bean animal Plumbing Question

[zalick]

I agree theMeat. If I were you, I'd buy a premade setup that matches the flow you want. There are quite a few companies that make them now. Just make sure it will accommodate both elbows for Beans setup. Not all of em do.

Here is an eshopps one. Never used it but just example. This gives you low profile inside the tank.

 

[theMeat]

If you tie the main in with the others won't that pull air down the main?

As long as main has valve above tee it will be air free/ full siphon down till valve. As long as the valve is low enough to produce siphon effect. This will also increase noise from the tee down, so unless you have absolutely no room for 3 pipes, or have sump in basement, or like to make things more complicated, use three separate pipes

 

[zalick]

As long as main has valve above tee it will be air free/ full siphon down till valve. As long as the valve is low enough to produce siphon effect. This will also increase noise from the tee down, so unless you have absolutely no room for 3 pipes, or have sump in basement, or like to make things more complicated, use three separate pipes

That makes sense.

I like to put my valve as close to sump as possible so any turbulence from the valve down is minimal distance. I've read conflicting info on whether this matters.

 

[theMeat]

I agree theMeat. If I were you, I'd buy a premade setup that matches the flow you want. There are quite a few companies that make them now. Just make sure it will accommodate both elbows for Beans setup. Not all of em do.

Here is an eshopps one. Never used it but just example. This gives you low profile inside the tank.

Yeah many more options these days. Have the synergy reef shadow for10 years and still like

16″ Shadow Overflow V3

New Shadow V3 Overflow Kit – Just arrived!

synergyreef.com

 

[theMeat]

That makes sense.

I like to put my valve as close to sump as possible so any turbulence from the valve down is minimal distance. I've read conflicting info on whether this matters.

Nah. If full siphon is separate all the way to sump no air turbulence happens once air is purged on start up. Even on a long run with valve upstairs and sump downstairs. Maybe if pipe is way oversized that’d be possible

 

[OCJoeR]

This is getting way too technical for me, connecting lines, full siphon, inside, outside, I think I'm going to drill the holes in the tank several inches down from the top and try and get it to work. Worst case scenario I throw it all out and get a goldfish in a bowl.

 

[theMeat]

This is getting way too technical for me, connecting lines, full siphon, inside, outside, I think I'm going to drill the holes in the tank several inches down from the top and try and get it to work. Worst case scenario I throw it all out and get a goldfish in a bowl.

Or order a ghost overflow that comes with a template and instructions. Not rocket science
Less holes drilled in tank, and as op mentioned with overflow box a lot less water will fall back to sump when power to pump is out. Without overflow box of some type you need a taller sump to avoid floods, or keep your fill line on sump low to allow enough room, if there is enough room. Without a box if one of the pipes comes out of bulkhead the tank will drain down to that point. and flood.

 

[zalick]

This is getting way too technical for me, connecting lines, full siphon, inside, outside, I think I'm going to drill the holes in the tank several inches down from the top and try and get it to work. Worst case scenario I throw it all out and get a goldfish in a bowl.

Get the same box as theMeat has. Has instructions and easy. Drill holes and connect. Done!

 

[OCJoeR]

I went onto the Reef Savvy site and filled out the order form. It looks like they only make certain size boxes. I had wanted to put this on the side of my tank but it's only 12" wide. They're closed today so I couldn't ask anyone if they had smaller boxes. Their order form only shows a " 21" Ghost Overflow". I sent an email asking if they make any smaller boxes. Guess I'll have to wait until Monday to find out.

 

[OCJoeR]

I'm not having much luck with Reefsavvy. I completed their "Request a Quote" section to see if they have an overflow box that would fit the 12" side of my tank and I received a reply that they do not make acrylic tanks. I called but just get voice mail. I'm going to try again today but I'm not hoping for much.

Anyone know of another source for similar overflow boxes that use bulkheads that go into the tank?

Joe

 

[OCJoeR]

Called Reef Savvy again, just as they opened, and got voicemail again.

I've been reading the reviews on the Eshopps Eclipse L overflow and they do not seem to be very well made. Lots of problems with the bulkheads leaking, both the tank bulkheads and the box bulkheads.

Joe

 

[JoshH]

Called Reef Savvy again, just as they opened, and got voicemail again.

I've been reading the reviews on the Eshopps Eclipse L overflow and they do not seem to be very well made. Lots of problems with the bulkheads leaking, both the tank bulkheads and the box bulkheads.

Joe

Reef Savvy does not sell there Ghost overflows separately anymore. "Ghost overflow" is a term people use wrongly, often, the proper term is a low profile external overflow box. Ghost overflow is a specific brand name made by Reef Savvy. And only by Reef Savvy. They only offer them to those customers who are buying a tank from them. You can also get them from Miracles Aquariums, however once again, only with a tank order.

Companies that makes these boxes include

Modular Marine
Exotic Marine Systems
Fiji Cube
Synergy Reef
Eshopps

A lot of the Eshopps leak issues have to do with there wrong instructions. For whatever reason they haven't updated them yet but the instructions you recieve with that overflow are wrong when it comes to the gasket placement. This leads to all the leaks you are referring to. Once the gasket placement is done properly, they don't leak.

 

[OCJoeR]

Reef Savvy does not sell there Ghost overflows separately anymore. "Ghost overflow" is a term people use wrongly, often, the proper term is a low profile external overflow box. Ghost overflow is a specific brand name made by Reef Savvy. And only by Reef Savvy. They only offer them to those customers who are buying a tank from them. You can also get them from Miracles Aquariums, however once again, only with a tank order.

Companies that makes these boxes include

Modular Marine
Exotic Marine Systems
Fiji Cube
Synergy Reef
Eshopps

Hi Josh,

Thank you for the info. That's going to save lots of time and frustration. I'll check out some of the other companies and see what I can find out.

Joe

 

[JoshH]

Hi Josh,

Thank you for the info. That's going to save lots of time and frustration. I'll check out some of the other companies and see what I can find out.

Joe

Any time Joe,

There are lots of options out there, Modular Marine and Exotic Marine Systems are the front runners now adays however there is a significant wait for them as they are built to order. On the flip side of that, they will come up with whatever overflow box you need for your specific system.

Synergy Reef has there shadow overflow, the same one @theMeat has. Mixed reviews, some love them, some absolutely hate them. Biggest issue with them seems to be when you attempt to push a lot of water through them. There design lends itself to be noisier than others due to the different heights between the internal weir and the external box. But, lots of happy customers out there so it really depends on your system demands.

Fiji Cube is relatively new to the overflow game, however it's not a very complicated thing (These are similar to the Eshopps overflows). I have heard they have Excellent build quality using thick acrylic.

Eshopps, well, they get the job done. As you eluded to earlier there have been a lot of failures with them. However they almost exclusively relate to poor instructions when it comes to the placement of the gasket. Because they only come with one gasket, gasket placement is incredibly important and there instructions got it wrong.

In any case, with any of these overflows, I usually suggest someone goes out and buys a gasket sheet to go between the tank and the outer box. They are relatively inexpensive depending on where you are. Is it required, absolutely not, however a sheet will provide the overflow box with even support up against the tank and relieve some of the stress on the box after you hang plumbing off of it.

 

[OCJoeR]

Josh,

Looks like Fiji makes a 12" unit with a 1200 GPH flow. The other companies are either not taking new orders or don't make a unit the size I need.

I was kind of thinking that the complaints about the Eshopps units could be related to improper assembly. Some people have a tendency to over tighten bulkheads causing the gaskets to leak. I've got gasket material so I think I'm going to go with your suggestion with one between the tank and outer box just to be on the safe side. Although it looks like I can also order additional gaskets directly from Fiji.

Thanks again for the help.

Joe

 

[theMeat]

Any time Joe,

There are lots of options out there, Modular Marine and Exotic Marine Systems are the front runners now adays however there is a significant wait for them as they are built to order. On the flip side of that, they will come up with whatever overflow box you need for your specific system.

Synergy Reef has there shadow overflow, the same one @theMeat has. Mixed reviews, some love them, some absolutely hate them. Biggest issue with them seems to be when you attempt to push a lot of water through them. There design lends itself to be noisier than others due to the different heights between the internal weir and the external box. But, lots of happy customers out there so it really depends on your system demands.

Fiji Cube is relatively new to the overflow game, however it's not a very complicated thing (These are similar to the Eshopps overflows). I have heard they have Excellent build quality using thick acrylic.

Eshopps, well, they get the job done. As you eluded to earlier there have been a lot of failures with them. However they almost exclusively relate to poor instructions when it comes to the placement of the gasket. Because they only come with one gasket, gasket placement is incredibly important and there instructions got it wrong.

In any case, with any of these overflows, I usually suggest someone goes out and buys a gasket sheet to go between the tank and the outer box. They are relatively inexpensive depending on where you are. Is it required, absolutely not, however a sheet will provide the overflow box with even support up against the tank and relieve some of the stress on the box after you hang plumbing off of it.

Think reef synergy worked out their issues, like weir restricting flow and other slight issues. They were pretty much first in the game so guess they had some refinements to make. A moot point tho, because don’t think they make a 12”

 

[JoshH]

Think reef synergy worked out their issues, like weir restricting flow and other slight issues. They were pretty much first in the game so guess they had some refinements to make. A moot point tho, because don’t think they make a 12”

As far as I know they still refuse to fix the height difference between the two boxes, something that neither Modular Marine or EMS has and where most of the noise and salt creep issues arise from.

However in Synergy's defence, they switched to an injection mould for there external box and I'm betting, for the few who do have issues running it near max, it's not worth the cost in tooling to fix it. I don't Imagine it would be cheap to do so. Definitely moot point, As I said, there are plenty of happy Synergy owners, yourself included so they must be doing something right. And no they Definitely do not make a 12" smallest is the 16"

 

[JoshH]

Josh,

Looks like Fiji makes a 12" unit with a 1200 GPH flow. The other companies are either not taking new orders or don't make a unit the size I need.

I was kind of thinking that the complaints about the Eshopps units could be related to improper assembly. Some people have a tendency to over tighten bulkheads causing the gaskets to leak. I've got gasket material so I think I'm going to go with your suggestion with one between the tank and outer box just to be on the safe side. Although it looks like I can also order additional gaskets directly from Fiji.

Thanks again for the help.

Joe

Any time, I'm not the only one who has helped you though

So the biggest issue with the Eshopps gaskets was they only provided one per bulkhead. Typically on a bulkhead the gaskets go on the flange side of things. However on an external overflow setup, if you only have one gasket. It absolutely HAS to go between the tank and the external overflow box. Eshopps failed to properly convey this in there instructions so a lot of people were putting the gaskets where they normally would, on the flange side. This lead to basically no seal between the tank and the box which obviously leaked.

I hope you get things installed and wrapped up quickly so we can that awesome tank running!!

 

[OCJoeR]

Well I picked up my sump tank this afternoon. Just a 30 gal. tank with 3 compartments and a bubble trap. Much more useful than the one that came with the Somatic 60 skimmer. Of course I had to take one of the support legs off the tank stand to get it inside the space, then put the support leg back. Now I just have to hear back from Fiji Cube about the questions I had about their overflow box, and see how long it takes to get one here from FL.

Who knows this may actually happen!!!

Joe

 

[OCJoeR]

the way ghost overflows generally work is two bigger bulkheads drilled through tank that connects and passes water from a box inside, to a box out side. The box inside has weir, The box outside has 3 smaller pipes that go down to sump.
I’m all about building yourself, but would buy a tested proven box that’s designed well and removable weir with little magnets fashioned in there is nice.

Hi Meat,

I'd love to buy one of those but I'm having no luck getting a reply from Fiji Cube, and they're the only company that seems to make one that will fit my tank, where I want to put it. So it looks like it's going to be the DIY route for me. I've found all the plumbing supplies (bulkheads, pipe, valves) at a local supply house and I have the hole saws to cut through the acrylic tank so it looks like a weekend project. I've got the original Bean Animal article on construction so I'm just going to follow that and run all the lines outside the tank and get some acrylic to make a weir for the inside. I like the idea of magnets to hold it in place.

The last thing I'm looking at are lights. Another confusing issue based on all the articles and claims in the manufacturer's literature. I've been looking at LED units. I'm guessing I want something that has timers so that the various colors can be controlled individually. I've found several for sale on line but just one is a wifi unit. I'm going to look at it later today.

Again, thanks to everyone for all the pointers and help.
Joe