Overflow teeth

[Monkeynaut]

What are the different things the overflow teeth do?

I am guessing it is just to keep fish from swimming over it. Anything else it does?

What would be the best way to widen the teeth?

I am curious because my pump is overflowing the teeth on my system.

 

[mcarroll]

Cut more teeth....or lower the flow down to what the drain system was designed for.

If you've measured your return flow, how much flow are you running? Otherwise, what pump do you have and what's your return plumbing and tank height like?

 

[jeff williams]

Yes I agree your flowing more water than the weir was designed to flow. There's a few things you can do. 1-reduce return pump flow.
2- file the grooves a little bit lower. 3- cut more grooves.
4- increase overflow rate. Larger overflow pipe this one only works if the water level is the same hight on both sides of the weir

 

[Monkeynaut]

Cut more teeth....or lower the flow down to what the drain system was designed for.

If you've measured your return flow, how much flow are you running? Otherwise, what pump do you have and what's your return plumbing and tank height like?

It is 700GPH on a 150 gallons of actual water volume. It doesn't bother me too much with it overflowing(unless it is a tank health problem?). I am considering cutting more teeth but that will be difficult since I have alot of rock against it.

I am actually going to get an even bigger pump to provide approriate flow.

 

[mcarroll]

300-600 GPH of actual flow ought to do it for a 150g.

Do you have 700 GPH of flow or a "700GPH" pump?

Seems like a "700GPH" pump ought to be about right....but 700 gph of actual flow might be a bit much.

 

[jeff williams]

It is 700GPH on a 150 gallons of actual water volume. It doesn't bother me too much with it overflowing(unless it is a tank health problem?). I am considering cutting more teeth but that will be difficult since I have alot of rock against it.

I am actually going to get an even bigger pump to provide approriate flow.

It's not a tank health issue. The weir is used to create surface skimming so you don't get Protien build up on the surface of the water causing decrease gas exchange. However it might be a health problem to tank inhabitants that get to close and possibly sucked over the weir

 

[Monkeynaut]

Ok, so the weir teeth only keep animals in the tank. That is one question.

What is the best way to widen the teeth or make more? Im guessing table saw or router? Anything I am not considering?

@mcarroll the flow is actually 700gph measured with the apex flow meter.

 

[ludnix]

Why not turn down the flow instead? You'd need to remove the overflow box from the tank to use a table saw sled or router sled. It would give nice results but it's a lot of work compared to just keeping the overflow speed limited.

 

[Monkeynaut]

It is a custom tank done by glass cages. By the exterior dimensions it would be a 200 gallon system.
Actual water volume between the sump and tank is 150 gallons.

I want to do triton but will be overflowing the weir to do it. I still only plan for 1000gph.

 

[jeff williams]

Ok, so the weir teeth only keep animals in the tank. That is one question.

What is the best way to widen the teeth or make more? Im guessing table saw or router? Anything I am not considering?

@mcarroll the flow is actually 700gph measured with the apex flow meter.

Whenever I have made a weir for a tank I use a table saw. However if you cannot remover the weir from the tank without a lot of hassle you can use a square file and file the teeth wider or deeper, this is usually a lot of work filing it. The other option would be a dremel but it won't look as nice

 

[mcarroll]

I want to do triton but will be overflowing the weir to do it. I still only plan for 1000gph.

At 700 GPH your flow is already more than needed – about double what it really takes to get the job done.
2x = 300 gph
700 gph / 150 = 4.9x

I guess you just have to decide if it's worth modding your tank while it's filled just to get a little more.
4x = 600 gph
1000/150 = 6.7x

Is your plumbing set up for that flow or will you have to re-do your plumbing system as well?

If you're not shooting for their recommendation (10x) why make any change at all? I haven't been able to imagine a benefit to 100% more flow (10x; their recommendation) but at least that would be a significant change in flow rate, so "maybe".....but 30%? It's very hard to imagine taking any risk at all for this small of a change. I'd try the rest of their regime and save this change for later....maybe never, maybe on the next tank. IMO.

I Have A Triton Question
Any idea why 10x is magical but (e.g.) 2x through 9x and 11x through 20x is not? Seems like they call for a pretty standard-issue sump, so I guess I don't get it. Seems kinda old-fashioned in an outdated kind of way....or like maybe they just reached for a nice round number and there's not that much meaning behind it. I can't figure it out. Have any thoughts on this?

 

[ludnix]

I Have A Triton Question
Any idea why 10x is magical but (e.g.) 2x through 9x and 11x through 20x is not? Seems like they call for a pretty standard-issue sump, so I guess I don't get it. Seems kinda old-fashioned in an outdated kind of way....or like maybe they just reached for a nice round number and there's not that much meaning behind it. I can't figure it out. Have any thoughts on this?

I think they were looking for a number, they have to give some sort of recommendation but I really just can't see how it would make much difference without knowing particulars of each setup. I'm with you that I would just keep the flow lower and maintain other aspects of the method.

 

[Monkeynaut]

I got the overflow cover out of the tank. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to use a table saw. But I did make a couple passes on the teeth with a circular saw. This wasn't looking how I wanted. So I got out the Jigsaw and put the thickest blade on it I had. I was able to use this to widen the teeth gaps and maintain a clean professional look (mostly). After cutting, sandpaper smoothed everything out.

I am happier now, the water overflows the weir about 2/3 the way up the teeth.

I wasn't happy with the Vectra M1 either. It bogged down when cheato got near the impeller. Rather than chewing up the cheato the stuff would just sit on the eye of the pump.
I got a reef octopus varios-8 and haven't had the same issues. Plus I got flow up to 820gph now. I will try leaving flow here for now.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Hind sight is twenty twenty. I always "wet" test with tap water right after setting up a new system. Allows for leak testing my fittings and adjustments to pumps before becoming salty. This would have been the time to mod the weir. Live and learn.