The Z-Flow, $7.50 pvc no hassle overflow

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BillyZ

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Messages
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Location
Western NY
well... i did some experimenting and came up with this design for an EXTREEMLY cheap and EASY overflow that handls about 600 gph. THe last image attached below is the whole unit stretched out so you can see how things are linked together. The other two are to show you how it looks before it'll be attached to the tank.

I felt this design keeps the whole process very simple, it's easy to put a sponge in the bottom to keep things from clogging, initial setup is a BREEZE, simply dunk the whole unit into the water and tip to let the air out, tip it up right and remove from the water, voila, the siphon is primed and the unit is ready to roll!!

The only modifications I want to make to this is to the collection cup. I want to run it across the table saw a few times and give it some teeth (a dremel will work for this as well) and I also plan on grinding out a small ridge in the bottom of the female portion of the cup to allow the cup to slide easily up and down to adjust tank water level. Notice the built in Durso Stand pipe.. this unit functions nearly silently.

Parts:
3" PVC female to female joint (collection cup)
3" to 1-1/2" PVC Adapter (bottom of collection cup)
1-1/2" to 1" pvc Adapter (reduce bottom to 1" pipe... you could stay at 1-1/2" if you'd like, give a larger GPH)
1" PVC elbows (7)
1" PVC "T" (1)
1" PVC End cap (1)
1" barbed tubing connector
about 3' of 1" PVC Pipe (lots of 2" pieces hehe)

[edit] trying to re-upload images[/edit]
 
Awesome! Will it self prime if the water level drops below then rises again? Looks like it should. Took some tater' power to rig that up.
 
yea, It deffinitely keeps the siphon primed. if you're going to build one, you have to be sure the bottom of the horizontal part of the T is below the water line of your tank or you'll be in trouble :wink:
 
neat!

that's some impressive pvc work ... amazing that a simple zig zag is all that's needed to maintain the siphon

how does it look in the tank?
 
I was definately thinking looks as an issue, but for a for a well planted (in your case DIY) fresh, or even a frag tank it would be an awesome and CHEAP method.
 
Nice.I bookmarked the plan for future considerations.I have 3 tanks that I want to eventually tie together with a manifold system of some hind. 8)
 
well thats interesting... when I first came to the topic I saw the pictures... i was going to post but realized I wasn't logged in... i log in.. now I don't see the pics anymore...

thanks for the comments! This idea just kinda struck me while I was at work one day. The only part of the unit that is in the tank is the collection cup and the first "up run" of the PVC. It only takes up about a 4-5" square int he corner of the tank... I think it doesn't look too bad at all.
 
so did you post pics of how it looks in your tank?.. I think you just started a DIY fever! :) Just in time too, considering I am thinking of making a refugium/sump! Oh yeah, what pump do you use it with? I have a rio 1400 laying around and was thinking of using it as a sump pump for my 45G tall
 
no I didn't want to post up a pic if there's issues with pics. I'll post one up once the site's DNS has stghtened out. I don't have this in my display tank just yet, Its in my soon to be 55 fuge. I wanted to build it and experiment before I move my tank (gotta finish my DIY stand before that happens, and that probably wont happen till after winter) I tested this with a Mag 9.5 and the overflow lost hehe but from what others have told me a 1" pipe should handle up to 600 GPH so as long as your pump is under 600 GPH you should be ok. You could also make the same thing as above with 1-1/2" pipe and get a bit more GPH (anyone know what that should be?)
 
I have one question... are you worried about corosion within the pipes? Like how long will it last until you need to build another to replace it?
 
it's all PVC so corrosion shouldn't be an issue at all. and as far as cleaning, i'm planning on getting one of those "snake like" pipe cleaners I've seen at a few pet stores. basically a 3' long spring with a brush head at one end. Just run that down through the collection cup till it comes out the other side. But the fact that the PVC is opaque and when it's in the display tank I'll have a prefilter sponge in the bottom, I really don't think much will collect on the inside of the pipe. Besides, If I need to build another one 3 years from now... it's only $7 in PVC parts and a half hour of my time so I really won't be that upset if I have to :wink:
 
I actualy didn't use any. If you clean up your cuts enough before you assemble, most PVC will hold itself together tight enough to not leak. BUT, I figure I will glue this for final placement in my display tank, And when I asked the same question as you the general concensus was to get regular, clear PVC cememt. I picked up a small gold can of Oatey cemet from Home Depot for just a few bucks. But tha was a while ago (and wasn't included in the total for this project, so you could probably add a couple bucks to the list, like three or four)
 
well I have constructed the overflow and refugium (thought I would show both) here are some pics! I realize its hella messy the work, but lucky noone will be able to see it through the stand (the refugium), nor through the tanks background! (the overflow). I messed up a bit in the positioning of the pipes as you can tell... :oops:
 
Lookin Good Electrobes! Pretty easy to make isn't it?

The long pieces were about 6 inches and all the elbow to elbow pieces were about 2 inches. If you use 1-1/2" PVC instead of 1", you can probably find "Street 90 eblows" which you can use to make the bends etc a little bit shorter, save some more space.
 
yeah it really was easy to make. I wish they made a square top instead of a circle top for the collection cup, but considering I just saved 70 odd bucks... I ain't complaining. Besides I believe my LR structure will be hiding it anyway :p - For now I am just happy to have finished, My tank is getting so many things done to it, its insane! After today the list of stuff that it will have are: 250 watt metal halide, 2X65 PC 03 actinics, Overflow, and a Refugium! I am trying to finish the list off (when the holidays end) to include a protein skimmer (DIY plans by Biotoxin), a stand to hold everything, and a cooling system (devised by justDIY). I basically got the hard part over, and will probably have to build the stand when I get back to gainesville. But I am loving it all thus far, especially the Overflow!!
 
Oh my dad was a genius when he told me a way to fix my isuues.. both of them. I am going to cut the verticle pipe (outside the tank) and insert a "T" joint.. connecting the two pipes again (straight this time) and the third opening (which will be closed off with a cap) will function as a holder against the back of the tank.
 
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