Drain or Overflow?

somethingfishy · 10-08-2004, 02:42 PM

I am going to be ordering my 29 for the reef tank and my LFS suggested that I not do an overflow. He claims that they take up too much space. I agree with this especially in a 29.

He says I should just have a hole drilled about 2" from the top of the tank. Then they would put an elbow PVC fitting and a strained that would skim the surface. This seems like a good Idea but I was wondering if there are some negatives to this.

He also suggested that I have 2 returns drilled with some of that ball tubing. I was thinking that would be good with a SCWD.

Any Suggestions?

Birdlady · 10-09-2004, 04:16 AM

You will get a toilet flushing sound with that I think....

I just got a new CPR overflow with that fitting in the bottom and I keep a piece (came with it actually) of rigid airline tubing stuck in a hole through the top of the strainer....but then that keeps the strainer under water (as well as the noise) so you would not get the surface skimming you are looking for.

If you don' t care about the noise....is seems like it would work...

Birdlady · 10-09-2004, 04:18 AM

Oh, yeah....we just got the SCWD and like it very much! With a Mag 5 (500 gph) it switches every 10 seconds and it is a smooth transition from one to the other

Gresham · 10-10-2004, 02:01 PM

It will work, but when you put your arm in the tank, the displacement will quickly catch up to the overflow. It won't overflow, but it will slurp when you put your arm in the tank. I have an overflow on my 29g, I don't feel it takes up too much space. I built my own, it's 5" wide, 5 tall and 2 deep. 3 sided, glued to the tank with silicone. Small, but still has pisplacement space.

somethingfishy · 10-10-2004, 04:23 PM

Thank you both for your replies. I think I'm just going to go with the drain system. The tanks at the store didn't seem very noisy. I hope mine won't be.

Gresham · 10-10-2004, 04:37 PM

Keep in mind, the smaller the area for an overflow/drain, the higher your chances are of it getting clogged. I've used well over a hundred of each type, drain type need more maintance. The last LFS I worked at, we had all our tanks, except for 2 done with a 90 and a screen. One of the daily jobs was to clean all screens of algea. At my current facility, we're half and half. The screens on the fish system need to be cleaned bi monthly, but the coral system needs nearly daily attention. Overflows aren't without the same issues, it just takes longer for the larger area to get clogged.

somethingfishy · 10-28-2004, 03:06 PM

Well I got my tank setup finely. I'm not sure about the drain system. It makes a slurping noise almost constantly. I know I must be doing something wrong. One of the biggest problems is that if I turn my pump on without turning down the ball valves the tank will overflow. I have to turn the valves down, turn the pump on, then slowly open the valves. I think my bulkhead may be too small.

I am using a Rio 1700 with 2 returns (I have a tee in the return). I am using a 1 inch bulk head. I figure that the rio is pushing about 300-350 GPH with the head and restrictions. I would think the bulkhead would be able to keep up.

Thank you in advance for the help

Birdlady · 10-28-2004, 03:17 PM

I did mention that it would be noisy further up here....

Can't really answer to the flow rates....sorry...

somethingfishy · 10-28-2004, 03:20 PM

I don't want to sound mean but I hate it when your right.

I really don't think it should be. The ones in the LFS were not noisy at all. I paid close attention to that. I fact I even got some weird looks for putting my ear next to the drains.

Birdlady · 10-28-2004, 03:25 PM

Are you sure it will overflow?? My hubby has way to much fun messin with me and he likes to "test" for power failures....

When I put some new stuff on, he let it run and I swore the tank was gonna overflow.....but then it didn't. He made me wait until the water hit the lip of the trim before he would let me shut it down...but then I didn't need to...it leveled out.

He is gonna give me a heart attack!