DIY Overflow Box for 180 G

So I'm getting a house and now I can get a bigger tank. I'm looking at a 180 but I hate the way overflow boxes look. They stick out, they are black, I just don't like the way they look.

I just started designing my own box. Since I can't drill the bottom of any tank I get, I'm going to drill the holes on the back. I'm posting design renders, I'll explain further.



This is the overall idea. The whole back of the tank will be the box. Slits at 3 levels to get water from the whole tank.

You can see the 8 return heads too. Close up below.




This is the back. 4 holes on the back for the overflows. I think I'm just going to copy the All-Glass megaflow, for the tube. They are not shown in the render.

You can also see the tubes for the returns.

The overflows are 2" holes. Every two tubes will join into a 4" tube and then into the sump. I'm designing a 75 G sump / refugium.

I will have 3 pumps for the return heads, the tubing will break up over the 8 heads.





Close up of return heads. I want to use heads similar to those found in a Whirlpool. This way I can easily change the directions and create a nice ocean flow, plus they do not stick out very far.

I plan on changing their colour to blue if possible.


Sorry the pictures don't look very great, I only worked on it for about 20 minutes. They give you an idea though.

Any comments or suggestions would be great. I would love to get input if there are any flaws in my design.

 

If your pump(s) fail won't it drain all the way down to the overflow's which would be 3/4 of the tank? I've never worked with drilled tanks so I haven't researched the designs much.

I love the returns and overall look, no hardware or plumbing in the tank is what I would like to do too. You think the returns are a little too direct?

 

Good point. I have thought of a couple of things. I am planning on sectioning off chambers in the box, if one pump fails it won't be a problem. If the power goes out, I will have it running on a backup battery.

I could also make the tubing a little higher in the overflow, that way I could put holes in the tubes to break the suction.

I'm not sure what you mean by the returns are too direct. The heads would pivot, I plan on having them rotate in different directions.

I was going to make some a little lower but I don't want to move any rock or sand around. I plan on have a very high GPH.

 

It looks to me (and I'm a plumber) as though you're designing a system dependant on a pump keeping the tank water level up, and designing back up systems to cover all eventualities (battery back up).

A far better way would be to have the water level static at it's optimum level, and the overflow set to drain at this level. Then the pump (or pumps) overfill the tank and the excess drains down to the sump via gravity. This way if the power fails, everything stops at full with no worries. You can still provide battery backup to run things, but you're not so dependant on it if the power fails. Imagine a power cut, and a battery failure at the same time. Where's all the water going to go, and what's going to happen to your living residents.

 

All the water would be running to the sump via gravity.

This is how my current system works. If the pumps fail the overflow stops after a gallon or two.

The overflow tubes will only be so low in the overflow. If no more water is pushing up into it, no more will fall.

 

I'd lose the 2 lower sets of slits, and adjust the size and depth of the top ones to give you the required depth and flow characteristics, then it's looking ok to me.

 

There is another piece of plastic behind the first. The lower slits allow the water to come in, but it must overflow the overflow.
The second picture shows this. I am pretty much improving my current megaflow design.

The water level will not be able to go over the halfway mark of the first set of slits.

 

Looks really great. And very thought out. But, If it were me. I would turn the return "Jets" into a closed loop. and then bring your returns over the top of the tank. This will eliminate the flood potential, even with a battery back up. You could bring the return up to the side of the tank and use a WavySea to oscillate the flow

Just a thought

J

 

That's not a bad idea. I could put pumps in the overflow. Then I could put the returns on the top corners.

I am thinking of getting those jets that move around too, not fast though.