Nice Cheap DIY Overflow

LOL, thats what I ended up using, 1". I built it yesterday. I ended up making mine opposite of yours tho.

I may need to adjust the intake height but I don't know till I get my pump. I made a different snail guard by cutting pieces of eggcrate to fit inside. The strainer like yours didn't work too well for me with my "rubbermaid bin in the bathtub test".

Here it is-

 

Looks good. You knkow you can use Krylon Fusion spray paint if you want to paint it. It is tank safe once dry.

 

Thanks I might just paint it. I know it will be covered with coraline quickly (going on an established tank), but I would like to hide it as much as possible.

Speaking of tank safe, what type of PVC glue is good for schedule 40 that is safe to use? Is the regular blue stuff ok?

 

I just did some more testing, and if my calculations are correct, the max of the 1" PVC is about 360 gph. I will use this one for my new 10g tank I'm setting up, and I will build another one for my 50g out of 1 1/4" just to be safe.

 

Regular PVC primer and solvent is fine. I think I use Oatley. I got it at Lowe's. My overflow is 1 1/4 and moves 600 GPH without a problem.

 

Thanks

 

What length are your pipes in the aquarium? Does the vent have to be higher than the water level? How far below the water surface do you want the intake?
Thanks

 

So I got it installed finally but its noisy. It makes a loud gurgling/sucking noise from the tube on the outside of the tank. Will capping that tube affect it at all?

 

Nevermind the cap on the vent tube, I found that answer.

I think that the noise is from the water not being able to flow freely down the drain??? I think I'll pick up some bigger PVC and build another.

 

Mine run 1 1/4 all the way down to the sump and mine is quiet. So that may be a possablity.