Why is this not proprietary?

[ShawnSaucier]

With overflows being rather common in reef aquariums, why have manufacturers not developed some type of lifting bracket for the inside of the overflow? What has caused me to think of this is how many times you've had to rescue a critter that has found their way in? It's an absolute nightmare trying to catch a finned friend or other critter..
It would be great to just grab a handle and be able to raise the bottom of the overflow without trying to capture said friend with a net. Just a thought...

 

[nitro316]

Sounds like something you could make proprietary.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Do you think as a community, this is something we could change? With so many different manufacturers, and shapes of there overflows (I.e. How many holes, spacing, corner or standard).... any one with the ability to manufacture here's a great idea and I'll buy..

 

[wkscott]

It could also be used to lift out and clean the algae that likes to grow there.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Absolutely! And allow you to also rescue snails and other critters. Obviously with plumbing it would not be able to be fully removable, but to be able to lift things into an easy and manageable height to capture/ recover any thing that may have made its way in.
It's so simple. Who else would be interested??

 

[yellojello]

Take a look at Turbo Aquatics ATS rev 4. Similar concept.

 

[Kmsutows]

All you need is a piece of acrylic the shape of the bottom and a count for piping then just aneed attached stick to pull it up. Great idea. Wish I thought of it before setting up mine.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Take a look at Turbo Aquatics ATS rev 4. Similar concept.

Maybe I missed a picture on the site. But I'm not talking about an ATS system. I apologize if I'm not getting the connection, I jumped to their site quickly with card in hand, lol.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

All you need is a piece of acrylic the shape of the bottom and a count for piping then just aneed attached stick to pull it up. Great idea. Wish I thought of it before setting up mine.

Everytime I have to save someone I think the same thing. But like I said, if it came proprietary with your drilled tank, as a safety measure for your inhabitants...
Sure you can add screen, or other DIY things, but some one always seems to get by.
I feel somewhat lucky as my overflow is smoked glass so I can somewhat see what I'm doing, getting stuck between pipes and scaring the fish. But with other non-transparent types of overflows I can imagine pulling out my hair..

 

[Alfrareef]

Everytime I have to save someone I think the same thing. But like I said, if it came proprietary with your drilled tank, as a safety measure for your inhabitants...
Sure you can add screen, or other DIY things, but some one always seems to get by.
I feel somewhat lucky as my overflow is smoked glass so I can somewhat see what I'm doing, getting stuck between pipes and scaring the fish. But with other non-transparent types of overflows I can imagine pulling out my hair..

Good idea! I've gone thru several catching fish adventures at my overflow, and believe me that with a coast to coast it's really challenging.
Next chance I'll probably get some plastic net and build a open box to place inside the overflow... it should be simple to implement and certainly I'll save lots of time fishing...
Thanks!

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Just in case you need a silly diagram:

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Good idea! I've gone thru several catching fish adventures at my overflow, and believe me that with a coast to coast it's really challenging.
Next chance I'll probably get some plastic net and build a open box to place inside the overflow... it should be simple to implement and certainly I'll save lots of time fishing...
Thanks!

Exactly! But it comes down to you " hopefully"building something that would work. And this always comes as an afterthought once you've done a couple rescues.
But as a community, is it possible that we could persuade manufacturing companies ( big and small) to include this type of system in their units?

 

[rockhead51]

Why not just rig a net across the overflow, lower than the bottom of the slots and higher than any plumbing?

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Why not just rig a net across the overflow, lower than the bottom of the slots and higher than any plumbing?

Of course you can do this, but things build up on the netting, if you need to access any plumbing it would need to be deconstructed, netting can easily break, tear or harm a fish. I think it would have to be done in acrylic or something similar.
But the question and thought is why is there not some type of proprietary system with overflows for helping to save/retrieve any fish that make it into the chamber. It's a nightmare to catch any fish with the plumbing installed and gets worse the smaller the fish gets.
Also this is always an afterthought after your tank is built, plumbing all glued. If the system was built with the overflow there would be more precision with less chance of failure, in a sense.

 

[CPL376]

Get some plastic needle point material cut it to the size you want fold it in half but don't crease it and slide it into your overflow leaving a little out so you can get ahold of it too pull it out. Best 52 cents I've ever spent

 

[mkj]

my fish don't like my overflow. I must be doing something wrong.

 

[tyler1503]

Alternatively, you could just add a sponge [emoji23]

 

[yellojello]

Maybe I missed a picture on the site. But I'm not talking about an ATS system. I apologize if I'm not getting the connection, I jumped to their site quickly with card in hand, lol.

He built a removable inside compartment to clean the algae and led light cover easier. It has integrated drain he that fits into the ATS drain hole. Same concept as an overflow if you think about it.

 

[yellojello]

If your fish is small enough, and you have easy access to overflow, you could always remove the drain pipe and let the fish drain out into the sump. Or if you want to clean the overflow bottom, same thing but use filter sock.

 

[Jesus]

I agree 100% I have a 6 line wrasse living in my overflow for months and impossible to catch