Recommended External Overflow?

[dgin]

I've come across a few different external overflows and was wondering what experiences people have had with the following:
1) Lifereef
2) Amiracle
3) Ultralife
4) Tidepool SOS
5) CPR

Thanks!:cool:

[gas4544]

I am using a Lifereef Slimline single overflow on my 75-gallon reef. I bought it from someone who had an extra, otherwise I would not have necessarily bought a Slimline.

You cannot go wrong with a Lifereef - they are very well built, have a proven reliability record, and are well worth the extra money. They also hold their value well if you ever decide to sell it.

[jck]

I have an Amiracle but just got to see a LifeReef in person the other day. I'll be replacing mine sometime in the not too distant future. Both work fine, but the LifeReef is better made IMO.

UltraLife, from what I've seen, is substantially similar to Amiracle.

As for CPR, do a search on the board and decide for yourself.

Don't know anything about the Tidepool.

[anative]

I have a Tidepool SOS and like it. It is very quiet and was easy to start.

Jon

[botp2k1]

DG, the way you structured your list would be my listing of recommendations, Lifereef considered the best, CPR considered the worst. Except I do not know anything about the Ultralife, it sounds like it is like the Amiracle. I have an Oasis, which is similar to the Amiracle.

[Q-ball]

Hiya...I've got an SOS on my 65g and I love it. Works great, is quiet...wish it were a little smaller, but it works well. I have a CPR on my 90g and have mixed feelings...it's quiet & small, but the other night it got too much air in the "u-tube" and stopped overflowing...luckily, my wife walked in the door just as the tank overflowed & got it shut down with a net loss of about 2qts of water. It turned out that the airline running from the overflow to a powerhead & gotten disconnected, thereby allowing air to build up and cause a loss of siphon. Personally, I still like this overflow, but with the understanding that it does have to have the airline connected to a reliable powerhead to make sure all air is constantly sucked out of the U-tube. FWIW, YMMV

Q!!!

[dgin]

Thanks for the feedback! I would like to go with the LifeReef, but the cost may push me towards the Amiracle. Seems like the LifeReef is better built, but is it worth twice as much?

[gas4544]

FWIW, I have never read about a Lifereef external overflow failing. Not having an overflow fail and cause a flood is worth an extra $30-$40 to me.

[ShipMate]

For anybody:

Just stay away from CPR (constant PITA)!!!!!!!!
I cant wait to get rid of the piece of #@^%!

[borcutt]

Tidepool SOS all the way! Very quiet and flows over 600gpr in my tank.

[dattack]

I have a couple of Amiracle overflows and they haven't failed me yet in the past 6 months.

[dgin]

For those with the Tidepools, whats with the dual outlet on the external box? Is it the prefilter that makes it quite? Is it easy to clean, especially the U tube/channel?

[Q-ball]

DG - as far as the dual pipes, one is the main overflow, the 2nd one is an "overflow" overflow I guess. The main overflow has a floating cap on it and I guess that's what helps keep it quiet. As far as cleaning, I've never had to clean the U-tube...I guess it's the dark plastic that helps keep algae from building up in there? I have had to clean the plastic floating cap a few times, specially the air tube in it as it gets noisier when it gets clogged with salt. HTH

Q!!!

[SiXLiNe]

I would have to second the choice of getting a Lifereef overflows. They are really worth the money.