Is this a good product

[TomL]

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idproduct~OE1318~tab~2.html

Has anyone ever used this. I have a 55G.

Thanks

[Sparky]

Haven't seen that one before the price is good. Fosters and Smith have a few different acrylic sizes.

[Whoyah]

I think that would work great. My only suggestion would be to replace the clear air tube with black tubing. Using the clear, algae grows in the tubing, plugging the aqualifter. This problem is solved with black tubing or wraping the clear in black electrical tape.

[Reef_Angel]

Yep, I have to agree with Whoyah on the clear tubing on the filter. I hate ugly tubes. What a great idea to cover any existing tubing on any of our existing filters with (black) electrical or duct tape!
Thanks Shad!! ...Angel :angel1:

[melev]

I wonder how all those grates on the front would work rather than skimming the surface the way it should be skimmed. The sponge pad will need weekly cleanings.

[Reef_Angel]

We had grates like that (not the same product though) on our old 180g setup, but that has changed. They do tend to build up with coraline, algae & food products. YES, you have to change the filter pads very often, insure that you keep an eye on the grates, or it can cause your system to not flow properly. I was constantly using a sharp plastic knife to keep those grates open. Something to keep an eye on if you have a filter of this type. ...Angel:angel1:

[TomL]

i am just worried about it being really loud. Right now with the 1" U tube i made it is extremly loud and gurgles, even with a cap on the back. From what i can see my drain system is way to fast for my pump. If i fill the system up it will drain to my sump faster then my pump can pump it back. I am hoping that this return box will be nice a quite and not flow so fast that my pump cant keep up with it. Currently everything is working fine but that is only because the water level has dropped to about 1" above the pickup, this makes it so my pickup gurgles and sucks some air in, keeping the drain balanced with the pump. If i fill the level 3" above the pickup, it will just drian right back down to 1" above the pickup and gurgle air and water. It does hold steady and never moves from that 1" but it is very noisy. I might put a ball valve on my pickup tube to slow the flow down if this box flows to much to the sump. how does everyone get there system dialed in so the drain flows the same as the pump.

[melev]

I'm sorry but I don't understand some of your terms.

The overflow box has a drain, which drains into the sump.

The return pump pushes water back up into the tank via return lines.

There is NO WAY your tank can drain faster than your pump can push water back up, because they reach equilibrium within a couple of minutes. If the pump pushes 10g of 'new' water into the tank, there is now 10g worth of water that can drain down again. Here's my page about sumps, in case it helps:
http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

What return pump do you have now?

There are ways to quiet down a drain line, and a way to quiet down the area where water pours into the sump.

[TomL]

With my system i am 100% positive that it will drain faster into the sump then the pump can return the water to the display. My pump is 1300gph at 1' head. I am at 9' of head and estimate roughly 400-500gph. The drain and return lines are same size (.75" tubing) and the drains syphon(overflow tube) is 1" PVC, the return flows from the 1" syphon pickup tube to a 3/4" barb that the hose slips over, downstairs to my sump were it is fed into a 1/2" OD (so the hose slips over it) pvc tube. The return pump has fittings for .75" or 1" fittings. I have a 1"-3/4" adapter so the 3/4" slips over the pump returns upstairs and is fitted to a 1/2" PCV tube that directs flow into my tank. There now is no ball valves on the return, but a ball valve on my pump to adjust some flow to be bled off into my sump if needed (currently it is closed). You are correct that the system did reach equalibrium, but for the wrong reasons. The only reason it is staying steady is because my return is sucking in some air because the water level is so low. I have tried refilling the display tank with more water, and it just returns to the same level and the sump fills with more water. The drain is def much faster then the return pump. It is possible because in fluid mechanics the formula for the pressure on the line is just Po+ p*G*H where Po is atmospheric pressure, p=density of the fluid, G is gravity, and H is height. If for some reason this is greater then the output of the pump with the same equal and oposite presusre (being the same height)then it will drain faster. Even if you turn the pump off, the syhpon will continue to drain at its given rate and is independant of the return pump. The goal is to hope that the pump and syphon match themselves with a equivilant flow, yes there pressures will be the same because there equal and oposite heights, but there will be diff head losses with certain valves, elbos, bends...etc because both the return and syhpon have diff PVC pieces..

I hope i made some sense on whats going on

My goal is to fine tune the system with the ball valvesafter i get the tom aquatics overflow box and hope that it balances out.

[eldiente]

If you have a true siphon then it can drain faster than it pumps it back up. basically with an overflow it only drains from the tank what the sump is placing into the tank. So with the overflow box it should help the situation so that you don't have to have the water 3" down in the main tank. if I understand you correctly.

[melev]

If you have a HOB overflow box...

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/demo_install/overflow_box.jpg

And the overflow box has a 1" drain, it can handle 600gph.

If your return pump is pushing more than the overflow box can drain, the display tank will overflow.

I do agree that you have way too many restrictions on the plumbing going back up to the tank. It should be one clean line going all the way up, without a ballvalve. I would suggest SpaFlex tubing.

What return pump are you using?

[TomL]

Thanks Melev,
I was hoping that the overflow box will help equal things out, right now i just have a syphon without a box. The return pump i am using is something just to get me started. Some shaft driven pond pump from lowes, the thing was $100 and flows 1300gph at 1' head. I think the manufacture was pondmaster or something like that. I plan on replacing it down the road with something better, but with 9' head there is not much out there for $100. The pump is good till 18' head but its not magnetic drive so i am learly about how long its going to last. I know that my spa has a mag pump i just replaced and it lasted about 15yrs without issue.

[TomL]

Melev my syphon tube is inverted inside the tank like the drain on the outside of the overflow. Is that your tank pic above? I was wondering becuase the thing that bothers me is the noise level, and judging from the looks of that picture, the system will sound exactly like mine, the waterline is only 1" or less from the drain, i can imagine that it gurgles and whirlpools down the drain as mine does making it really annoying. Am i correct?
Thanks

[melev]

Now I understand the problem clearly. You cannot siphon water from the tank without a HOB overflow (a box on the inside AND on the outside). It doesn't matter what pump you buy, you'll never be able to equalize the flow between the two, even if you match it up perfectly one day. Each day the pump will build up slime, electricity rates vary coming out of the wall, the pump ages, etc. What works this minute might not in an hour. And what if there is a termporary power outage? That would be a mess.

Pondmaster pump? Some of those are perfectly fine for our systems, such as the Mag pumps. http://tinyurl.com/yr7oes For your situation, a Mag 18 with 1" to 1.5" plumbing rising up 18' would be more than enough pump, probably too much for the overflow we've discussed. Many people make the mistake of screwing on plumbing that matches the pump's threads (Mag 5 - 1/2" needs 1" plujmbing; Mag 9.5 or 12 - 3/4" needs 1.5" plumbing; Mag 18 or 24 - 1" needs 2" plumbing) which restricts the flow that pump produces.

For 9' head height, I'd get a Mag 12 with 1.5" plumbing, personally. I don't like exceeding what a 1" drain can handle. It needs to be enough flow to push the bubbles through the U tube of the overflow, but not more than the box can drain.

And in regards to your question about sound, no that box is dead silent. There are methods that can be employed to assure silence. Here's more about the plumbing (scroll down on this page) on that sump: http://www.melevsreef.com/install_sump.html

[TomL]

When my overflow comes in tomar i will be sure to post on how it does with the noise. Hopefully with the dual chambers it will equal the flow out. Right now i have my T fitting on the pumps return line so if i have to much pump flow, i direct it back into the skimmer section. the drain as of now is a direct line to the skimmer section. Last night i just went out and bought a 5000k flourscent from lowes which is 23W and produces 100W of light. I also bought a work light reflector to mount it in. Bulb was about $8 and refelctor $6.95. I will keep you updated, thanks for the info.

-tom