My Herbie overflow write up. (pics/beware)

The emergency drain is just another layer of safety. What was found is that it can handle 100% of flow in most cases. So folks use it as another regulating factor. Run the overflow up till it just overflows into the emergency drain. It will stay there. Still silent as long as it isn't much flow. Just keep in mind it takes away from the reserve amount it can handle. Some folks do, but I would not run the system without the emergency drain.

 

I'm thinking about doing this with my upgrade. Most of my questions have been answered thanks to some guys on here...But I just have a few more questions. How touchy is this thing? I mean you guys were talking about how the level in the sump affects the level in the overflow. Could anyone elaborate on that? Is it possible to T off the drain down to the sump? (I.E. one to fuge and one to rest of the sump)

 

It is not "touchy". It is somewhat self regulating. The gate valve is only open so much. As the water level rises, there is more head pressure which drives more flow through the valve. So it will reach an equalibrium between the head presure (water level) and valve opening.

Noww that is obviously only to a point. Way low and way high don't work.

The level in the sump effects the return pump. higher level gives more head to the pump so it pumps more, but now you have passed your equalibrium. So sump level effects return pump out put and will effect what has to go back through your drain. You really need a consistent sump level for best results.

Mine is tee'ed off to my fuge and sump. It is important though that the gate valve be between the fuge and the sump. Drain comes down, small line tees off to fuge, then your gate valve, then the rest dumps to the sump. You can just use a ball valve for the fuge because it is not a regulating thing. Just park it somewhere. You really need a gate valve though for the main drain. A ball valve will only give you head aches.

 

Well I came home today and noticed a super quiet tank. I asked my girlfriend if she noticed the pump not running. I opened the cabinet and it was running (Reeflo dart super quiet).
So looking in the top cabinet I noticed the water level super high. Kinda scary as I think the drain in the overflow may be partially clogging somehow. I haven't figured it out yet but just wanted to mention how quiet it is with the water level up there. I'm gonna do the herbie overflow at some point .. Sure is nice with it so quiet.

 

Here is a very good write up about overflows and how to make a quiet one by Beananimal. He has a great site too to just read his stuff.

BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System

The important thing is the only way to make a quiet overflow is to flood the pipe and eliminate air, or to make the pipe so big as to run water down the wall and not splash. Bean's design is the end all be all of both those aplications with a tripple redundant safety system. But it is all custom.

The Herbie is the same principles only mated to a pre drilled reef ready tank and using what is available. With one less pipe you can't call it "as safe", but it is very reliable. I sleep just fine.

I never hear my overflow, have zero bubbles, and tweak the valve maybe once a week for giggles. I flush it every month.

 

i know its an older thread but i have a question. i am making a trip to get the supplies for my plumbing tommorrow. my question is how the standpipes themselves should be constructed. i guess the emergency doesnt really matter. is there a way to make the pipes so the height is adjustable???


i had an extra hole drilled in my overflow, so i have 3 total. main, secondary and return. all 1 inch. not splitting the drain to a fuge. and have a gate valve (us plastics.....thanks powerman)

 

So are you doing a full Herbie? The three holes rock.

There is no need at all to make the stand pipes adjustable. That is what the gate valve is for... you set the water level in the overflow.

The main drain is fully submerged, so say two or three inches below the level you want. One inch... Does not really matter.... but you want it covered.

The emergency drain.... cut long, go short. So your tank level will be just above the overflow. If the overflow backs up, it will raise the tank level. So you want the emergency just at or a TINY bit below where the overflow is. So the tank level will not change.

The point is to keep the water level in the overflow close to the top so that you do not get a water trickle sound from it falling down the overflow wall. I run mine at less than an inch of fall. Then if it gets to the top of the overflow the emergency kicks in and my tank level never changes. That leaves another inch in the tank before it actually overflows.

So the emergency is a 3/4" piece of pipe. So you would use one inch. Stuff it in the bulkhead. Easy peasy.

The main drain is 1" pipe glued into a reducer, then the reducer is glued into a 1.25" coupling. I wanted the bigger diameter for more flow area (screen surface) up top. Everything else is just press fit so I can take it apart and clean it if I need. Length of pipe, coupling, length of drilled pipe, cap on top. Never had any problems with algae or anything clogging it.

Hope that helps.

 

Ahh, I read the 3 pages of this thread ans was about to ask why the gate valve is necessary. Powerman answering AV8's question about height adjustable herbies answered why you need a valve at al on the overflow's return line.

I think I might try to make a herbies in the near future. My durso isn't totally silent, and I want to see if I can get less noise. I think I will need to replace my skimmer to get rid of all noise and make the tank silent though.

Now, I am guessing that a herbies overflow pipe shouldn't have any effect on quieting or making the return pump louder. Right?

 

Right. No effect. But you do need a consistent water level in the return section. That is where my ATO is. When the water level varies in the return from evaporation, it changes what the return pump puts out, which changes the balance of the drain. So you adjust it more. My stays real constant. Rarely touch the gate valve.

AND JUST A REMIDER.... that is the reason and importance of the emergency drain.... you are throttling, restricting the main drain to get the level in the overflow to cover the main drain. So any type of a restriction in the drain needs a secondary backup. That is the safety part.

 

Ah, yes, I see.


My ATO tops off in the return section. I don't get any fluctuation unless I let the TO container run dry. If that happens, it usually is not for more than a few hours, and the level drops at worst an inch. What would happen if the return section dropped an inch?
I have a spare 1" drain that is a backup now. It is literally a piece of pvc with a 45 degree connector on it. If it goes to the back up overflow, it IS LOUD. Testing that out when i made my tank showed me that the back up non durso is an "alarm" of sorts to let me know something is up with my primary drain. I want to set that spare one as my herbie, and then use the durso as the backup. 1" pvc with sch 40 pipe can flow just under 1000 gph. 1.5" can handle over 2000 gph.