Which Bean Animal Overflow box is best?

[SallyWho]

As I keep thinking and tinkering with my build plans, I realized I haven't decided yet which overflow kit to buy. Since I will likely be drilling the tank myself (120-180g depending on what I can find for sale in my area), I want to do a Bean Animal set up (who came up with that weird name??). I know Synergy Reef makes the Shadow box, and Eshoppes has the Eclipse. There appears to be a bunch of available retrofits, but I'd rather not have to silicone the interior or exterior boxes to the tank- unless I have a fundamental lack of understanding on how these things work, that is. I'm looking for an all-inclusive kit with the interior box, bulkheads, exterior box, and perhaps even a lid, drilling template, and drill bit. The reviews on the Shadow box seem to indicate slightly fragile plastic prone to cracking, and the reviews I've read on the Eclipse mention the height difference between the boxes creates a bit of a waterfall effect that makes some extra noise. Does anybody have experience with either of these? What would you go with? I'm not afraid of spending the extra money on the Shadow box if it's truly the better value, but if they're about equal, I'm going the cheaper route!

 

[miPapareef]

Great job doing all the research.

Here’s a like to the bean animal inventors website about page, which will answer your question about the name. http://www.beananimal.com/about.aspx

I have the synergy shadow 16” and I like it because it runs quiet. It does have a height difference between internal and external boxes, but hasn’t been a problem for me, because you can make the pvc pipe lengths any size you want. It did not come with the drill bit but your can order it at the same time. As for cracking, I did sand down the pvc pipe outside so it wasn’t as tight.

 

[Fin]

A couple more for your research list...

Reef Savvy 21" Ghost Overflow

Exotic Marine 24" Overflow

 

[SallyWho]

As for cracking, I did sand down the pvc pipe outside so it wasn’t as tight.

Thanks for the link explaining that name! It's been driving me a bit batty. And which part of the PVC did you sand down? The outside of the pipes that were placed inside the exterior box, in order to make them a bit thinner-walled?

A couple more for your research list...

Thank you! I didn't know about those! Do you have experience with any of them?

 

[rushbattle]

I like all of the options given by modular marine. The reef savvy is the slickest looking. I have a synergy and it’s a bit flimsy, but it’s strong. Just remember to support all of the piping leaving any overflow so you don’t side load the bulkheads or crack the overflow box.

https://modularmarine.com/collections/overflow-boxes

Edit: I also like MM because you can take entire internal box out to easily clean with vinegar for coraline algae and anything else that might clog it up. Very smart.

 

[cracker]

I get herbie,bean, animal combination mixed up . However I really like the synergy overflows. They are more pricey than the others . I have one on both my 75 & 180 tanks. They are very quiet .

 

[leahfiish]

I ordered a modular marine box for my build, it should be arriving tomorrow. I liked that it comes with the drill bit, and that the boxes are the same height.
https://modularmarine.com/collectio...-low-profile-overflow-box-with-removable-weir

I went with the standard options but they will also customize it for you if needed.

 

[Steve P]

Excellent information y'all. I'm also in my build planning and this thread will help.

 

[Fin]

Thank you! I didn't know about those! Do you have experience with any of them?

I have the Ghost Overflow on my Reef Savvy, but the tank is not quite ready for water yet.

 

[SallyWho]

I like all of the options given by modular marine. The reef savvy is the slickest looking. I have a synergy and it’s a bit flimsy, but it’s strong. Just remember to support all of the piping leaving any overflow so you don’t side load the bulkheads or crack the overflow box.

https://modularmarine.com/collections/overflow-boxes

Edit: I also like MM because you can take entire internal box out to easily clean with vinegar for coraline algae and anything else that might clog it up. Very smart.

Whoa! Hadn't heard of these before, but they look awesome! Definitely going to consider this!

I have the Ghost Overflow on my Reef Savvy, but the tank is not quite ready for water yet.

When you get it up and running and tuned in, let me know how it goes!

 

[Mystical_Knight]

I got a modular marine box for my 40B, I wanted to upgrade from uniseals to bulkheads in the exterior box and he only charged me another 15$. Thing is reallly clean looking and has nice tight fitting lids. Can post pics if you want lemme know

 

[BrewPug]

+1 Modular Marine.

Just installed a BA in a 1600 with 1” bulkheads. Solid as a rock and dead quiet.

 

[Fin]

I don't know what size tank you are putting this on, but one thing about the Synergy Shadow is that it uses 1½" plumbing for greater flow capacity. I know the Reef Savvy and many of the others use 1" as their standard size. The Synergy Shadow and Ghost Overflows also do not use bulkheads in the outer box, so the outer box can be slimmer. This eliminates having to use bulkheads with large flanges. A thinner outer box may be something to consider, if you have limited space behind the tank.

 

[ca1ore]

I think they are all more similar than they are different. I went with MM only because he had larger units in stock (went with the 36" 3,000 gph model).

 

[SallyWho]

I got a modular marine box for my 40B, I wanted to upgrade from uniseals to bulkheads in the exterior box and he only charged me another 15$. Thing is reallly clean looking and has nice tight fitting lids. Can post pics if you want lemme know

Yeah, I'd love to see those pics! You got a build thread?

A thinner outer box may be something to consider, if you have limited space behind the tank.

The tank will be up against a wall, but I've got some wiggle room on how far away from the wall it can be. I figured on giving myself about 6". And it'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of 120-180 gallons- do you think the 1" drains will be sufficient? I've got a Jebao DCT8000 as a return pump, so it can be dialed up or down as needed.

 

[Ferrell]

I too went back and forth with all the overflows on the market, read the whole bean animal story, looked at a million designs, and found the 16” shadow to be my choice. I’m only building a 75 but the big 1.5” drain system is impressive and can handle any flow. I do recommend watching Synergy's video on YouTube regarding pipe installation and beveling the pipe edges. I just used my own table top belt sander to do the job and did all my pipe and fittings that way. Another thing to watch out for is when you glue the pieces into the box you do not want to allow the glue to squish up into the box where the overflo pipes are installed. It makes it more difficult to install those pipes later without some tedious labor. I just got mine up and flowing last week and love it.

 

[AdamNC]

What are the downsides of using a uniseal on the outer box? Does it need to be siliconed or is it just a slip fitting?

 

[bdare]

I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to bump it up to see what folks are using these days....

 

[rushbattle]

I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to bump it up to see what folks are using these days....

Same situation for myself, I agree with almost everything said in this thread. Modular might be out of business, or hard to reach apparently. Exotic is well liked by everyone I’ve seen comment about that series of overflow.

 

[ca1ore]

I continue to be very happy with the modular marine box I purchased. I’ve had an opportunity to see most of the other options and I find the MM to exceed all others in terms of build quality. Whichever you choose, make sure that you get one where the internal and external boxes are at the same height. This solves the noise issues of off set boxes.

As far as I can see, MM seem to be active - both website and eBay store.