noise and you'll know instantly that your emergency drain is in use and you need to figure out why!

Sure, it's a bit more work for you now, but if it saves you from an overflowing tank a year from now, you'll be so glad you took the time to do it. Personally, I will never, ever run another tank without an emergency drain. I couldn't do one in my current tank (no room in the overflow box). So I made the return an emergency drain and made an over the back of the tank dual return with lockline nozzles. But you won't need to do any of the stuff I had to do. You have room to just add a drain! There are more pics in my build thread (link in my signature below).

Here is the PVC return I added.

20180717_110021 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr


And here you can just see them over the back of the tank.

20180904_133514_resized by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

Thanks Ron. Apparently I forgot I started this thread along with my build thread. So update. I had Reef Creator build me a customs box.

I installed it and hoping to test it for leaks here in a couple days once I get my sump fixed. I broke a baffle trying to move it....anyway lesson learned cut 100% of the silicone as glass does not flex well.

Here is a side shot and you can see how close it fits to the top of the tank. No worries of fish going over that (I hope) snails would be a different story.

I will consider the emergency drain though. I am hesitant to drill any more on this old (30 yr) tank. I am sure it’s fine, but it is making me nervous with the cutting I have already done.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Your water level shouldn't be above the top of the teeth. And yes, as it is in the photo, a fish can get over the top, and snails can for sure. Did you leave the protective paper liner on the overflow and filled the tank with water? If you are worried about drilling the tank with a 3rd hole for an emergency drain, hire somebody to do it. I do it all the time for some people in our local club. The cost of getting it drilled is WAY, WAY less than the cost of damage caused by a clogged drain overflowing the tank onto the stand and floor. Saltwater is killer to a carpet and nearby wood furniture. In my case it went under the wall and into the bathroom on the other side of the wall. It destroyed a set of bathroom cabinets and cost more than my aquarium to replace. But my wife likes the upgraded bathroom! Of course, then we had to do our master bath as well so they look the same! ;Wideyed

 

[RWS6605]

Your water level shouldn't be above the top of the teeth. And yes, as it is in the photo, a fish can get over the top, and snails can for sure. Did you leave the protective paper liner on the overflow and filled the tank with water? If you are worried about drilling the tank with a 3rd hole for an emergency drain, hire somebody to do it. I do it all the time for some people in our local club. The cost of getting it drilled is WAY, WAY less than the cost of damage caused by a clogged drain overflowing the tank onto the stand and floor. Saltwater is killer to a carpet and nearby wood furniture. In my case it went under the wall and into the bathroom on the other side of the wall. It destroyed a set of bathroom cabinets and cost more than my aquarium to replace. But my wife likes the upgraded bathroom! Of course, then we had to do our master bath as well so they look the same! ;Wideyed

I took the paper cover off. I have an extra bulkhead (3/4”) that came with the overflow kit. I think I’ll just add it now. It’s better than nothing and since I have it, why not right?

 

[McPikie]

20180904_133514_resized by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

Completely off topic, but is that egg crate the basis of your scape? I really like that idea if it is

 

[Ron Reefman]

The rockscape in the tank you have pictured is before the egg crate was installed. If you go to my build thread (link in my signature below) toward the end I have some info about this part of the build. IMHO, having the live rock up off the sand has many advantages and as far as I have experienced, no disadvantages. They get discussed in the build thread.

Now I've used egg crate platforms in my last 3 tanks, but this one I did with the slope rather than a flat platform (parallel to the sand) just an inch or two above the sand. I wanted less rock in the DT and I'll make up for it by having some rock in the refugium. I've always liked the rockscape to be a slope up to the back wall and I've done it with a huge pile of rocks in my old 180g tank. I tried something different in my 120g build and it was OK.

But with this smaller tank (I'm downsizing from 4 tanks, 600g total to just this 50g cube with a 40g sump/refugium) I want to maximize the amount of rock surface I can grow zoas on. I have some lps and sps, but this time I wanted a tank that practically 'glows in the dark' with corals and anemones that fluoresce under strong blue leds. But I still wanted a lot of open sand for some special critters like a sea cucumber, small white feather dusters, some local stuff like a clam, flame scallop, filter feeding sea cucumber and some non-photosynthetic critters. The fish also seem to really like spending the night under the egg crate.

If you have any questions at all, I'm happy to share and explain as best I can. I consider this part of my 'Pay It Forward' effort. If you've seen the movie, you understand... if you haven't seen the movie, get it from your public library and watch it. It's a fairly good movie with a really good idea, Pay It Forward!

 

[RWS6605]

So I just now realized the title of my thread says customer and not custom. Way to go spellcheck!

I got to test the water tightness of my overflow box and my bulkheads and I am pleased to say that they do not leak!