DIY Coast to Coast overflow

[Frtdrmrose7]

I recently purchased (used) a 150 gallon acrylic tank which will be my next reef. The tank didn’t have overflow boxes but was drilled for 1.5’ bulkheads (2) in the back corners. I considered buying the ghost overflow but wasn’t excited about having to buy it, drill the tank, plug the existing bulkheads, etc. so I went to Lowe’s and bought 10” of 1.5’ PVC two 1.5’ three way fittings, two caps, and 1.5 bushing.

This is an extremely easy overflow to make and each drain will handle different amounts of water (primary and secondary). The drains are straight forward and if you look in the pics you’ll see the bushing I sanded down to fit inside one of the three way fittings. The “weir “ is 1.5’ pipe I slotted with a chop saw. Overall I have about 2 hours into this and I should get excellent skimming and not have to worry about my tank mates getting stuck in my drains. My last step was to paint it black.

I just thought I’d share this in case someone else is needing to build an overflow and is looking for ideas.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Almost forgot, I cut the tops of the 3 way fittings down to clear the top of the tank, cut the plugs down to match and drilled a small hole in the plug to keep the drains quiet.

 

[cwalton00]

Man I would be afraid those little slots would get clogged up

 

[Larry L]

Nice design, you'll probably get way better surface skimming than the typical standpipe designs that just have a slotted collar at the top of the vertical pipe. To reduce problems from any potential clogging, I wonder how the noise level would be if you could just leave the tops of the standpipes open as emergency drains (they would have to be above water level during normal operation, but below the tank rim)?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Nice design, you'll probably get way better surface skimming than the typical standpipe designs that just have a slotted collar at the top of the vertical pipe. To reduce problems from any potential clogging, I wonder how the noise level would be if you could just leave the tops of the standpipes open as emergency drains (they would have to be above water level during normal operation, but below the tank rim)?

They are under the rim but above the water line because it’s an acrylic tank I have a large lip for the top of the tank. The plugs can easily be popped out as they are only pressure fitted

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Man I would be afraid those little slots would get clogged up

They are actually a pretty good size, the picture doesn’t do them justice. I will be keeping and eye on them though. The overflow bar is just pressure fitted (very tightly)so I can remove it to clean if necessary.

 

[Scotty Buttons]

What did you paint it with out of curiosity?

 

[Scotty Buttons]

Looks nice and welcome to R2R btw

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

What did you paint it with out of curiosity?

I used Krylon Fusion, I’ve seen a few posts online where the same paint was used with success. I guess time will tell and I still have to cycle the tank so I’ll be able to keep an eye on it.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Here is the finished product, excellent flow and skimming, not to mention QUIET

 

[kchristensen8064]

Following, I have a similar setup that I'm working on, with the 2 corner overflows. I also was thinking about the shadow overflow and would have to plug the bottom holes and drill new for the overflow. So I'm curious how this works out for you as far as the slots getting plugged.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Following, I have a similar setup that I'm working on, with the 2 corner overflows. I also was thinking about the shadow overflow and would have to plug the bottom holes and drill new for the overflow. So I'm curious how this works out for you as far as the slots getting plugged.

The slots are large enough (width wise) that I could easily use a toothbrush to keep them clean. I don’t think I’ll have an issue with that. The one thing I did do to make it quiet was to turn the slotted overflow so the cuts were facing forward. That keeps the overflow partially submerged and does away with any gurgling from the water pouring through the slots into the bottom of the pipe. I’m actually pretty impressed with the performance. I’m running a Mag pump at 1250gph wide open and this easily keeps up, I will eventually go with a larger pump.

 

[stefanm]

I'm going to change to this, right now I have a coast to coast internal glass overflow box which is problematic. Firstly the box itself is full of algae and a pain to clean as I don't have access to the back of the tank, secondly it casts a shadow over the back reducing light spread and thirdly fish and snails keep going over the top, some end up in the sump and are a pain to retrieve.

Only problem is I don't have access to a chop saw, so I guess I'll have to mark the slots and cut with an angle grinder or make a simple jig and use a circular saw.

@Frtdrmrose7 how's it running now it's been up for a few months, all good?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

I'm going to change to this, right now I have a coast to coast internal glass overflow box which is problematic. Firstly the box itself is full of algae and a pain to clean as I don't have access to the back of the tank, secondly it casts a shadow over the back reducing light spread and thirdly fish and snails keep going over the top, some end up in the sump and are a pain to retrieve.

Only problem is I don't have access to a chop saw, so I guess I'll have to mark the slots and cut with an angle grinder or make a simple jig and use a circular saw.

@Frtdrmrose7 how's it running now it's been up for a few months, all good?

Dead quiet and still not a single problem. I think the circular saw would be the way to go since the blade isn’t too wide.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Following, I have a similar setup that I'm working on, with the 2 corner overflows. I also was thinking about the shadow overflow and would have to plug the bottom holes and drill new for the overflow. So I'm curious how this works out for you as far as the slots getting plugged.

What did you end up going with for overflows?