Is this a bad idea. Plumbing overflow help

[Kingsley_Reef]

I want to convert a stock overflow box to have an emergency standpipe for piece of mind I plan on using the old return hole as the drain and keeping the factory durso drain. Ile hard plumb the return over the edge of the glass see attached photo for diagram

 

[CasperOe]

Can't see why it wouldn't work, by doing it this way you avoid drilling anything :) I do appreciate the piece of mind.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Can't see why it wouldn't work, by doing it this way you avoid drilling anything :) I do appreciate the piece of mind.

It’s like your kitchen fire extinguisher you hope you never have to use it but it makes you feel better it’s there never had a tank clog and overflow but the stories I’ve read on this page has me terrified I am also a licensed general contractor and have a lot of plumbing experience but some plumbing things in the hobby would not fly on site like for example reducing a drain pipe even though the original durso comes reduced so I like question my ideas lol

 

[DCR]

Lots of people have done something similar. You might want to convert the Durso into a full siphon - converting the system to a Herbie. It will have more flow capacity and be quieter.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Lots of people have done something similar. You might want to convert the Durso into a full siphon - converting the system to a Herbie. It will have more flow capacity and be quieter.

I have also considered this……I have no experience with herbies but I’ve hear they are a bit of a pain the get setup properly

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Ditch the durso for sure!

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

So if I do the herbie do I keep the main standpipe 1.25 reduce to 1” at the bulkhead like the factory durso or do I just keep it straight 1” and a 3/4” emergency standpipe?

 

[DCR]

The easiest thing to do would be to cut the Durso in half and lower the entire U-bend with the strainer so that it is underwater. You then need to add a gate valve to the drain. You could just use a standpipe on the 3/4" overflow.

Not sure exactly how large your tank or circulation rate is, but I would prefer to have the full siphon on the 3/4" and the overflow on the 1-1/4". A 3/4" full siphon should handle at least 300 gph. If you have a large enough flow you might want to increase the 3/4" full siphon to 1" after the bulkhead. I like to have a strainer on the full siphon in case a fish gets in the overflow. You might be able to salvage the strainer on the Durso to do that and use reducers to get down to the 3/4" bulkhead. You can add a short length of pipe if you want to raise the strainer so it is easier to get too (it will need to be cleaned periodically or just to keep some water in the overflow box when your return pump shuts down or you can just insert a 3/4" strainer into the 3/4" bulkhead. The overflow just needs to be an open top standpipe at the highest water level you want in the overflow box.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So if I do the herbie do I keep the main standpipe 1.25 reduce to 1” at the bulkhead like the factory durso or do I just keep it straight 1” and a 3/4” emergency standpipe?

The emergency drain should be at least as big as the main drain. It can be the same size but not smaller.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

The easiest thing to do would be to cut the Durso in half and lower the entire U-bend with the strainer so that it is underwater. You then need to add a gate valve to the drain. You could just use a standpipe on the 3/4" overflow.

Not sure exactly how large your tank or circulation rate is, but I would prefer to have the full siphon on the 3/4" and the overflow on the 1-1/4". A 3/4" full siphon should handle at least 300 gph. If you have a large enough flow you might want to increase the 3/4" full siphon to 1" after the bulkhead. I like to have a strainer on the full siphon in case a fish gets in the overflow. You might be able to salvage the strainer on the Durso to do that and use reducers to get down to the 3/4" bulkhead. You can add a short length of pipe if you want to raise the strainer so it is easier to get too (it will need to be cleaned periodically or just to keep some water in the overflow box when your return pump shuts down or you can just insert a 3/4" strainer into the 3/4" bulkhead. The overflow just needs to be an open top standpipe at the highest water level you want in the overflow box.

It’s a deep blue 57 I picked up on here used

Here’s a rough idea of my plans for this build. But I definitely am leaning toward the herbie style now

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Planning a basment sump thinking of using a vortec m2 to help compensate with the head pressure

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I have a few suggestions but will have to post them later tonight.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

I have a few suggestions but will have to post them later tonight.

I appreciate any help on this as it will be a timely and pricey build

 

[GlassMunky]

Lots of people have done something similar. You might want to convert the Durso into a full siphon - converting the system to a Herbie. It will have more flow capacity and be quieter.

I second this idea. I did that on my old 90G sps tank.

 

[DCR]

A 3/4" full siphon should be adequate for a 57 gallon tank. You can increase it to 1" below the bulkhead if you think you want more flow, but your overflow box weir is likely to limit you before the full siphon. I recommend putting the gate valve close to the discharge in the basement to minimize any chance of noise from air getting trapped below the valve. I would probably just add a couple of bushings or reducers to increase the pipe size to 1-1/4" inside the box and put the old Durso strainer on top of it. An oversized strainer is a benefit. I would put a standpipe to raise it in the box and make it easier to get to. It just needs to be 3-4" below the water line.

On a Herbie, you typically want to set the gate valve on the full siphon so just a trickle is coming down the overflow pipe. Some people try to adjust it so that there is no overflow and you maintain a level in the box below the overflow standpipe, but I find this hard to maintain and requires frequent adjustments.

Then I would just add a 1" standpipe for the overflow onto the 1" bulkhead and run 1" pipe down to your sump. It seems like you are reasonably skilled at working with PVC from your sketch and should have no problems. I do like to just pressure fit (no glue) the piping inside the overflow box so I can easily make adjustments to the height if needed,

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

A 3/4" full siphon should be adequate for a 57 gallon tank. You can increase it to 1" below the bulkhead if you think you want more flow, but your overflow box weir is likely to limit you before the full siphon. I recommend putting the gate valve close to the discharge in the basement to minimize any chance of noise from air getting trapped below the valve. I would probably just add a couple of bushings or reducers to increase the pipe size to 1-1/4" inside the box and put the old Durso strainer on top of it. An oversized strainer is a benefit. I would put a standpipe to raise it in the box and make it easier to get to. It just needs to be 3-4" below the water line.

On a Herbie, you typically want to set the gate valve on the full siphon so just a trickle is coming down the overflow pipe. Some people try to adjust it so that there is no overflow and you maintain a level in the box below the overflow standpipe, but I find this hard to maintain and requires frequent adjustments.

Then I would just add a 1" standpipe for the overflow onto the 1" bulkhead and run 1" pipe down to your sump. It seems like you are reasonably skilled at working with PVC from your sketch and should have no problems. I do like to just pressure fit (no glue) the piping inside the overflow box so I can easily make adjustments to the height if needed,

Woah this is a lot of useful info lol so are you saying the 3/4 bulkhead becomes the new main drain with. 1.25 standpipe and strainer on top and the 1” technically becomes the new emergency drain but will constantly skim water?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I want to convert a stock overflow box to have an emergency standpipe for piece of mind I plan on using the old return hole as the drain and keeping the factory durso drain. Ile hard plumb the return over the edge of the glass see attached photo for diagram

I did something similar with a old SCA cube. It was originally drilled for one drain and one return.

As said above, I just run it as a herbie with full gravity on the primary drain, which is seen in the 1st picture. The drain without a strainer (for photo purposes) is submerged prolly a inch or so to keep noise down (tuned with a gate valve). Drain with strainer is the emergency and is designed to make some noise when in use.

Ghetto return is self explanatory, lol. One day I'll paint it or something. Prolly gonna replace it for another low iron 50g cube or a 60g cube.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

I did something similar with a old SCA cube. It was originally drilled for one drain and one return.

As said above, I just run it as a herbie with full gravity on the primary drain, which is seen in the 1st picture. The drain without a strainer (for photo purposes) is submerged prolly a inch or so to keep noise down. Drain with strainer is the emergency and is designed to make some noise when in use.

Ghetto return is self explanatory, lol. One day I'll paint it or something. Prolly gonna replace it for another low iron 50g cube or a 60g

Yeah seems herbie is going to be the only way to go , I’m actually thinking about using sch80 for my return line the gray color would be less “ghetto” then the white sch40. Plus I have a ton of it on hand with work

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Use sch 40 for the return and paint it, or buy the colored sch 40 pvc.

I had grand plans, to buy the sch 40 in black but it turned into a meh it works moment after a bit.

 

[DCR]

Woah this is a lot of useful info lol so are you saying the 3/4 bulkhead becomes the new main drain with. 1.25 standpipe and strainer on top and the 1” technically becomes the new emergency drain but will constantly skim water?

Yes, that is what I am suggesting. I would make the 3/4" the full siphon. You do not have to re-use the 1-1/4 piping and strainer, but since you have the strainer already, I would use it - plus it having an oversized strainer reduces the cleaning frequency.

I would use the 1" as an overflow and have it trickle over. I have 3-drain Bean set-ups where the secondary is a trickle and you still have a dry emergency (3rd overflow), but I have never used the emergency. I think the Herbie with 2 drains is fine - especially for a 57 gallon. If you try to adjust the siphon to keep the overflow dry, it will be tricky to maintain the level in the overflow box. When you read about people having trouble tuning a Herbie, that is typically what they are trying to do. Better to just keep a small trickle going over to absorb any changes in the return flow with the overflow IMO. The risk of your overflow plugging off is pretty low.