Overflows ugly? I need opinions.

dantimdad · Jul 22, 2018

So, I have a 93 cube that I am working on. The front was cracked so I have cleaned it all up, removed the seals and am ready to put in the new glass and reseal it.

It dawned on me how much I hate the marineland overflow. It's big, ugly and I am not going to have a black background so it won't match.

I am considering just doing what I do when I get a non-reef ready aquarium and drilling two holes one on each side of the back and doing a Herbie setup. Never had an issue with them and they are dead silent.

I am wondering if drilling the back of a tank this size if it will compromise it.

I have strips of 2" wide 1/4" glass that I could make a full width overflow and I don't think it would look too bad. or I could do a 7" wide strip at a 45 across the back. Either one would have eggcrate on top to prevent sump surfers.

My background is going to be frosted and backlit. I could get some acrylic and frost it to build an overflow as well.

I could possibly use krylon fusion and paint the marineland overflow white and glue it back in after the reseal.

One last option could be to cover the overflow with rock, but, What would I glue it to the plastic with?

Let me know what you think.

pluikens · Jul 23, 2018

I think it would be a neat idea to cover an overflow with rubble to place frags in it. I wouldn't try to glue the rock to the overflow but instead glue the rocks together into a single piece that can be placed in front of the overflow, maybe leaning against it. I'd make a foam mockup of the overflow and lay it flat, start with bigger dry rock rubble from BRS or elsewhere on the bottom and glue the pieces to one another going up the overflow with E Marco 400. Once set, I'd pull it off the foam and slide it in front of the overflow. You could even cement in some acrylic clips so the top doesn't do all the way over the overflow but you could keep the top from falling away from the overflow. Now that I think of this, I may just have myself a project for my 90 grow out tank with corner overflow!

Greybeard · Jul 23, 2018

Seems like any of your ideas might work.

Trying to hide an overflow with rock seldom ends up looking good, IMHO.

A drilled back glass for a Herbie sounds ideal to me. I like Herbie overflows, and with all of the compact, high flow options available today, it'd be tough not to go that way.

I'm waiting, patiently, for the big aquarium makers to get with the program... huge, ugly, in tank overflows should go the way of 8-track tapes. Maybe one day.

dantimdad · Jul 23, 2018

It's down to two options at this point:

Either a hang on refugium/skimmer setup that is augmented by a water change system or drilling the back for herbie.

No matter what the overflow isn't going back. The tank looks so much better without it.

FishTruck · Jul 23, 2018

I am considering these things on my new build. From lifetime aquariums.

Greybeard · Jul 23, 2018

#fishtruck

I have a pair of these (H2Overflows) on my 140 g peninsula system. Work great, low profile, easy to clean... been in service for a year now, without issue. I like 'em.

You _can_ just run a hose from these to your sump... but you're asking for a noisy system. CA offers an external box that allows you to do Herbie or Bean type drains. I'm using a custom acrylic external overflow box with a pair of the H2Overflows, and a Bean style drain to the sump. Silent.

I also have a pair of the 'Siphon Stopper' returns, from the same company. IMHO, not worth it. I had to alter mine quite a bit to get them to work for me, and honestly, I could probably have done something that worked just as good, looked better, and was more compact from basic PVC parts.

FishTruck · Jul 23, 2018

Greybeard said:
#fishtruck

I have a pair of these (H2Overflows) on my 140 g peninsula system. Work great, low profile, easy to clean... been in service for a year now, without issue. I like 'em.

You _can_ just run a hose from these to your sump... but you're asking for a noisy system. CA offers an external box that allows you to do Herbie or Bean type drains. I'm using a custom acrylic external overflow box with a pair of the H2Overflows, and a Bean style drain to the sump. Silent.

I also have a pair of the 'Siphon Stopper' returns, from the same company. IMHO, not worth it. I had to alter mine quite a bit to get them to work for me, and honestly, I could probably have done something that worked just as good, looked better, and was more compact from basic PVC parts.

Good info! I am thinking of building my own siphon stopper return - like this....

dantimdad · Jul 24, 2018

Greybeard said:
#fishtruck

I have a pair of these (H2Overflows) on my 140 g peninsula system. Work great, low profile, easy to clean... been in service for a year now, without issue. I like 'em.

You _can_ just run a hose from these to your sump... but you're asking for a noisy system. CA offers an external box that allows you to do Herbie or Bean type drains. I'm using a custom acrylic external overflow box with a pair of the H2Overflows, and a Bean style drain to the sump. Silent.

I also have a pair of the 'Siphon Stopper' returns, from the same company. IMHO, not worth it. I had to alter mine quite a bit to get them to work for me, and honestly, I could probably have done something that worked just as good, looked better, and was more compact from basic PVC parts.

Thanks for the real world experience review. I appreciate the input.

dantimdad · Jul 24, 2018

I will say that, years ago, I posted a DIY on the other forum about a box I made similar to this thing and got laughed at basically and told it would never work long term even though it did for the month before I posted it.

Wish I would have never listened to them when I stopped pursuing it. One more reason I very rarely go to that site anymore.

Greybeard · Jul 24, 2018

FishTruck said:
Good info! I am thinking of building my own siphon stopper return - like this....

All the 'syphon stopper' is, is a bit of PVC, routing a return through the mid-wall, up to the surface, back down to where it came from, and out a bit of flex hose. The only bit that is at all different, is the top piece. It's got 2 vents in it, and 2 'legs' that are actually open, inverted U channels. These guide the water coming from the vent under pressure back down to water level. This does what was intended... creates a siphon break, should the flow stop, keeping the pipe from siphoning tank water level down to outlet level. Unfortunately, due to their design, these open 'legs' drag air with the flow, causing micro bubbles in the tank. On a freshwater system? Great! added oxygenation, bubbles are usually considered a good thing. On a marine system? Not so much. Micro bubbles cause salt creep... everywhere, and distract from the crystal clear water we're all trying to achieve.

I had to cut off the 'legs' of my siphon stoppers, seal the above water line vents, and re-drill siphon break holes below water level.