The weight of water???

[authentic]

So,I have a herbie type overflow.You would think that once its set you wouldnt have to adjust it.but sometimes you do....thoughts?

 

[Crabs McJones]

There are a couple things that factor in. How clean your valve is, dirty valve can restrict flow. Your powerheads, if you have them on a pulse mode or random mode, they can push more water into the overflow randomly, making it seem like adjustment is needed. I like to have mine set so there is always a small amount running down the emergency. Helps feed unfiltered water to my refugium.

 

[lapin]

Other things come into play besides water weight.
A few of them; Stuff growing/dying in pipes. Algae growing on overflow teeth. Water disturbance from cleaning.

 

[theMeat]

Yes a few things as mentioned, and return pump fluctuations too. Most times for me it’s time to clean weir of caroline

 

[Crabs McJones]

Yes a few things as mentioned, and return pump fluctuations too

Good suggestion! A dirty pump will push less water requiring valve adjustments

 

[Heathd]

Don't forget about gravitational influence of celestial bodies!

 

[ironman187]

So,I have a herbie type overflow.You would think that once its set you wouldnt have to adjust it.but sometimes you do....thoughts?

Yup, you will forever have to make micro adjustments on it. The Beananimal is superior in this respect.

 

[theMeat]

Yup, you will forever have to make micro adjustments on it. The Beananimal is superior in this respect.

Herbie and bean animal would need the same micro adjustment, which is a non issue on most tanks. The only dif in design is bean animal has an emergency drain

 

[ironman187]

Herbie and bean animal would need the same micro adjustment, which is a non issue on most tanks. The only dif in design is bean animal has an emergency drain

Beananimal has a 2nd wet drain which eliminates the need for constant adjustment.

 

[theMeat]

Beananimal has a 2nd wet drain which eliminates the need for constant adjustment.

No it does’t
Bean animal has an emergency, which doesn’t get into use unless there’s an emergency. Otherwise they are identical, and in function they are completely identical.
Most tanks don’t experience much adjustment issues, and those that do are not often.

 

[ironman187]

No it does’t
Bean animal has an emergency, which doesn’t get into use unless there’s an emergency. Otherwise they are identical, and in function they are completely identical.
Most tanks don’t experience much adjustment issues, and those that do are not often.

That's not my understanding. Herbie has one syphon drain, and one emergency drain. Beananimal has one syphone drain, one emergency, and one partial syphon. That 2nd syphon is a wet drain that in theory drains the excess that you normally find in a Herbie as the main syphon gets dirty. If I'm wrong, feel free to explain why because I have been looking at the Beananimal for years and haven't found anybody who claims different until you.

 

[ca1ore]

As has been alluded to already, a herbie-style siphon drain does not stay in perfect adjustment. All kinds of things happen in a reef tank that will throw things out of equilibrium (not the least of which is stuff growing on the drain surfaces). Whether you 'constantly' adjust the siphon depends on how OCD you are about keeping the emergency dry. I never frankly worried all that much about a trickle through the emergency as long as there wasn't a torrent of water. If that happens, then your siphon has become blocked and you should tend to it ….. thus the whole point of having redundant drains. FWIW, most system changes result in water going down the emergency rather than the siphon sucking air, though fluctuations in pump output can cause the latter.

Bean-style is less problematic than the herbie-style because the secondary can function as an operating 'relief' for the primary yet never get the emergency wet. Every now and then my main return pump drops 50 gph or so which can mess with the siphon, so Iset my bean for slightly more water through the secondary while still keeping the emergency dry.

 

[Potatohead]

That's not my understanding. Herbie has one syphon drain, and one emergency drain. Beananimal has one syphone drain, one emergency, and one partial syphon. That 2nd syphon is a wet drain that in theory drains the excess that you normally find in a Herbie as the main syphon gets dirty. If I'm wrong, feel free to explain why because I have been looking at the Beananimal for years and haven't found anybody who claims different until you.

You are correct.

Some people (myself included) do run a trickle down the Herbie emergency drain to essentially turn it into a BA in terms of operation.

 

[Nick30G]

I dont have to tune my herbie very often at all. I found if I have to adjust my herbie drain alot, it's usually due to the pipe getting clogged and cleaning the inside of the pipe solves it. It's very quiet once tuned in

 

[ironman187]

You are correct.

Some people (myself included) do run a trickle down the Herbie emergency drain to essentially turn it into a BA in terms of operation.

I tried doing that, it works for a day. If I knew whether my 75G was tempered or not, I'd drill a third hole in it for a BA setup in a heartbeat.