Overflow / Sump Questions

[Nobes91]

Hey all!

Saltwater newbie here.

I’ve decided to convert my 180g African cichlid tank into a FOWLR setup.

I bought the tank second hand (I will be replacing the teeth going into the weir so I don’t lose any fish). I originally had the overflow plumbed into an fx6 with an additional fx6 running over the rim.

I bought myself a trigger sump and got rid of the canisters. Here is where the questions come in. I firstly want to raise the U shaped pipe to reduce the noise of the water falling into the overflow but apart from that what would be the best way to make this relatively quiet and a lot safer? It looks like running a sump without a second drain pipe is pretty uncommon due to a lack of redundancy.

1. What would be the best way to add second drain? There is no space in the bottom of the weir to drill a 3rd hole.

2. Is it okay to drill a hole somewhere mid way up the back of the weir and then run a pipe up to the surface for an emergency drain?

3. My current drain pipe is 1.5” and the inlet to my trigger sump is 1”, is it okay to attach with a reducer or will this effect the siphon?

4. The native outlet on my sicce return pump is 3/4” but my tank return is 1”. Again is it okay to add a reducer in to get to the 1”?

Thanks in advance!

 

[KrisReef]

Use the two holes in the overflow for the drain holes. Patch or plug the current return bulkhead/hole.
Plumb the two drains to fit the sump, reducers are fine but not ideal. I might reduce the pipe size at the bulkheads to prevent things entering the large pipe and getting stuck.

Use an over the glass return that enters the tank at the opposite end for better tank circulation.

 

[Nobes91]

Use the two holes in the overflow for the drain holes. Patch or plug the current return bulkhead/hole.
Plumb the two drains to fit the sump, reducers are fine but not ideal. I might reduce the pipe size at the bulkheads to prevent things entering the large pipe and getting stuck.

Use an over the glass return that enters the tank at the opposite end for better tank circulation.

Thanks for the response! Not having to drill a hole in the tank would definitely be ideal. Are there premade over the glass returns or is that something you would typically diy?

Any recommendations on the height of the drains for a herbie style setup?

 

[Snoopy 67]

This would be called a Herbie drain system.
They work very well.

 

[KrisReef]

Thanks for the response! Not having to drill a hole in the tank would definitely be ideal. Are there premade over the glass returns or is that something you would typically diy?

Any recommendations on the height of the drains for a herbie style setup?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/over-the-top-returns-let’s-see-yours.441742/

 

[Nobes91]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/over-the-top-returns-let’s-see-yours.441742/

Thank you! Going to build mine tonight