I hate my overflow

Yeah, I only thought about it because I'm making a U tube overflow for my system, and didn't want it to get interrupted by a power outage.

But it took me a bit to figure out the difference between what certain companies were doing when they made their overflows.

 

Thank you for that! Well mine is the kind in diagram a. It doesnt have the plastic baffle to keep water retained there. I will add one in and use this for my mantis tank instead of paying for a CS90

Thanks alot! Im still interested in the results of fixing the lifter pump tubing on the unit that mmcdonald has.

 

It should be just a quick fix with a cyanoacrylate glue or silicone.

And yeah, that's the thing that sets apart a good siphon from a bad one. Something so simple has a giant impact, you know?

 

I actually have a CPR-90 and regret not getting the one with dual output like you have.
Mine never loses siphon, even if the lifter pump isn't working (forgot to re-plug after cleaning) it will start back up as soon as the inner chamber gets filled with water.

The only problem I find, is that my flow rate has decreased, either because of my pipes being dirty after 4 months or so of operation. I never thought about the nipple getting clogged, but I doubt this has little or anything to do with my flow rate. I find myself dialing my return pump back more and more every time, but I never, EVER had a spill. It came close once, but caught it on time and it was due to my return sending that little extra water in the tank that the overflow could not drain quickly enough. Regardless, other than the small size of it, it has always worked just fine.

Needless to say, I would go with a Reef Ready tank given the option, but this is an OK alternative. I do know for a fact that if I ever need to empty this tank to move it or to fix something major, I would take the opportunity to drill it since I think (and hope) that only the bottom glass is tempered.

I would replace the flexible tubing, and make sure you're pushing it hard in there. It does sound like the tubing has hardened enough to come off with slight movement in your case. So the extra flexibility would help you.

Good luck, and keep us updated on your build for the new tank.

- Mag.

 

I would consider that another failure story. You need to keep adjusting the return constantly to deal with the overflow. With the U Tube (a darkened one with a proper prefilter), you don't have to do that.

Also, the aqualifter isn't to prevent an immediate loss of the siphon. It's to prevent buildup of bubbles in the weir over a period of time, possibly a week or more. Because a weir has so much volume trapped in it compared to a UTube, the flow rate is horrendously low, and bubbles very easily get trapped there and an break the siphon. It's actually the same problem GuitarMan has.

 

I had a little trouble with bubbles then I adjusted the screw on the outside box to make the inside box take more water from front access instead of the sides so much, you might need some minor adjustments. Mine is a 300 eshopps might be different than yours. I hope that helps, Ive got enough flow that water kind of gets a little crazy in sump salt creep a little too much, later..

 

I have this type of overflow and it took me a while to realize that the siphon remained even with the return pump off. i used to manually get the siphon going every time i did maintenance (needlessly). i was constantly scared of a power outage until i had one. i was at work when i was notified that my power had been out for hours. i rushed home expecting a huge clean up job. To my surprise everything was running perfectly. since then, i turn it off and on all the time and have never had it lose the siphon. i laugh at how much time i worried about an outage.

i do have another overflow going from my refugium to my sump and it had bubbles building up in the u-tube. i just ditched the plastic tube that came with it and replaced it with rubber tubing with a smaller diameter. this was six months ago and so far so good.

 

Hello again.... This thread is like the story of my learning curve. I started on U-Tube... had small bubble eventually accumulate.... went to CPR with lifter pump..... physics says that a reef ready CANNOT have these issues.

The good news is that the tank flooding annoyed my wife enough that the upgrade from the 55 gallon to the 240 gallon is seen as preventing future floods!!!!

Thus, I high RECOMMEND? overflows that screw up and help you get a nicer tank that is reef ready.

M

 

Just adding that I also have an Eshoppes overflow with the Utube. It never loses suction. I turn off my tank's power all the time during tank maintenance and it never loses suction. It is great!

 

Well, the first issue is a U tube that's too large of a diameter for the amount of flow going through it. You could have just gotten a smaller sized piece of vinyl tubing, or ramped up the return pump's flow, and you would have been set.

The weir-type overflow is a poorly thought out piece of equipment.

A reef ready can't have issues, this is true. Good thing you can use it as an excuse to upgrade, though ;D