Stockman Standpipe w/o Corner Overflow Q

[TPHAN]

I am in the process of plumbing the tank and just finished most of it. My question is I don't really want a Corner Overflow in the Corner taking up space and was wondering if just the Stockman Standpipe would do? It's about 24" high and the holes for the water to go in is right below the Plastic Trim of the tank. I've also installed Ball Valves at both ends so I can adjust the flow as needed. Would I have any problems with this design?

[TPHAN]

*CRICKETS CHIRPING* "Anyone Out There..?" :confused:

[MrClean]

I may be wrong, but the way I see the Durso working is that the intakes are completely submerged and air is only allowed to enter the plumbing through the hole in the top cap. If that is the case, then you would never get the scum skimmed off the surface.

An overflow w/o a durso will definitely work, but you may be displeased w/ the noise.

[Fliger]

If you're talking about putting in a stockman without an overflow box, be careful to make it extremely sturdy. An overflow protects the drainpipe, plus only allows a small portion of the tank to drain in case the standpipe breaks or the BH gives. If an unprotected standpipe breaks with a rock tumble (rock tumbles happen to everyone) - you could lose ALL the water in your tank. And at 24" high, if it breaks, it will break at the bottom. Hope you don't have hardwood floors. :D

An overflow wouldn't really take up much more room than a standpipe, anyway. I would CYA and put one in, plus it looks a little better than exposed PVC.

[TPHAN]

MrClean: I never had scum build up on the surface of the water ever since I went to Reef Setup from FOWLR. The FOWLR on the other hand had mucho green build up on the top. Don't understand why my Reef Setup doesn't have the build up but I am glad it doesn't and my Reef Setup don't even have an Overflow Box~!

Fliger: You may be right on it breaking from the bottom but if it was properly re-enforced with LR around it and the LR was glued in place I don't think it wouldn't see it moving much. I will think about an Overflow tonight and will decide what to do after the leak down test of all the plumbing I just did. I am also glad I don't have wood floors but tile instead! :D ;)

P.S.

If I was to get an Overflow on the corner where would one find these for a decent price? How would I attach it to the corner with a neatness like how they Silicone the sides?

[Fliger]

You could make one yourself with two black pieces of acrylic. Just have them cut & use black silicone. That's what mine is & it looks great. Much better than a piece of PVC running thru my tank. :D

You can also have any acrylic shop build you one. Usually very overpriced. There is an overstock at an LFS here that is $30, I think. If you're really interested maybe I can ship it out to you.

[TPHAN]

Flinger: That would be great but I need one soon. Plus I need to get the measurements of the overflow and then have it cut. Anyways, where would I go to get "Black" Acrylic Pieces to do this? A glass shop?

[Fliger]

There is a Southern California group on RC, check over there. They are very cool & helpful. There are places around LA that can cut this for you. You know you'll need to have your tank drilled by an expert, and not all glass (tempered) can be drilled?

I used to live in S. Pas, and San Marino. I miss the area.

Good luck, they should be able to help you over there.

David

[TPHAN]

Yes, my glass has been drilled already when I purchased the tank. They just didn't put in the overflow box that's all. Anyways, thanks for your help! I really apreciated! :thumbsup:

[David Grigor]

Certainly doable. I would attach the pvc tubing to the bulkhead cement glue. I wouldn't trust threaded fittings.

I would feel more confident if the bulkhead was located on the back panel near the water level where there is virtually no added pressure and absolute worst case would only drain a couple of inches. If that were the case ( of course too late now ). I can see where it could be a little less obtrusive since the standpipe would be on the outside and basically just seeing the elbow portion..

The cons of it are:

Won't skim from the top. Like overflow teeth would.

If something were to get lodged you can't really disassemble without draining the whole tank.

Need to protect the intake with some sort of strainer - Minor issue but would make it make it a bit more ugly.

Giving the options, I would add the overflow box even if a little more obtrusive. It does give some insurance with just how low the water level could go in a worst case scenario.

[TPHAN]

David Grigor: Yes, I know what you mean... I have decided to just put in a Internal Corner Overflow box bought from Wet&Dry Filters. Can't believe how much those things are but for the peace of mind that's nothing. Thanks guys for the help. I rather lose a little space then alot of money. ;)

[Fliger]

B4 you spend a lot of money, I know a guy here who has one. I think it's $30. I can ship it to you if you'd like. I'm not looking to make any money - I just know the LFS owner would like to sell it. Lemme what dimensions you're looking for & I'll see if it works.

David

[TPHAN]

Fliger: Really, thank you for the offer but I didn't want to intrude so I just picked it up there. Your offer is very sincere and thoughtful and if I have something like a frag or something later after I setup the new tank I'll keep you in mind for it. You'll just have to pay shipping ;)

[jonboy]

tphan,
Sorry to post late. I had the same thoughts as you when i was building my tank. I didn't want acrylic boxes in the corners of the tank. This was about the time that the jetstream (?) aquariums first came out. They have 2 pvc towers in the tank with a water intake on them. I tried to buy a couple of the intakes from perfecto but they didn't want to sell. So i made my own. They worked good but were very noisy.
In the corners of the tank i used gray pvc and wrapped rock around it. The fish love swimming thru it. It looks better than the black boxes in my other aquarium.
Anyway, i recently converted the pvc stand pipes .
I made an acrylic box about 4" x 4" x 6" with slots(surface skimming) that sits on top of the pvc standpipe and put a durso standpipe inside the box. I added a lid to keep algae from growing inside the box.
My tank is very quite now. My wife was very happy.
( Now i hear the pumps in the fish room.)
If you have any question, let me know.
If you were in KY. we could make the overflow in a few minutes.
Good luck
jonboy

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

David et al:

I would feel more confident if the bulkhead was located on the back panel near the water level where there is virtually no added pressure and absolute worst case would only drain a couple of inches. If that were the case ( of course too late now ). I can see where it could be a little less obtrusive since the standpipe would be on the outside and basically just seeing the elbow portion..

My refugium is set up that way using big pipe (2" PVC, I think) and bulkheads, but it has low flow right now.

I've thought about such a sysem for my next tank, where I too may not want an overflow taking up space, even in a big (500 gal) tank.

I was thinking that if the pipe is big enough, and possibly has an air inlet using a Y near the outside top of the tank, that the sucking and other noise might be nearly eliminated. More like a stream traveling through a sewer pipe, rather than plugged flow that spans the whole pipe diameter. The pipe itself would disappear through a wall, so sounds within most of the pipe would be unimportant.

Am I just fantasizing, or might that work without being too noisy?

I was thinking something like 500 gph through 2-3" PVC.

I suppose that I could ramp up my refugium flow temporarily to get a sense for the noise.

TIA

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Also, in this plan I was thinking of having the pipe facing up, as a standard 'overflow', not a submerged inlet.

[kstockman]

I know that I am a little late on this thread, but I have designed a standpipe with my original design that also surface skims. I currently use on in my refugium (just for fun)

Make my design with a 1" inner pipe and a 2" outer pipe. Then take a 4" endcap and drill a 1" hole in the middle of it--just big enough to fit the 1" pipe through it. Slide the 4" cap up the standpipe from the bottom so that the 2" fitting is about 1/2" from the bottom of the 4" endcap (or cup at this point). Attach the standpipe to the bulkhead with a "broken pipe connector) so that so can slide the main pipe up and down to adjust the height.

The 4" cup acts as the internal overflow.

Does this make sense? I think that I have posted pics of this desing before.

[firemouth4416]

Please post another picture. I cant quite see it in my head. Thanks