GregAW
Active Member
I don't know if it was this forum or another where I was asking for solutions for a non-drilled tank and getting the water from the display tank to the sump and back to the display tank. Almost every piece of advice I received was to get a bigger CPR type of box or drill the tank. I had a CPR overflow box and that when I was buying, the guy at the LFS advised me incorrectly on the size I needed. Needless to say I was never happy with the water circulation, his advice was to get the CPR CS-90 or a 600 gph system. I had always read that you should turn your tank water over 5 to 8 times per hour. Not sure if that's good information or not but I like more than I do, not enough.
So here we go and I'll tell my story of what I did. I found a YouTube video titled: HOW TO: DIY Overflow and is located here if you wish to watch: HOW TO: DIY Overflow - YouTube. Then I also found a DIY device called the Hofer Gurgle Buster (HGB) and the construction instructions is located here: Hofer Gurgle Buster. This was designed is aimed at reducing gurgling in an overflow box.
Well I have combined the 2 DIY projects and came up with my own design. I have watched the video of how to build the PVC overflow several times and the more I watched the better I liked the idea. So I set out to build one to see how well it really worked. I'm building mine out of 1 1/4" PVC since I need a lot more flow than the 3/4" pipe would come close to providing.
I have a 92 gallon bow front tank and want to turn it over 5 to 7 times an hour. I maybe should have gone to 1 1/2" PVC but we'll see.
Everyone who has watched the video has noted that Joey stresses the overflow pipe height is very important as that will determine the water level in your tank. Well, I wasn't really sure just where that level should be or where it would end up if I cut the pipe and hope I eyeballed it correctly. So I just cut the pipe the same length as the other pipes were cut. Yup, it is taller than the two elbows that take the water from the tank to the sump. I also decided that this pipe didn't need to be glued since it's underwater so I put some plumber's silicon grease on one end and also in the street elbow. It still has a tight fit but you can get it apart if you should need to.
Now for the twist. I also came across a solution that you may want to try. It's called the Hofer Gurgle Buster (HGB) and was designed to be used in an overflow box. I decided why wouldn't this work on a stand pipe. So it was back to Lowe's to get the parts to try this out. Now, I made my overflow from 1 1/4" parts and decided that my HGB should be made from 2" PVC parts. I looked at using 1 1/2" parts but it just didn't seem like there was enough room for proper water flow.
When I got back I started laying out the overflow pipe. I had a rough idea how much too tall it was for the water line and that turned out to be about 3/4". I took this into account and measured down from the top edge of the stand pipe 2 3/4". Then I took a sheet of paper and wrapped it around the stand pipe to get the circumference, marking where the paper overlapped and then I measured and divided by 5, since that's how many holes were needed according to the directions. The instructions were for using 1" pipe (I'm using 1 1/4" pipe) and called for drilling 1/2" holes, so that's what I'm going to start out with.
This is where I figure that air line that is used to suck the air out of the system to prime it will come in handy. I decided to go with an air line valve rather than the check valve. Should you need to make adjustments to the stand pipe, you can break the siphon by opening the valve, stopping the overflow. The stand pipe can be removed now and not run your sump over all over the floor. Pull the stand pipe and make your adjustments, remember, this joint isn't glued, do your tweaking and then put it together and suck the air out and you're back filtering your tank.
I must tell you now. ANY time you stop flow to the sump be sure to turn off the pump. You can overheat the impeller magnetic shaft and it will swell rendering your pump useless until you get a new impeller or new pump.
Here are some photos I have taken of what I built, installed and very impressed at my combined DIY product.
So here we go and I'll tell my story of what I did. I found a YouTube video titled: HOW TO: DIY Overflow and is located here if you wish to watch: HOW TO: DIY Overflow - YouTube. Then I also found a DIY device called the Hofer Gurgle Buster (HGB) and the construction instructions is located here: Hofer Gurgle Buster. This was designed is aimed at reducing gurgling in an overflow box.
Well I have combined the 2 DIY projects and came up with my own design. I have watched the video of how to build the PVC overflow several times and the more I watched the better I liked the idea. So I set out to build one to see how well it really worked. I'm building mine out of 1 1/4" PVC since I need a lot more flow than the 3/4" pipe would come close to providing.
I have a 92 gallon bow front tank and want to turn it over 5 to 7 times an hour. I maybe should have gone to 1 1/2" PVC but we'll see.
Everyone who has watched the video has noted that Joey stresses the overflow pipe height is very important as that will determine the water level in your tank. Well, I wasn't really sure just where that level should be or where it would end up if I cut the pipe and hope I eyeballed it correctly. So I just cut the pipe the same length as the other pipes were cut. Yup, it is taller than the two elbows that take the water from the tank to the sump. I also decided that this pipe didn't need to be glued since it's underwater so I put some plumber's silicon grease on one end and also in the street elbow. It still has a tight fit but you can get it apart if you should need to.
Now for the twist. I also came across a solution that you may want to try. It's called the Hofer Gurgle Buster (HGB) and was designed to be used in an overflow box. I decided why wouldn't this work on a stand pipe. So it was back to Lowe's to get the parts to try this out. Now, I made my overflow from 1 1/4" parts and decided that my HGB should be made from 2" PVC parts. I looked at using 1 1/2" parts but it just didn't seem like there was enough room for proper water flow.
When I got back I started laying out the overflow pipe. I had a rough idea how much too tall it was for the water line and that turned out to be about 3/4". I took this into account and measured down from the top edge of the stand pipe 2 3/4". Then I took a sheet of paper and wrapped it around the stand pipe to get the circumference, marking where the paper overlapped and then I measured and divided by 5, since that's how many holes were needed according to the directions. The instructions were for using 1" pipe (I'm using 1 1/4" pipe) and called for drilling 1/2" holes, so that's what I'm going to start out with.
This is where I figure that air line that is used to suck the air out of the system to prime it will come in handy. I decided to go with an air line valve rather than the check valve. Should you need to make adjustments to the stand pipe, you can break the siphon by opening the valve, stopping the overflow. The stand pipe can be removed now and not run your sump over all over the floor. Pull the stand pipe and make your adjustments, remember, this joint isn't glued, do your tweaking and then put it together and suck the air out and you're back filtering your tank.
I must tell you now. ANY time you stop flow to the sump be sure to turn off the pump. You can overheat the impeller magnetic shaft and it will swell rendering your pump useless until you get a new impeller or new pump.
Here are some photos I have taken of what I built, installed and very impressed at my combined DIY product.
