Internal Overflow system

[cityofangels]

I hope the DIY gurus can help me on this one..

I have an internal overflow system on my 4ft tank. I've got one on each side of the tank, as depicted in the pic. The left overflow is the one going down to the sump, the right overflow is from sump to main tank.

Previously, I had bio-balls filling up the whole left overflow but I have just removed all the bio-balls. Unfortunately, the space in the overflow is too small to have a durso installed. My friends have helped me install a temporary pipe in the left overflow.

However, this is creating ALOT of noise. We tried a few methods to reduce the noise pollution like drilling holes in the pipe etc. but to no avail.

Can anybody advise on what to do?

Thanks!

[patrick123]

How small is the partition? If you have no space to build a durso, you are out of luck.

Another way is to use a ball valve at the output to the sump to control the water level in the overflow slightly higher than the vertical pipe and this should stop the noise.

[wil_lee76]

bro, i do face the smilar problems what u facing now....

I dun have any dursor pipes but now the sound is barley heard....maybe i just get use to it...

what i do is use a piece of arcylic with holes drill and cover the top portion. this might not reduce the noise but at least can lessen it.

hope it helps...

[acidjazz]

ur overflow is extremely small. . tough luck.

[cityofangels]

patrick123: I do have a ball valve just above my sump. I have tried tweaking it, to reduce the sound but have not tried raising the water level higher than the vertical pipe. I will go back home and try it.

Thanks guys for the advice!

[patrick123]

No problem. Hope it works for you. Just don't turn the flow too low that your return is faster than your drain and you will end up having a dry sump and flood the main tank.

[cityofangels]

patrick123: Yeah, got to take all these factors into consideration. I hope it'll work out fine! Otherwise, I got to think of Plan B.

[Rocks]

I am not good in describing my suggested solution, hence the below pic.

You can use a ball valve at the sump to control the water level in the overflow.. basically the pic below redirect the tank's water to the bottom of the pipe entering the sump.

hope this suggestion work for you.. I guess you need to trail and error the number of holes you need to drill at the bottom of the pipe..

CHEERS!

Rocks

[cityofangels]

Rocks: Fab pic! A pic sure says a thousand words! At the moment, the holes in the pipe is at the top, therefore, creating a suction-like sound. I will try your method as well and see which one will work! Thanks for the advice!

I actually prefer to have a durso pipe installed but am still willing to try any other method.

[Rocks]

Rocks: Fab pic! A pic sure says a thousand words! At the moment, the holes in the pipe is at the top, therefore, creating a suction-like sound. I will try your method as well and see which one will work! Thanks for the advice!

I actually prefer to have a durso pipe installed but am still willing to try any other method.

Yes a durso pipe is the best solution as i am using one myself.

Hope you achieved your goal.

[patrick123]

Bro Rocks is really helpful. Even took the time to draw the pic.

Remember with this, you still need a valve at the sump to control, otherwise your water level will be like elevator going up and down. And when it reach the hole at the bottom, it will create loud noise.

[Tanga]

you can try this

http://home.nc.rr.com/stockmanreef/interest.htm

[Rocks]

Bro Rocks is really helpful. Even took the time to draw the pic.

Remember with this, you still need a valve at the sump to control, otherwise your water level will be like elevator going up and down. And when it reach the hole at the bottom, it will create loud noise.

I am just trying to help another fellow reefer just like others helped me when i was in doubt and looking for answer here..

Yes.. a control valve is needed..

CHEERS!

[cityofangels]

Gee, thanks everybody for the advice! Deeply appreciated!

I will be working on the pipe this weekend (Sat, I hope) and good to know that I have a few back-up plans, in case if Plan A fails.

Tanga: Thanks for the website, bro! Really informative and a good idea! I may even incorporate a few ideas into my DIY pipe.

I will keep you peeps updated on how it goes!

[southpaw23]

How much space exactly do you have in the overflow compartment? Depending on the space, u could possibly trim down the durso to not take u so much room, for instance, trimming the "L" and "T" joint as much as possible then glueing them together.

Also what u can do is bend the PVC to look like this (picture below), to make use of the space in the overflow. Mind u bending the PVC is kinda simple but would probably take a couple of tries if u haven't done it before....simply run it over an open fire to soften the PVC and bend to desired shape then let it cool.

Anyways....seeing how effective the last picture was...here's my shot at a possible solution.

cheers,

[cityofangels]

southpaw23: Wow, thanks for the illustration! I saw a guy in RC modifying his durso the exact way due to a small internal overflow system! I was really intrigued on how he bended the pipe that way. Now, I know! But with this "heating method", I can't use a thin PVC pipe, right? Must use a fairly thick one? Or is it the other way around?

[k0na_scab]

i have some white pvc pipe

they r pretty thin

i can pass them to u foc if its of much use for u to trial n error

wads the diameter ?

[cityofangels]

k0na_scab: Cool.. You not using the pipes anymore? I don't know the exact diameter of the pipes which I might need. Haven't measured them yet. I'll keep you in the know, ok? Thanks heaps!

[southpaw23]

The regular grey PVC would be fine....i saw my tank maker doing the same thing so thought it might be useful in ur situation....get some spare PVC and try it out first....till u get the hang of it....i honestly don't think it'll be that difficult.

Heat one side of the PVC and bend the opposite way, the heated side will soften and possibly stretch...then repeat on the other end a lil higher up to get the curve u want....

Good luck with it....and let us know how it turns out...

[cityofangels]

The guy in RC finally replied.

These are the pics of his durso in a very tight internal overflow system.

[cityofangels]

Modified Durso

[cityofangels]

Apparently the guy used two elbow joints, instead of heating the pipe.

[southpaw23]

That's probably a lil neater...

[k0na_scab]

ya sure no prob

its been lyin ard for some time liao haihao nv throw away

the part where the 'T' joints wif the 90elb looks like it needs abit of wkmanship ...

[Kotobuki]

Hey gal,

Try this... simple and effectivefor those with space constrain.

The water will flow with the wool and stop crushing into itself creating the noise.

Just hang it at the drain pipe.

Tested and proven hehehe

http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...=0entry423666