Overflow advice needed. On the verge of going back to canisters.

[jsbaker]

This is a long post, sorry in advance but i'm trying to cover all my options. I appreciate any advice that is given.

I currently have a 125 FW tank that is running with an HOB overflow into an amiracle wet/dry with a rio 2500+ pump. I've had a single utube overflow but it's currently a c-channel i believe from aquatraders. The water stays crystal clear except for random junk floating in the water. The flow between the overflow and the pump are spot on, the valve for the return line is fully open and the pump and overflow keep up with each other and is actually better with the c-channel overflow than it was with the single u-tube overflow.

I'm getting tired of fooling with the HOB and had an issue today where the overflow stopped running and the water in the wet/dry got pumped into the tank and was about to overflow when it was caught. Why it had enough water in it to get that close is still a mystery. I'm seriosuly considering scrapping the wet/dry all together as it's been alot more work than I anticipated.

I'm considering one of three things. Going back to canisters (one on each end of the tank), doing diy overflows (one on each end) or drilling the tank on each end.

I really don't want to do the diy overflows as i have my opinions about their looks but the cost is a major factor. I'd like to drill the tank but there is the issue of figuring out which side is actually supposed to be the back incase the front is tempered and whether or not the bottom is tempered.


What route would you go? If you would drill the tank would you drill the bottom with two holes on each end or would you drill the back with one hole on each end and a return in the middle? Due to the canopy on this tank HOB filters are not an option as the canopy would have to be removed everytime they need any tending to.

[mistahoo]

I've never had that much trouble with a wet/dry. I love them! I wouldn't mind two canisters + the wet/dry though.

[cu0ngsayz]

if im not wrong usually the bottom of the tank is tempered glass. they usally leave the sides back and front regular glass(if im wrong someone correct me) if youre bottom glass is tempered(most likely it is) the the only place you can drill is on the back of the tank. the placing you have to drill the holes are good places IMO. 3 holes drilled by nick(sunkenmetal) is i think he said 5$ a hole +gas money( if he has to drive to you.) and bulkheads for the plumbing just really depends on where you get them. range from 10-20 bucks i think

but i would drill for a W/D and run canisters

[johnnymisty]

I'll say when I get my 180 I'm gonna drill the bottom providing its not tempered 2 holes each side and run 2 eheim 2260 on the tank for my filtration possibly put a wet dry on as well but debating that still

[NDsuperduty]

Overflow advice needed. On the verge of going back to canisters.

I can't see how you've had so many issues. Assuming your not using a wet dry for a 300g tank, if it is at proper water levels there should not be a concern of over filling a 124 to the point of over flowing if your HOB overflow quits working. I also can't figure out what would have randomly caused the overflow to malfunction if it was running fine before. I used my pro clear 125 with HOB overflow on my 125g for 2 years with zero issues and currently use it on a 40g with no issue.

Wet dry does have more weekly maintenance than a canister but most of the weekly stuff takes maybe 5 minutes. Canisters need to be cleaned only once every 1-2 months depending on other filters and tank load, but for me it takes a good hour to do it right.

[mistahoo]

U-tube never failed on me unless I pulled it out of the water.

[cu0ngsayz]

idk about u tube never failing... im running 2 u-tubes. both tubes doesnt have any air in it. but theres always one that would lose siphon. dont ask me why cause idk. LOL i never touch it

[mistahoo]

idk about u tube never failing... im running 2 u-tubes. both tubes doesnt have any air in it. but theres always one that would lose siphon. dont ask me why cause idk. LOL i never touch it

Maybe they don't like you!

[cu0ngsayz]

not both at the same time. just one at a time LOL. i cant wait to get rid of this HOB OVERFLOW!!!!!!

[jsbaker]

I honestly don't know how it stopped working. The overflow was in the middle of the tank right next to the glass brace where there is also an air stone bar directly under it on the bottom of the tank. Talked to the nephew in the afternoon and he said there was weird noises coming from the wet/dry area which we figured out to be the aqua lifter removing air from the c-channel. Less than an hour later I am told by someone else the pump chamber is dry and the tank is almost overflowing which means the overflow quit.

My guess is due to the location of the overflow and air collecting on the bottom of the glass brace the the aqua lifter couldn't keep up with the amount of air being sucked into the c-channel. The person that found the chamber empty said all he did was shut everything off for a few minutes and all was good once he restored power.

The overflow is now on the far left of the tank and so far everything is back to normal. The c-channel overflow box may be the issue but I switched to it due to the basically hands off siphon starting and restarting which of course was not hands off yesterday. The tank canopy limits movement of items on the back so if for some reason it lost siphon with the u-tube overflow box the canopy would have to be removed to access the tube and get it going again. obivously in hing sight this could have been solved by using a u-tube with a port on top or drilling and inserting a check valve.

I'm thinking about drilling the back on each end and doing an elbow turned up to skim the surface as I have seen suggested elsewhere on here. Only problem is the tank has no markings at all so figuring out which side is truly the back might be an issue if by chance the front panel is tempered.

[Darth Coqui]

The route I went was a herbie type of drain. Sunkenmetal came by and drilled x2 - 1.5" drains x .5" offset. Since I have a big sump and the herbie is reliable and quiet by having the lowest of the drain fully submersible, and I know this maybe blasphemous to most. But I am adding a gate valve to restrict the flow going into sump since a 1.5" drain does spew out flow into mu sump. What this produces is super quiet since the higher drain is in the water line, and will be consistent with every time i do a w/c by not fooling with the drains.
I understand that this could be a hassle but going canisters is not a bad idea as well.
I have both wet dry with mag 24 and fx5 and love the combo.
My babies love it too
good luck man and keep us updated, but dont give it up on the wet dry's

Frankie

[mistahoo]

It could've been the air bubbles getting into the overflow and interrupting the siphon? I don't really know how C-channel overflows work since I only used overflow boxes with a U-tube. The only time I had to prime the U-tube is when I first put the overflow on the tank. After that, there was never a need to prime the U-tube and it'll start up on it's own.

[SunnyHouTX]

Re: Overflow advice needed. On the verge of going back to canisters.

If you're gonna drill, check out glass-holes.com as well as Bulk Reef Supply for their internal overflow boxes.

[Totenkampf]

so if you have a large tank with a tempered bottom (and as i understand it most big tanks do) and you want an internal overflow then you are kinda screwed huh?

[SunnyHouTX]

Re: Overflow advice needed. On the verge of going back to canisters.

You can drill the back glass for an internal overflow. Did you look at what they offer at the sites I listed Yeff? They require drilling of the back glass close to the top of the tank