!*!*!*! Emergency a piece of mind or hype !*!*!*!

[Diesel]

An now you won't prof?

That's photoshopped

 

[jsker]

That's photoshopped

;Hilarious;Hilarious conspiracy Ben

 

[BigJohnny]

There is one thing that bothers me about these Ghost style overflows - and yes, I have one. There are two emergency drains in the outer box - but no such provision on the inner box. It has the weir with teeth and a top on the inside. If something should happen to block the weir, there is no emergency exit out of the tank, except over the top. At least with the old MegaFlow overflows that I had in my old tank, if the teeth on the overflow got stopped up, the water would still run over the top of the weir and down the drain, before overflowing the tank. Was that confusing?

Never thought about that. Guess that's why they have easily removable weirs and give you two so you can consistently switch them out and clean them.

 

[Fin]

Never thought about that. Guess that's why they have easily removable weirs and give you two so you can consistently switch them out and clean them.

I have a Reef Savvy Ghost Overflow and only have one weir. Didn't know some came with two.

 

[BigJohnny]

I have a Reef Savvy Ghost Overflow and only have one weir. Didn't know some came with two.

The synergy one does, maybe not before or stock on reef savvt but they do now. You could probably order an extra weir from synergy.

 

[BigJohnny]

I converted a 90g reef ready to herbie so I could have a quiet overflow and an emergency. I also use a strainer on the siphon drain which helps reduce the chance of large items clogging the pipe but not if you don't clean it!

I can't imagine not having an emergency drain. Independent of the safety factor my flow into my overflow varies throughout the day based on what my powerheads are doing and the "E-drain" handles any excess.

 

[shakinghorizons]

I converted a 90g reef ready to herbie so I could have a quiet overflow and an emergency. I also use a strainer on the siphon drain which helps reduce the chance of large items clogging the pipe but not if you don't clean it!

I can't imagine not having an emergency drain. Independent of the safety factor my flow into my overflow varies throughout the day based on what my powerheads are doing and the "E-drain" handles any excess.

Any pictures of your drains and return?

My 93g cube is only plumbed for 1 drain and 1 return. I'm contemplating running the return over the back and utilizing 2 drains

 

[BigJohnny]

Any pictures of your drains and return?

My 93g cube is only plumbed for 1 drain and 1 return. I'm contemplating running the return over the back and utilizing 2 drains

I can take pics tom but that's exactly what I did. Return over the back on the opposite side of the tank of the overflow. I definitely recommend it.

 

[carbene]

you can have a overflow in your sump or get a big sump and only filled it with 1/3 full like me.

 

[Diesel]

you can have a overflow in your sump or get a big sump and only filled it with 1/3 full like me.

It really doesn't matter how much your sump is filled, in the end if your sump is designed accordingly the last chamber where the return pump resides can have never enough water to ever flood your tank.
It just runs dry and if you like me and many others have a electronic float switch for high and low water levels.
It will shut when it's getting to low my return pump off and when high my skimmer off.
Just a piece of mind and these float switchs you can find on eBay for less than $10 incl shipping.
Only thing is you need a controller like a apex on your tank.

I want everybody to run the test today to shut off all drains include the E-drain and leave your return pump running.
If it runs dry without over flowing your tank you're good if not your sump is designed poorly.
Either rely on your E-drains or instal a float switch that prevents it from doing that.
Test it with any water change, that is if you do water changes other wise test it when you refil your ATO.

Any comments...

 

[JoeIII]

There is one thing that bothers me about these Ghost style overflows - and yes, I have one. There are two emergency drains in the outer box - but no such provision on the inner box. It has the weir with teeth and a top on the inside. If something should happen to block the weir, there is no emergency exit out of the tank, except over the top. At least with the old MegaFlow overflows that I had in my old tank, if the teeth on the overflow got stopped up, the water would still run over the top of the weir and down the drain, before overflowing the tank. Was that confusing?

I had a similar setup with a different DIY overflow box, and added an emergency outside the box. an additional bulkhead and a black 90 in the tank, the top of the 90 was just below the lip of the tank and it was tucked in the corner so was not very noticeable in operation.

I thought I didn't need an emergency drain in another tank until a fish jumped into the overflow, got sucked into the drain, and stuck at the gate valve, effectively plugging the drain and causing an overflow. I even had my system designed so that the return (and ATO) pump would run dry before it reached the edge of the DT, but did not count on my loving wife to refill the ATO container, twice when she heard pumps sucking air.

 

[shakinghorizons]

I can take pics tom but that's exactly what I did. Return over the back on the opposite side of the tank of the overflow. I definitely recommend it.

Following up on this, thank you!

 

[Victoria M]

It really doesn't matter how much your sump is filled, in the end if your sump is designed accordingly the last chamber where the return pump resides can have never enough water to ever flood your tank.
It just runs dry and if you like me and many others have a electronic float switch for high and low water levels.
It will shut when it's getting to low my return pump off and when high my skimmer off.
Just a piece of mind and these float switchs you can find on eBay for less than $10 incl shipping.
Only thing is you need a controller like a apex on your tank.

I want everybody to run the test today to shut off all drains include the E-drain and leave your return pump running.
If it runs dry without over flowing your tank you're good if not your sump is designed poorly.
Either rely on your E-drains or instal a float switch that prevents it from doing that.
Test it with any water change, that is if you do water changes other wise test it when you refil your ATO.

Any comments...

In the event of a blocked drain, my tank can handle all the water from my return section of my sump. I designed it that way. and the tank can handle the water from my 5-7 gallons usually in my ATO. BUT I just realized the new ATO resevoir I was hoping to use might not work. The extra 3 gallons might put it over the edge. ugh. I might just keep using my old salinity bucket afterall.

 

[hart24601]

I have an emergency drain because the external overflows have holes, but they are useless for me. The sumps on my tank don't contain enough water to overflow the tank as the return pump is in it's own section as are most commercial sumps. My tank run around 1.5" under the top (custom rimless) and for my 180 that means it would take around 12 gallons to overflow the tank. The return section of the sump is just a couple gallons. If I test my siphon and trickle pipe and block them myself the return starts sucking air before the waterlevel even gets near the emergency pipe, so they are useless on my tanks. If you had both drains block at the same time AND right then the ato started I guess the E drain would work for a bit but only if the ATO had only the exact amount to fill the tank but not overflow it with both tubes plugged. There is a lot more in this hobby to worry about than a stuck on ATO while the primary siphon gets blocked AND the secondary gets blocked. If one worries that much then get a controller with multiple redundant float vales to shut stuff off before it even becomes an issue.

 

[Diesel]

I have an emergency drain because the external overflows have holes, but they are useless for me. The sumps on my tank don't contain enough water to overflow the tank as the return pump is in it's own section as are most commercial sumps. My tank run around 1.5" under the top (custom rimless) and for my 180 that means it would take around 12 gallons to overflow the tank. The return section of the sump is just a couple gallons. If I test my siphon and trickle pipe and block them myself the return starts sucking air before the waterlevel even gets near the emergency pipe, so they are useless on my tanks. If you had both drains block at the same time AND right then the ato started I guess the E drain would work for a bit but only if the ATO had only the exact amount to fill the tank but not overflow it with both tubes plugged. There is a lot more in this hobby to worry about than a stuck on ATO while the primary siphon gets blocked AND the secondary gets blocked. If one worries that much then get a controller with multiple redundant float vales to shut stuff off before it even becomes an issue.

Never useless!!
Just a piece of mind.

 

[Diesel]

In the event of a blocked drain, my tank can handle all the water from my return section of my sump. I designed it that way. and the tank can handle the water from my 5-7 gallons usually in my ATO. BUT I just realized the new ATO resevoir I was hoping to use might not work. The extra 3 gallons might put it over the edge. ugh. I might just keep using my old salinity bucket afterall.

Did you wish you had a E-drain now.
It's never a question of IF but WHEN.

 

[hart24601]

I guess why not a forth so you have two dry dedicated e-drains. Even more piece of mind. And run a line at top of sump to floor drain.

At some point it get silly.

 

[CMO]

I'm running an undersized emergency drain (main is a herbie) and use redundant float / optical switches to shut down the return pump in case of a drain backup. I also have a low level optical switch about two inches below my return chamber water level as a 3rd redundancy or to catch any sump leaks, chiller leaks etc. Best I could do without drilling. Risk with this setup is a drain backup and simultaneous internet (or apex) failure which I view as pretty unlikely.

 

[Diesel]

It's only silly if you don't have a E- drain if you run a sump.