overflow boxes

[pool_dude]

HI,

I have several questitons about an overflow box. I know it transfers water through a siphon. Are overflow boxes able to control that flow? Has anyone have any problems where the siphon has stop, and the pump from their sump or and refugium just kept pumping water up causing an overflow in their main tank? and just one more question, I have read that "THIS UNIT WILL NOT LOSE SYPHON DURING POWER OUTAGE. AUTOMATICLY STARTS ITSELF," is this true for an overflow box? Just would like to say thanks to the people who have responded.

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

i dont know of any overflows that control the amount of overflow, each is set at a specific gph rateing and someone would then by the corresponding pump.

there is almost no chance of the pump pushong water over the walls of the tank, but if the rest of the water from the tank drains (by this i mean the top inch or two inchs of the tank draing through the overflow) down the overflow to the sump it can overflow the sump if the sump is to full. if u are careful u can mark the sump so u know how full to keep ot so i u lose power the sump will not overflow.

dont know what they mean by that if u have a link to the webpage for that particular overflow might be more helpful.

 

[pool_dude]

Thanks for replying. The link is
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46310&item=4353485049&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Well for that part, my question is how is it possible for the siphon of this over flow box able to restart it self?

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

im not very sure, maybe someone else who uses this type of overflow can help, i would assume he means that the U tube and boxx keep water in it so that once power is restored when the pump begins again there is no need to restart the syphon.

with this kind of overflow there is a bit of a chance that the pump could push water over the tank (if the syphon broke), it would be important to not overfill the sump.

 

[pool_dude]

hmmmm... I guess what concerns me about an overflow box is if the siphon stopped (is the probability of that happening high?) and the pump continued to pump water from the sump, then i could get an overflow in my aquarium

 

[dralarms]

I have one just like that (actually twin pipe model), without the flexi tail pipe. Mine maintains the siphon very well. during a power outage it will draw down water to a certain point and stop, then when water starts flowig again it will pick up where it left off. I have never had mine break siphon unless I did it. You will need to turn off the pump and take the overflow tube out every 3 to 4 weeks to clean the algae out of it, that way it will maintain proper flow rate. I drilled a hole in the top of mine and put a fitting with a "one way" valve (the kind you get to keep water from getting into your air pumps), that way I don't have to mess with getting the air line up into the overflow tube. From that you can hook it to the "air intake" of a powerhead and it will keep all air out of the overflow tube (in theory). HTH. If you want a picture of mine just say so and I'll post one.

 

[sharonafix]

I have a Tidepool SOS filter that has a siphon. I had the siphon break when I was cleaning the glass and the pump in my sump continued to pump. Had to shut off the power. If the power goes off, the siphon works great and only siphons down to bottom of siphon and of course the power is off, so the pump in the sump does not keep pumping. BUT if the siphon breaks and power is on, there is going to be a BIG flood in my house.

The biggest problem I am having with the Tidepool filter is the air that accumulates in the siphon tube over a period of time. Can't seem to stop air getting into the siphon neck.

And I too wonder if when the power comes back on and the pump in the sump starts to pump all the water back into the main tank, I sure hope the siphon is still primed in the filter box. Could be a major mess.

 

[dralarms]

That's what hooking it up to your powerhead is supposed to do. If you have a power head it has an air intake, if you hook up the air intake to the siphon it will (in theory) keep the thing from loosing siphon. Mine gets air in it also, not bad but some, I'm gonna hook this up and see how it works.

 

[phishead]

If you are looking to buy an overflow, this one looks ok. I got one from aquacrylics.com trough ebay. you can get them straight from their site. It is similar in design. It claims to get 700 GPH with the correct pump. In two weeks of repeated trials, I have never broken the siphon, and I turn it off during feeding times everyday also!

You are correct, if you break the siphon it will overflow your main tank, but all (J tube) overflows should be designed with a baffle that keeps water in them, so the siphon starts again as soon as the pump starts.

Because I am paranoid about this I am still thinking about a battery backup that would kick in if the power were to go out.

good luck!