Overflow boxes stink!

[MsBeanCtr]

I finally got the 40 gallon tank going today. I've never had to use a siphon overflow box and I can truely say that they stink big time!!

My question is.....how do I prevent my sump or tank from overflowing (if something happens with it)? That's probably a stupid question but I'm concerned since I don't have any experience with overflow boxes.

Help!

 

[melosu58]

If you have a HOB overflow then you want it just below the water line that way if you lose power or return pump does not work it wont have far to drop. The HOB overflow will not lose it`s siphon but it will stop sending water.

 

[ryshark]

And if it is still too deep in the water, all you have to do is drill a couple small holes in the return pipe right at the water line. This will prevent from a backflow problem. The U-tube will take care of the tank overflowing problem. They actually work pretty good when done right.

 

[Fierro Nights]

your overflow should have come w/ two boxes, one that goes inside the tank, and the other that sits outside the tank, a ' U " shaped tube connects the two. The box that sits inside the tank should be as high as possible while letting only the surface water flow over into the box, the return pump from the sump should bring water back into the tank which will overflow back into the overflow box.

if your return line is deep in the water, then it will act as a siphon, the way i have mine set up, is that i have my return line connected to a black directional return u-tube used for the return line from sumps, i have this line leading to the edge of my H.O.T filter which allows the water to go through a polisher, the way i have it set up is so that if the power goes out, my over flow drains just a few milliliters of water and my return line does not siphon at all, i do this w/ no drilled holes. also my return line, because its not in the filter chamber of my HOT filter, it does not act as a siphon.

 

[Fierro Nights]

as far as the smell, mine does not smell, it shouldn't smell at all. perhaps you should try to clean the sponge that is inside the overflow box once a week or so. that, or get a plastic grocery bag from the store, ball it up and shove it in the overflow, it blocks out noise and would probably block out some smell.

 

[jsoong]

Melevsreef.com - What is a Sump?
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sumps, Part I by Greg Taylor - Reefkeeping.com

These links should give you an idea of how to set up a HOB overflow so there is no risk of flooding. The basic idea is that you should have room in the sump to hold all the water that will drain down if your pump fails <placement of overflow & location of the return line air-break will determine how much water that is>, and enough room in the tank to hold all the water your pump send up should your siphon fails. <I elevate the pump in the sump to limited the amount of water it can pump if the overflow fails ... this may burn out the pump but better than a flood ... some people use a float switch to turn off the pump when the water level in the sump is too low to save the pump.>

Once you have everything set up. I would suggest testing the the pump & overflow failure scenarios so you can correct any problems.

 

[MsBeanCtr]

I elevate the pump in the sump to limited the amount of water it can pump if the overflow fails ... this may burn out the pump but better than a flood ... some people use a float switch to turn off the pump when the water level in the sump is too low to save the pump.>

Once you have everything set up. I would suggest testing the the pump & overflow failure scenarios so you can correct any problems.

Excellent idea....I will set my pump up higher and do a test run just to make sure I didn't booger it up.

That is some great info folks. Thank you!!