How would you plumb a 220g dual overflow tank?

[madweazl]

I drilled a tank for the first time about two years ago and kick myself for not doing this on my previous setups; the process is unbelievably easy. I know you mentioned not wanting to drill the tank but at least look into the process, it really is that easy. You'll gain a lot of internal space removing the original overflows.

As for the stand-pipes in each overflow box, it wouldn't matter which ones you placed in the respective overflows (use what is most logical in regard to plumbing your sump).

 

[Radman73]

I drilled a tank for the first time about two years ago and kick myself for not doing this on my previous setups; the process is unbelievably easy. I know you mentioned not wanting to drill the tank but at least look into the process, it really is that easy. You'll gain a lot of internal space removing the original overflows.

As for the stand-pipes in each overflow box, it wouldn't matter which ones you placed in the respective overflows (use what is most logical in regard to plumbing your sump).

Yep. On my 60 I drilled the return in the back where it was covered by the overflow and used the existing holes to run a herbie. On my 220 I ripped out the overflows, plugged the holes on the bottom, drilled new holes for a ghost overflow, and am currently setup to run the returns over the top. The bonus is significantly more space in the DT. The risk is the four existing holes lol! Those bulkheads would have posed a risk anyway, albeit not quite as great as long as the overflows didn't leak.

 

[Jrco226]

No, because you don't want detritus to build up on one side. I use each drain and each return as they were designed. It's a Marineland tank, right? But if you use 1 bigger return pump and split it, try to use a 1 inch Y splitter instead of a T splitter. A T-splitter will add more head pressure. They sell them on Marinedepot.com.

I understand that so what type of drains are you running? Full siphon on both with no emergency?

 

[Coronus]

Dual over flows are difficult to truly keep dialed in for a herbie drain. Yea its silent and all but constant messing with to keep drains dialed when its dual. And I agree one herbie and then the other returns is scary.
Why not just plum it with the overflows. After messing around with the herbie drains I went back to regular plumbing of overflows. I have no issues, been 6-7 years.

 

[Jrco226]

I drilled a tank for the first time about two years ago and kick myself for not doing this on my previous setups; the process is unbelievably easy. I know you mentioned not wanting to drill the tank but at least look into the process, it really is that easy. You'll gain a lot of internal space removing the original overflows.

As for the stand-pipes in each overflow box, it wouldn't matter which ones you placed in the respective overflows (use what is most logical in regard to plumbing your sump).

As much as I would like to do this but due to the placement of the tank I don't want to run anything on the back side. I'm trying to get the tank to sit flush with the wall as best I can.

 

[Coronus]

As much as I would like to do this but due to the placement of the tank I don't want to run anything on the back side. I'm trying to get the tank to sit flush with the wall as best I can.

Well you always want a good amount of space behind the tank to get to what ever you might need to get to.

 

[Jrco226]

Dual over flows are difficult to truly keep dialed in for a herbie drain. Yea its silent and all but constant messing with to keep drains dialed when its dual. And I agree one herbie and then the other returns is scary.
Why not just plum it with the overflows. After messing around with the herbie drains I went back to regular plumbing of overflows. I have no issues, been 6-7 years.

I believe I'm going to try to run a bean animal overflow with the full siphon and emergency in one and a open channel and return in the other. The only issue will be some stagnant water in the open channel overflow but I hope the open channel with handle enough water to turn that overflow over during a day.

 

[Smo]

With two separate overflows you need a "balance pipe" between the overflows to make a full syphon drain (e.g., Herbie or BeanAnimal) work properly. This would require an additional bulkhead in each overflow. Otherwise 90-95% of your drain flow will go thru the overflow with the full syphon (assuming you do not exceed the limits imposed by the linear length of the overflow) and the balance thru the other overflow--not an ideal implementation. Dialing it in may be a constant challenge too.
In your case, since you do not want to add additional holes and want the tank up against the wall--you will be forced to use a Durso drain and return in each overflow. You will have flow limitations thru a 1" bulkhead and it will likely be noisy. You will just need to experiment.

 

[Jrco226]

With two separate overflows you need a "balance pipe" between the overflows to make a full syphon drain (e.g., Herbie or BeanAnimal) work properly. This would require an additional bulkhead in each overflow. Otherwise 90-95% of your drain flow will go thru the overflow with the full syphon (assuming you do not exceed the limits imposed by the linear length of the overflow) and the balance thru the other overflow--not an ideal implementation. Dialing it in may be a constant challenge too.
In your case, since you do not want to add additional holes and want the tank up against the wall--you will be forced to use a Durso drain and return in each overflow. You will have flow limitations thru a 1" bulkhead and it will likely be noisy. You will just need to experiment.

In a bean animal isn't everything independent of each other? I'm new at this so I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. The full siphon is fully submerged with a gate value to adjust flow while you have a open channel as an overflow basically for your full siphon to handle any fluctuation as well as set you water height in the overflow then lastly your dry emergency. So why would the open channel and siphon and open channel need to be connect with a balance pipe? I know that what is best for a true herbie overflow in a dual overflow situation to make adjustments easier. I have no idea if this is correct or not but so far this is my understanding.

 

[Smo]

The genius of the BeanAnimal drain system is the balance the open channel (Durso style drain) provides the full syphon. Ideally, a vast majority of the flow will silently go down the full syphon drain and only a small amount down the open channel so it remains quiet. This means almost all your flow will go down the overflow with the full syphon in it and you will have difficulty balancing with the open channel.
See the following link which discusses Herbie drain systems using two overflows. It is applicable to the BeanAnimal drain system too.
http://gmacreef.com/herbie-dual-overflows/

 

[Jrco226]

The genius of the BeanAnimal drain system is the balance the open channel (Durso style drain) provides the full syphon. Ideally, a vast majority of the flow will silently go down the full syphon drain and only a small amount down the open channel so it remains quiet. This means almost all your flow will go down the overflow with the full syphon in it and you will have difficulty balancing with the open channel.
See the following link which discusses Herbie drain systems using two overflows. It is applicable to the BeanAnimal drain system too.
http://gmacreef.com/herbie-dual-overflows/

Okay, I think I'm getting it so if you were in my boat and didn't have the option to drill the tank or modify the returns how would you run it?

 

[pickupman66]

on my 180, it had a drain and a return in each side. I just kept it that way and made hoffer gurgle busters for it. they were dead silent and over 5 years I never had an issue. these dual 1.5" returns ran into a 2" retun that went back under the house into the garage sump. dont get me wrong, the Herbie or Bean animal are safer, but this worked with me with huge volumes of water. the angled pipes on the back here are Closed loop supply and returns. tank was pre-drilled for those.

 

[Smo]

Okay, I think I'm getting it so if you were in my boat and didn't have the option to drill the tank or modify the returns how would you run it?

Given those limitations I suggest a Durso drain and return in each overflow. The 1" bulkheads will be a limiting factor in how much water you will be able to drain...perhaps in the 1,000 GPH range. This should be sufficient. Old school was 10x turnover rate thru the sump but 5-6 provides better contact time. You will need to experiment. I also suggest using 1 1/4" or larger Durso standpipes thru a reducer to the 1" bulkheads to help reduce the gurgling noise.

 

[Forsaken77]

I understand that so what type of drains are you running? Full siphon on both with no emergency?

I run it as the durso that it is. I haven't done it yet, but each drain pipe has a siphon block hole on the top. This is usually where any noise comes from because the holes are small. I believe I read somewhere that if you drill the holes on the drain pipe a bit wider than it'll be silent. I don't need an emergency drain because I don't keep snails. Can't stand them. They usually wander out of the tank and/or die and decay in the tank.

Also, you're going to need space behind the tank, if just to scrub algae. It's 6 feet long and what, 30 inches high, and to my knowledge, nobody has arms that long. Don't put it flat against the wall. Plus evaporation can ruin the wall in some cases, depending on the wall. Not to mention these tanks are heavy as hell EMPTY, 400 pounds just for the tank I think. So test out your reach before you fill it. You may want to add a powerhead or 2 in the back center as time goes on. Because once it's full, that's it.