Overflow siphon box and aqua lifter pump question.

[rollo]

Hope I can get an answer for this small question that is bugging me. I am about to start a 60 gallon tank and am in the process of purchasing a few items for it. One is an overflow siphon box, I decided not to drill the tank. I see that some people purchase an aqua lifter pump in order to ensure you do not lose water siphon to your sump tank. I can't find anything that tells how this works. Is the hose of the aqua lifter attached to the venturi of the overflow box and the other end into the sump tank? Thus sucking any accumulated air out?

Love to hear from someone who has this set up.

Thanks!

 

[CoralHut]

The aqualifter ensures that the siphon in the U tube is constant by providing a constant source of water through the U tube siphon. Some HOB overflow boxes have a port built in for the aqualifter to attach to. The CPR overflow box is the one that utilizes this source.

 

[CoralHut]

A down side to using a HOB overflow is that in the event of a power outage the siphon will be lost. If the power turns back on during that loss of siphon the water in the sump will flow back into the tank and may cause the tank to overflow. So it would be highly recommended to use some type of venturi hose to keep a constant siphon on the U tube either through an aqualifter pump or a venturi attachment to a powerhead inside the tank.

 

[MounteeFrag]

I've been using the eshopps 800 on my 75 for almost 2 years. I turn off all pumps when I feed and have lost power many of times and have never lost siphon. I can't speak for the ones that take a pump. Why use more electric

 

[rollo]

Thanks guys for your info. CoralHut, I've read remarks from others mentioning the same thing. I imagine they rather be on the safe side, especially if your tank is in the house. And Mounteefrag, I have also read numerous remarks like yours, that the siphon flow has never been lost for them when the power goes off, in fact, I haven't heard of an siphon failing yet when the power goes back on. Now that I mention this, I am sure I am going to hear a few stories.

 

[rollo]

MounteeFrag, if I can ask you. Does the sponge filter on your overflow need constant cleaning to maintain the proper flow rate and what is the flow rate of your return pump? I am trying to figure out a combination that will work well together. I was thinking of getting the Jebao DC-6000 pump and just dial in the right pump rate. Love to hear what you and what is working for you.

 

[BODI]

Not all external overflow's are created equal!

There are only a couple designs I would think to trust personally... LifeReef which is the original design to not lose a siphon and is high quality American made. And then there is the eShopps which is essentially a copy of the original LifeReef design, but made overseas using inferior materials and poor quality control.

Any other design is IMO prone to lose siphon during power failure

 

[rollo]

Bodi... Thanks for the info. I went to the website, just a tad more money, but looks like what the doctor ordered. And one less plug-in to hassle with!

 

[MounteeFrag]

I don't use the sponge. Just something else to clean. I use a Rio 2500 and don't adjust anything. It just works. When I first got it, it was loud to my standards, I fix it by putting a piece of airline tubing in the clear tube. Again, it just works. YouTube was helpful when setting this up.

 

[CoralHut]

I have had several customers with the eshopps overflow, lifereef overflowz, and the CPR overflow. All of them eventually had an overflow in ident. These were tanks in the 100-180g range. I think HOB overflows are not a matter of if they will fail, but when. All it takes is a few bubbles to break prime. So always use a back up pump. Incidentally, the ones that overflowed only did so when the pump failed to turn on that started the prime over again.

 

[CoralHut]

Incident*

 

[Carlson Moncrief]

Jist ge Tg an aqueon proflex overflow! They work great!! I have no fear of ever losing siphon and any bubble that show up just geg carried out from the flow. I was able to mai ntain siphon for this over flow rated up to 962 gph with a 300 gph pump. Thats pretty impressive.

 

[vlangel]

I have overflow boxes on both my tanks and have been running a sump since 2007. I use an aqua lifter pump on the tank with the bigger overflow box and slower return because it does accumulate bubbles. I do not use an aqua lifter pump on the nano eshopps overflow box because the flow capacity is about the same as the actual flow so it never accumulates bubbles. Both overflow boxes work flawlessly. I personally have total confidence in it.

 

[Carlson Moncrief]

I have had several customers with the eshopps overflow, lifereef overflowz, and the CPR overflow. All of them eventually had an overflow in ident. These were tanks in the 100-180g range. I think HOB overflows are not a matter of if they will fail, but when. All it takes is a few bubbles to break prime. So always use a back up pump. Incidentally, the ones that overflowed only did so when the pump failed to turn on that started the prime over again.

It takes a lot more than a few. Most bubbles just keeps goi g down the overflow. With mine, you have to have a whole lot of air for it to quit.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Forget the Aqualifter, it is just another point of failure and U tube siphons don't need it. If you are looking at the CPR style overflow then they do require the Aqualifter which is why I would never recommend them.
U tube siphons are extremely reliable and work quite well if you choose not to drill. Eshopps and Lifereef are two good brands.

 

[vlangel]

Forget the Aqualifter, it is just another point of failure and U tube siphons don't need it. If you are looking at the CPR style overflow then they do require the Aqualifter which is why I would never recommend them.
U tube siphons are extremely reliable and work quite well if you choose not to drill. Eshopps and Lifereef are two good brands.

I agree with you AZ. If the flow is well matched for the capacity of the overflow box it will work perfectly without an aqua lifter. I had added a separate tank to my system by just moving one of my returns over to the new tank but still running the overflow of the new tank into the original sump. That diminished the flow in the original tank by less than half and the overflow box was already slightly bigger than I had needed. The aqua lifter allows me to continue using the over box that I had although I have considered buying a smaller U tube so I wouldn't need an aqua lifter. Just hadn't gotten around to it. As long as the airline tubing is secure so is my overflow box.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Here is a good read, granted it is from the manufacturer but it shows how reliable they are.
prefilter box, siphon box, overflow box, siphon overflow, Eurobrace, Euro-brace, Euro-tank

 

[vlangel]

Here is a good read, granted it is from the manufacturer but it shows how reliable they are.
prefilter box, siphon box, overflow box, siphon overflow, Eurobrace, Euro-brace, Euro-tank

Yes, that is very informative. My last aqua lifter quit working but the syphon was still maintained because the output of the aqua lifter stays submerged in water in my overflow box. That would be important because like the article states, all pumps fail.

 

[MounteeFrag]

Forget the Aqualifter, it is just another point of failure and U tube siphons don't need it. If you are looking at the CPR style overflow then they do require the Aqualifter which is why I would never recommend them.
U tube siphons are extremely reliable and work quite well if you choose not to drill. Eshopps and Lifereef are two good brands.

Couldn't of said it better.

 

[Aquarist76]

Jumping on an old thread here. I set up a 75G tank that for years I was using a filter canister for. I finally decided a couple of weeks ago that wasn't good enough and decided to put in a sump. I didn't want to drill the tank so I got a HOB overflow. The type that has the siphon port. The only other time I had HOB overflows was years ago when I was first getting started. Back then it was just the type with a curved tube connecting the inside to the outside chambers. To start the siphon you'd have to stick a piece of air line up the tube to the top of the curve and suck out the air.

With these new kinds with the siphon port I realized once i got the siphon started I had to clamp the suction tube or air would get back in and ruin the siphon. This worked well for a couple of weeks. The siphon even held during power outages. But all of a sudden it's not holding siphon. Once started even clamping it, it loses siphon. The big part of the problem is this tank is with my family 5000 miles away. LOL. So I'm trying to remotely fix things.

I decided to buy an aqua lifter just to make things easier on my family. My question is, will this have to run 24/7 to keep the siphon going? Or is it something I can program my Apex to turn on to run for like a minute after any power failure then back off and it will keep the siphon? Since both ends of the lifter tubes will be in water then air can't get in the system so I'd assume it would hold suction even if off. Just curious what to expect?

Thx.