Overflow box questions

[rossmort]

Hi, I am going to be setting up a new talk (Most likely 55g) and had a few questions. I plan on running a canister filter and I also like the idea of having a skimmer box(?) (not really sure what they are called but the glass or plexi that fits in the corner of a tank to make an area with lower water level that the top will drain into) but was wondering a few things about them.

1st- In a 55, would it be alright to have it just in the corner or is it necessary to have a central location or one in either corner.

2- Is there any "right" size for the box? Can it be made with some plexi and silicone?

3- I have also been trying to learn about sumps and just need someone to lead me in the right direction. As I understand them, a sump has a skimmer box type thing but then instead of having the filter pick up in there, it dumps (through a syphon? or how does this work so as not to have the chance of 55 gallons of water on my floor ) into a smaller tank that is hidden (Has heater in it if wanted) and then from that area is the intake for the filter which then dumps back into the main tank. That is my understanding but I could be way off

and finally 4- If my idea of a sump is correct, is there any advantage of using that over just the skimmer with filter intake in there over sump other that a more constant water level and out of sight heaters?

Thanks for reading my book

 

[Sati]

I think maybe you meant to post this in the SW section?

 

[rossmort]

No, It is going to be a FW tank. I guess I am just looking to do my first big tank "right" and it seems that having an overflow area would work really well. I searched through the FW forums to try to find info and found some but not a lot. I have been hesitant to go into the Salt's just because I don't want to get confused about stuff that I don't need and such.

 

[PK Tester]

How exactly would a skimmer box work on a freshwater tank? You can't grow macro algea or anything?

 

[rossmort]

I am just talking about having something to take any debris that would accumulate on the top off to the filter. I don't know about macro algea or anything you probably know about

 

[fishfreek]

THey are refering to an overflow, aka prefilter, aka surface skimmer.

If you get yoru tank predrilled thats best because the end result looks better IMO. If you use a hang on overflow you can put it in the corner or in the middle. Really does not mater. If you put it in the corner plumb your return to the other corner so you get good water flow.

An overflow and a canister really dont mix well IMO because the water level in your tank when you use an overflow will remain consistant. The water level will drop in the canister and thus eventually make it so it does not work effectivly until you add more water to the tank. The reason the water level stays consistant in the tank is because the pump that is returning water to the tank is always trying to 'over fill' the main tank. This is why I like to think where the term 'overflow' came from. because the overflow prevents the tank from overflowing by draining the water back down to the sump area. The water level will change in the sump do to evaporation and thus every few days adding some water back to the sump will keep things operating correctly.

 

[jsoong]

Ross, check out this series of articles on overflow/sump:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/gt/index.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/gt/index.htm

Although sumps, etc. are often used in SW. It can be used in FW as well. Goldfish keepers often have them because of increased water volume, plus a wet-dry is better at handling the mess of goldies & koi.

 

[rossmort]

Ross, check out this series of articles on overflow/sump:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/gt/index.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/gt/index.htm

Although sumps, etc. are often used in SW. It can be used in FW as well. Goldfish keepers often have them because of increased water volume, plus a wet-dry is better at handling the mess of goldies & koi.

Thanks much! That was exactly what I was looking for! Now, I just gotta figure out if I something like that would be worth it for me.

Thanks again

 

[madasafish]

Well, as many of you may have noticed, Allivymar is off cruisin', so I'll step in here and mention to you something she said to me. Don't know if it's completely correct, as I may have misunderstood a bit... But I've heard that with the lesser salinity of fresh-water aquaria, it's very difficult for skimmers to work as effectively as they do in SW tanks. Allison said that you need a much larger skimmer to produce the same effect.

Now I'm no skimmer expert, and I'm no great physicist, so I'll stop there, but Ross and others should look into issues with skimmers in FW tanks. IMO, this is probably why FW ppl don't often use skimmers. I'd link you to some sites, but I know of none, and am a bit busy (at work!).

 

[TheMadNucleus]

Just thought I'd re-iterate:

Rossmart is not suggesting using a Protein skimmer (which as has been stated will not work in a FW tank because of the reduced surface tension due to low SG) but is instead referring to an overflow box which is very desirable even in a FW set-up becuase it eliminates the protein slime which is commonplace on the surface of many FW tanks. Also it sends the water with the highest concentration of DOC down to the filter (i.e. the water at the surface).

As for using canisters with a sump - this is a fine approach in my opinion, however, the canisters should be in-line with the return water from your sump. I.e. purchase canister units which can be rigged up to your return pump not units which are dependant on their own pump/siphon combination. This will eliminate the canister level problem mentioned ealier.

I use this approach on my 125 - overflow to sump, sump pumped by external - into 3 ocean clear canisters - split with one return to tank and the other to UV unit.

HTH

Tom

 

[madasafish]

Oy. I'm a fool. Sorry about that. I read the message too quickly, and assumed he was talking about a "skimmer" in the conventional sense. My bad!

 

[rossmort]

Not your mistake, silly me for messing up the terms!

 

[rossmort]

As for using canisters with a sump - this is a fine approach in my opinion, however, the canisters should be in-line with the return water from your sump. I.e. purchase canister units which can be rigged up to your return pump not units which are dependant on their own pump/siphon combination. This will eliminate the canister level problem mentioned ealier.

Tom

I don't know if I clearly understand this. For my idea, I was going to have the main tank dump into the sump and then from there have a canister filter intake pull the water and then have the outtake for the canister back up into the main tank. Are you saying have the canister intake and outtake in the sump and then have a larger pump in the sump going back up into the main? Also, do you think that a 5 gallon tank would work alright for a 55g main? Thanks a lot!