Skimmer and Return pump

[dkol02]

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19172/si2219838/cl0/tomskimmerboxautostopandstart I cant seem to find any info on the flow rate of the skimmer and i need to find a return pump for it any info would help i have a 10gal sump if u need to know that

[Hop]

I think you could spend $109 on something else. Just to clarify... It is not a skimmer, but rather an off brand C channel overflow. The design of the C channel overflows are of poor design! They get away with calling this a skimmer because it "skims" the water surface.

You can find a U tube style overflow in the for sale forums for probably 20-50 bucks and save your self the headache of that thing making a wet spot on your floors! The u-tube is a much better design.

[dkol02]

Ok i was gonna go with the U Tube design but i thought this thing with the auto shut off would avoid the water on the floor so is the any good links you know that might have this setup because i still not exactly sure how it works and also what return pump to get

[Hop]

They are playing on words in their self-proclaimed best and only on the market. I doubt you will find any links for it because I hate to say it... It's junk. It works just like a CPR overflow, except they have not admitted that their design sucks and will likely go out of business before they admit the design causes it to loose siphon and pumps water into the tank, overflowing and putting water on your floor. In fact the prefilter sponge is adding to the time bomb of floor wettening:)

The concept of an overflow is simple, but the c-channel types can and will loose siphon. The U-tube style is better, with less chance of overflowing. In fact people have ran theirs(u tube) for years with no problems. I have yet to see a c channel type go for long without help from a powerhead or aqualifter pump.

If you take the time to design the system with a proper sized sump and a siphon break, you won't have to worry about the power going off.

[skwirl]

you can get any pump you want as long as it will not pump more than the overflow is rated for after you factor in the head pressure...
none of the overflow designs will overflow more than the pump pumps back into the tank, so if your pump only pumps 100g an hour, then your overflow will overflow only 100g per hour.

[Hop]

Oh and as far as pumps go, I have no idea what you need. Is this for your 46, your 30 or another tank? Internal or external? For smaller applications, I like Eheim or the OR pumps seem to be turning some heads lately. You will want one rated slightly less than the overflow you pick up and you only need to turn your tank volume over 3-5 times per hour. So you may or may not need a 600-1200GPH overflow.

You want to avoid oversizing the drain rate of the overflow. You want to keep water going through the u-tube at pretty much the highest rate you can, to sweep the bubbles out of the u-tube.

[dkol02]

this is for my 46gal im just trying to set up a fuge really and i needed to know how to set it up with the U tube overflow my LFS said all i needed was two powerheads the where the same and that would do it but i like to check on here before i take their advice and buy new wood floors