[Jeremy0322]

I constantly hear that these are just bad news and it is better to just get the tank drilled. Two things are wrong with that though. Number one is the only LFS we have around here is kinda small(out of someones house) and the other is that i dont trust myself enough to try it. Are these really that or are they just misused often. If that is the case what are some things that i can do to reduce the chance of overflowing and stuff like that...thanks.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Jeremy, I am from the old school(ok ok I am from the really old school lol) and learned at an early age to not trust siphons.Its not to hard to drill a tank.All you need is some plumbers putty,a variable speed drill and the bits.The bits may be the rub.You need two different sizes and thet could be epensive.On the other hand any glass shop can do it for you for 10 to 20$'s a hole.For me its peace of mind to have it drilled.

[Jeremy0322]

I may just have to get a tank that is already pre-drilled. There are a few unexplained medical problems at the moment and i dont have the steady hands that are needed to do it myself, lol. As for the LFS, i will see what they can do for me but like i said, that is doubtful...

[e_baer]

Yeah, but native, the technology, i guess you can say, has improved greatly since the old school days. I have an overflow box and it works great!

I think the most commone problem, is getting the section to restart after a power outage, but if you get an aqualifter pump, there wouldnt be a problem at all.

[Lowej82]

Originally Posted by e_baer

I think the most commone problem, is getting the section to restart after a power outage, but if you get an aqualifter pump, there wouldnt be a problem at all.

I have one thats brand new, How much do these pumps run? power outage is what keeps me from using mine. How does the pump work?

[Lazy Iguana]

I had a box overflow and it never gave me a problem. If the sump pump shut off, the tank water would drain into the sump until the water level was too low to overflow. The hang on box never lost siphon.

There are also newer designs, that do not use a simple J tube to maintain a siphon. But even if you get an older style one, you can always use multiple J tubes to more than one overflow box (or both) for redundancy. Siphon boxes will not drain any more water than the sump pump moves - but it is possible to get a sump pump with a higher flow rate than the overflow.

Like you, I did not want to drill the tank. Also, once the tank is set up and full of water it is really hard to drill.

[Ganrin]

I have a hang on overflow from my last tank, and the pump I used on it too. I have been curing my rock in the tank so hadnt bothered to set up the overflow box yet till this morning.
I set up my sump and overflow, turned on the pump, and the tank slowly filled to the rim, Im guessing that if the sump had unlimited water and I let it run, that the tank would have overflowed the top in about 20 mins from startup.
So now I have to make a choice, either go buy a smaller return pump that the overflow can handle, or take the tank somewhere and get it drilled (closest place I know for sure drills is 2hr drive each way). At this point im leaning strongly toward getting the tank drilled and having the peace of mind of no siphon to worry about.

[e_baer]

Originally Posted by Lowej82

I have one thats brand new, How much do these pumps run? power outage is what keeps me from using mine. How does the pump work?

it basically only pumps about 30gph through a small airline tube, but its takes out all the bubbles from the siphoning overflow box.

CPR Continuous Siphon Overflow Boxes from Salty Critter - Your Saltwater Specialists

that is where i got mine, came to 25 for shipping and everyhting. I also got the pre filter.

[Jeremy0322]

I was looking into going bigger than that but i guess that is all i would really need. I was under the assumption that this was where the majority of your"flow" came from but i am starting to come to the realization that is what power heads are for. The one i was looking at was the 1400GHP one for aquatraders.com. It was pretty cheap and seems like a nice one. For something in the rage of 55-75 gallon tank how many gallons per hour would you want just for the overflow?

[NATIVEVAMAN]

On tanks that size with a one inch drain the best you can hope for is 600 gph.In total you want to end up with about 20x the tank volume for flow.But as you said most of that is accomplished with power heads.

[e_baer]

I have the 600 gph version for my 55 from aquatraders, and i really do like it. it works just fine. my only complaint is, is that it not not black, so algae can grow in there, but i just out a dark peice of plastic over the top.

[Jeremy0322]

You could also wrap that mother in duck tape, that would work well too. Or just cut up a black trash bag and tape it around it. As long as there is no light that gets in from the sides most of the algae will not grow, correct?

[e_baer]

that would be correct.