DIY Siphon Overflow and preventing tank overflow
 

Hey guys,
I was planning on installing a siphon driven overflow in my tank that I cant really find a picture of... its got one end of the pvc on the surface of the tank, and then a loop going down to the bottom of the tank, coming back up and over the side, and then down to the sump under the tank.

Okay. You probably have no idea what im talking about, but anywho, heres my question.

I want to install this in my system with my new sump that I'm setting up tomarrow, but heres the thing, if the power goes out, and then comes back on, I need to know that the siphon will start again, as to not overflow the tank, because that would make several parties unhappy in my house (both parents and landlords)....

Anyone have this kind of system, and can attest to its power outage restartingness?

Thanks for any advice.
Aaron.

You're correct, I have no idea what you're talking about (lol) but if you have a powerhead with venturi in the tank just stick a piece of airline tubing from whenever you need air to be pulled out of to the input on the ph and that should do it. Just make sure that during the power outage, both sides of the u tube or whatever you use to get the water over the tank side is completely immersed in water on both sides.

After you get it all set up, just unplug the return pump and powerhead at the same time, wait for all the water to drain to the sump and plug it back in to make sure it works!

HTH

I use to have just what you are talking about. It is basically 3 PVC U tubes glued together. Once the syphon was primed from the initial set up it worked perfectly for 2 yrs with no problems. My only complaints with the one I had was it is a little noisy and with such a small opening inside the tank it did not skim the surface very well. I think some people have made modifications to it to prevent the noise and make it skim the surface better but it still doesn't compare to the surface skimming ability of an overflow box. Let me know if you want directions and I'll see if I can get a picture of my old one and some directions. If cost is an issue and you want to DIY I would suggest using 1 PVC U tube, 2 aquarium specimen containers, and a bulk head it will be just as reliable, have less noise, and skim the surface better.

[IMG][IMG]http://www.wetwebmedia.com/SystemPIX/PlumbingPix/Overflow_loop.gif[/IMG][/IMG]

Maybe you are talking about this? im thinking on doing the same thing, but it would be helpful if someone has done something like this, or if someone knows how it should work

i found it at [url]http://www.wetwebmedia.com/overfloboxfaqs.htm[/url]

its called self-leveling siphon and i think its the simlplest way to do a sifon overflow

I posted a thread some years ago on this topic but I cannot find it now. Here is a thread to reverence.
Wayne
[url]http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/nice-cheap-diy-overflow-29396-4.html[/url]

brian@sen that could be helpful if you give us some instructions or pictures of what you did

[url]http://www.thekrib.com/Filters/overflow-skimmer.html[/url]

There is a type of siphon that will only drain as much water as is added to the tank. It's called a self-levelling siphon. It is formed by double-looping the siphon and placing a hole at the top of the second loop. Water will only flow from the tank through the siphon until it reaches the level of the hole. Any time the tank level rises above the hole, the water will re-seek the level of the air "brake".

Mine looked just like the one at the bottom of the page that Aquaine_wv linked to. Mine had a 90 on the short side of the "T" with a hose barb to go to the sump.

I haven't tryed the double loop overflow but it looks like it should work pretty good.

thanks for the replies, very useful information

salcedo,
Id does look like that except the loop is inside the tank.
And Aquayne_wv thats exactly what i was looking to set up.
It sounds like its pretty fool proof, going to test it first, but I'm going to go get the supplies today after class. Thanks guys!

Aaron.

Notice the tall pipe connected to the top of the fitting on the outside of the unit. It has to be tall because sometimes water will get pushed up and out onto your floor. that fitting takes the place of the hole proposed by the previous writer. I made a unit once for my father with just the fitting and no riser pipe. He called my VERY upset because water had "burped"out onto his stand.

We can cut the elbows an ts to gain space or to make a more compact unit as randy did on his durso [url]http://www.randystacye.com/dursostandpipe.htm[/url]

[IMG]http://www.randystacye.com/images/thumbnails/dursos_small.gif[/IMG]

I saw this using PVC on another site. It was just as you described, The most critical part is the last vertical pipe on the outside of the tank. towards the bottom of this pipe is a T that leads to your sump... This was a beautifully simple overflow that can be built for a couple of bucks. Be sure to attach a snail guard over opening in the tank.

Here is the thread... bottom of page 4... read on there are detailed diagrams.

[url]http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/nice-cheap-diy-overflow-29396-4.html[/url]

Drill + Diamond Hold Saw + Bulkhead = Peace of Mind :)

There is no reason to shorten the fittings. You have to twist the unit like a trumpet anyway up against the glass for stability.

By the way you can make your own bulkheads by using the male female connectors from the electrical conduit pvc section. They thread all the way up without resistance. Plumbing parts get tighter as you tighen them up making it very difficult to snug up to your gasket. Buy a silicone pie pan or bread pan and make a gasket out of the bottom. I got some at the Dollar tree. Male threads go from inside to the outside through the glass. Make sure to use teflon take to seal the threads. I made some for a friend as we drilled for 1 1/2" fittings.

Wayne

Yes it will work just fine. I have 2 in my 125g setup
[url]http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1217418[/url]

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11042184#post11042184 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rustybucket145 [/i]
[B]Drill + Diamond Hold Saw + Bulkhead = Peace of Mind :) [/B][/QUOTE]


Until a hard bump on your plumbling causes the bulkhead to crack the glass where it was drilled. I've seen this happen :)

[IMG]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/megaspoot/Aquarium%20Related/overflowsiphon2.jpg[/IMG]
This is my design. Left "U" in the tank. Right "U" outside of tank. Red line is airline tubing that removes trapped bubbles via the venturi effect.

For that PVC overflow do the bottom loops have to be that big? i really like the design because i have a small area behind the back of my tank...

also dhnguyen, I notice you dont have the venturi hose on yours no problems with siphon loss... also how far does your hose go and whats the purpose of the pvc in the air (its the standpipe?)

Yes the u bends must be long to facilitate a functioning siphon.

Wayne

Re: DIY Siphon Overflow and preventing tank overflow
 

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11039557#post11039557 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishkeeper101 [/i]
[B]
I want to install this in my system with my new sump that I'm setting up tomarrow, but heres the thing, if the power goes out, and then comes back on, I need to know that the siphon will start again, as to not overflow the tank, because that would make several parties unhappy in my house (both parents and landlords)....
[/B][/QUOTE]

Another approach to preventing tank overflow is to limit the volume that can be emptied from the sump. Put the inlet to the return pump, or the pump itself is in it's own chamber with sides that are just a little lower than the minimum water level in the sump, then if siphon from the DT overflow stops then the return pump and only empty the contents of the chamber into the DT.

Like having an internal overflow in the sump.

If the DT can hold the water that is pumped from the sump before the sump overflow empties then the tank should never spill water onto the floor.

If the concern becomes running the pump dry and damaging it, before the sump overflow empties completely the pump will draw air and lose its prime, leaving some water in the impeller chamber. Also the pump will not be able to completely empty the return line, so the will always be water at the outlet that will flow back into the pump. It will keep the impeller lubed and the pump will run damage free for a few hours.

It would be better to replace a pump than to pay for water damage in a rented apartment or house.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11047862#post11047862 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquayne_wv [/i]
[B]Yes the u bends must be long to facilitate a functioning siphon.

Wayne [/B][/QUOTE]

How Long is Long?

Though having a tube like that in my tank is fine with me, the smaller i can make it the happier ill be... but i might as well make it like 14" long cause i can.... I better get started on this!!!!

And can i put one of these: [url]http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1225992[/url]

On the overflow? will it help?