wet dry and ultra clear

[Anonymous]

Do not use the towel then. Seems like you are covered on the return side. I'll let others cover the overflow since I have never used one.

 

[Rob Top]

Forgive me if it is stated in the above. I skimmed and didn't see mention of a siphion break hole in the return line. Did I miss it? If not, let me say that it is critical!!!. On the return line, just below the water drill a small hole. In a power outage this will prevent a back siphion into the sump, and a flood.
Just to give you piece of mind. I ran a 75 with a HOB overflow for 4 years without a flood. Have a a siphion break in the return, some way of removing air from the overflow, and make sure your sump can handle all the water when the power dies and then forget about floods. Well not entirely, everyday add the .25 seconds it takes to visually inspect the overflow to make sure there isn't trapped air. Now the skimmer, please don't do as I and so many have before me and after. DO NOT SKIMP ON THE SKIMMER! Tons of threads here on skimmers, read them and understand your needs and get quality!

 

[Anonymous]

a neet trick to help out is to drill a small hole in the top of the siphon tube for the overflow and glue in a airline attach it to the venturi on the outlet of a powerhead in the tank. it will suck out any traped air keeping the flow maximized. :lol:

 

[reedlog]

there is a hole in the return line, but it is actually on the return piece that blows water back into the tank, and i believe that the hole is just above the water level (so out of the water) is this wrong? It should be in the water?, and if it is in the water it should be in the water as in in the sump on the return line, or in the water on the piece that blows back into the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

from what you describe the hole your talking about is in the correct place and should work great to prevent back siphon during a power outage. what i was talking about is a small hole in the utube of the hob overflow to suck out traped air that reduces the out flow. a small hole with a fitting and an air line attached to a power head in the tank keeps the flow rate high.

 

[Anonymous]

The location of the hole is fine. Fuctionally it will do the same thing. Break the suction so your return line does not suck water back to the sump. If it is above water it "might" splash a little. Generally the hole is small enough that is not a big deal. Just to make sure I am explaining myself the hole should be on the return line in the tank, not the sump.

 

[Anonymous]

a neet trick to help out is to drill a small hole in the top of the siphon tube for the overflow and glue in a airline attach it to the venturi on the outlet of a powerhead in the tank. it will suck out any traped air keeping the flow maximized. :lol:

But won't the venturi line slowly siphon water from the tank down to the sump? What happens if the power is out for a couple of hours unattended?

 

[Sponge_Bob]

Maybe it would be better and far less confusing if everyone took the time to read the whole thread before posting any comments/advice. On the second page, I see a lot of posts that are already covered in the first page of this thread. It's cool to help and the wilingness to help should be saluted and I do so. But sometimes, when someone posts information that has already been covered in details, it can lead to misunderstandings and confusion, rather than helping like the person is trying to do.

I do not say this in bad faith and to point the finger at people. I just say that it's better to read the whole thread and add information that you think is missing (like Wazzel did) than to repeat information that was already supplied. It is clear in my mind that everyone in here is well intentionned. That is not the point.

 

[Sponge_Bob]

a neet trick to help out is to drill a small hole in the top of the siphon tube for the overflow and glue in a airline attach it to the venturi on the outlet of a powerhead in the tank. it will suck out any traped air keeping the flow maximized. :lol:

But won't the venturi line slowly siphon water from the tank down to the sump? What happens if the power is out for a couple of hours unattended?

Guy,
Please refer to my post on the first page where that issue is covered and solution is provided. Angy' advice is wrong and is an unfortunate mistake some people make with such setups. The powerhead either needs a check-valve (need of a powerful powerhead and maintenance) or place the powerhead in the sump, not in the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

i think i said a power head in the tank. if the power goes out it can not siphon to the sump beceuse its in the tank. that only works if there is one thought and if there is not then it becomes a mute point...
on another note it is making things more confusing so mabe this should be worried about later.

 

[Sponge_Bob]

i think i said a power head in the tank. if the power goes out it can not siphon to the sump beceuse its in the tank. that only works if there is one thought and if there is not then it becomes a mute point...
on another note it is making things more confusing so mabe this should be worried about later.

That is EXACTLY the problem. If your powerhead is in the main tank and not in the sump, during a power outage, it will back syphon to the overflow box, then to the sump, then on the floor. The powerhead either needs to be very powerful and have a check-valve on it, or it can be a small powerhead placed in the sump. That way, the powerhead will not be able to syphon back water from the tank to the sump and create an overflow.

Hope that makes it more clearer.

 

[reedlog]

okay, I am afraid I am about to make the board confusing again....


I managed to quiet down the pump, and big thank you to everyone's help. But, now I am concerned about the other problem which some people were talking about... quieting down the syphon from the overflow box into the pre-filter. I know some spoke of drilling a hole into the u-tube and connecting to a powerhead in the tank.. this seems difficult to me, and hopefully not the only solution. I know I can lower the overflow box lower into the tank and that may help a bit, but that also raises the water level in the sump, and right now that is about perfect. Plus, the main problem I feel is the water level in the pre-filter, and sound of it sucking water and air down, maybe making some kind of contraption to cover the hole at the top of the prefilter to buffer the sound?

Thanks again everyone for your help!

 

[Anonymous]

reedlog

There are various designs to quiet down the rushing sound of overflows. Basically, you have to have both ends of the pipe completely filled with water (like under the water level). That way the sound is trapped between the water at then ends. This results in air getting trapped and can lead to gurgleing and flushing. So very small holes are used to allow the pipe to ''breath" yet still trap the sound.

Durso in one design but there are others. It is the same idea as the water traps under the sinks on your house.

 

[Anonymous]

reedlog

There are various designs to quiet down the rushing sound of overflows. Basically, you have to have both ends of the pipe completely filled with water (like under the water level). That way the sound is trapped between the water at the ends. This results in air getting trapped and can lead to gurgleing and flushing. So very small holes are used to allow the pipe to ''breath" yet still trap the sound.

Durso in one design but there are others. It is the same idea as the water traps under the sinks on your house.

 

[Anonymous]

Double.

 

[reedlog]

so are you saying I could just add water to the pre-filter, hob portion? will it not just syphon down and conitnue to gurgle

 

[Sponge_Bob]

so are you saying I could just add water to the pre-filter, hob portion? will it not just syphon down and conitnue to gurgle

No, what he is saying is to let air in from both ends. That means your pipe is not completely underwater (or have vent holes at the bottom) and also a vent hole at the top. That way, you pipe will breathe and the noise will be greatly reduced and won't sound like a toilet flushing.

 

[Anonymous]

Reedlog, I'm not sure the source of your nosie, but it could be the drain from the outside part of the HOB to the sump. Could you post a pic or let me know the model. Many of us have had the same problem with drilled tanks. If this is the case you could do a stockmand or durso overflow. The work on the same princibel, just different geometery.

Here is the stockman type I have in my last tank.

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/download.php?id=26360

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/download.php?id=26361

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/download.php?id=20029

 

[reedlog]

so.. how and where do i add these vent holes? :?

 

[reedlog]

so.. how and where do i add these vent holes? :?