will this cause a flood.

[PeeJ]

you know that filter media thats blue on one side and white on the other? u can get it in big sheets....well my external overflow had a pre filter spong on it but it is spend..i dont want a pre filter anyway but without it the overflow is really noisy

so i secured a square section of this "bail" media over the top of the bulkhead drain with a ruberband (imagine securing tissue paper over the end of a toilet paper roll with a rubberband.

i cant take the gurgling noise...is this a really bad idea? in my opinion its no different than the circular hollow sponge like the one that came on it. either one could get clogged. this one is just easier to replace since i have a giant sheet of it...gimme some feedback on how i could cure this damn noise.

 

[PeeJ]

actually..i changed it...i cut a huge piece and folded it over many times and stuffed it in there. i figured this way...if a big chunk of something goes over, there is still plenty of space for water to flow out. where as in the first desingm with the only bail being right over the hole, if something got stuck in it, id be in trouble...am i right? and is this the reason for having the prefilter sponges really tall?

from my logic, this should be fine on the premise that i change the wadding stuff every week. no more noise now too...its great.

 

[danmhippo]

Sounds fine, I used to do that too. Just check the overflow area often and remove large debris from time to time. Also, the prefilter sponge should be taken out to rinse several times a week to prevent the detritus decomposing in the water and add to the nitrate in the water.

One more thing, I pick off pods on the filter sponge before I rinse it.

 

[danmhippo]

Another thing you could try is use a couple of practice golf ball or baseball, the one's that's hollow plastic and with holes. You could use them to reduce the gurgling sound and keep the water flowing.

 

[PeeJ]

ahhh good one..never thought of that. i tried sticking airline tubing down it like ive heard some people say...it seems that if u cant get the "sweet spot" of the gurgling that it does nothing. even then, the "whirlpool" that causes the gurgling will just migrate around the hose...this seems to work no matter what. thanks for the reply...im ganna give that a try this weekend. extremely happy now that my tank is quiet

 

[PeeJ]

heres a photo of what i have done....


also...will all that brown algae die down? ive kept my lights of and i havnt fed those damsels in a day or so..it seemed to stop spreading so much now

actaully u cant see the brown algae at all with my crappy cam. its creeping along the sand bed........

 

[Mogo]

Peej.
I have done the same thing with the same filter media by stuffing it in my overflow. After cleaning my tank one time, I stuffed in some filter media into the overflow then went out for the evening. I came back to find at least 75 gallons of water all over the floor at 4:00 a.m. The filter media clogged. The tank water was mostly ro water that was being replaced into the sump. My pump nearly fried. Ever tried emergency cleanup at 4:00 in the morning when you just want to go to bed? I thank my lucky stars that the tank had just cycled and there were no inhabitants. I was battling algae at the time that caused the floss to clog so fast.

Ergo, bad idea.

I still occasionally use the same filter media in the overflow when I clean the tank, but I stick a sign on the front of my tank that says "filter media in" to remind me that it's in. I leave it in there for a couple hours and does the trick, but be warned.

 

[Modo]

You could try a coarser media filter. For example the blue filter floss that goes into canister filters. It's about an 1" thick and is round, but you can easily cut to fit.

I use this as the filter portion of my Calcium Reactor that holds all the media up. It's fairly inexpensive and you can get them at just about any chain pet store or maybe even Walmart.

 

[Modo]

Here is the coarser type of filter I was thinking about...

The ones I use are blue and come in a baggie, but it's basically the samething.

 

[mountainbiker619]

can you put a 90 degree pvc fitting inside the overflow unit?

 

[PeeJ]

hey ...dude..that 90 degree is a great idea...what if i do a 180 to make like a standpipe? or should i stick with the 90

 

[mountainbiker619]

try both. I use only a 90 and is very quiet for me.

 

[PeeJ]

great idea..thats a lot...im ganan go do it right now...its so quiet here now its superb. thanks again

 

[PeeJ]

bad news...it slowed down my flow a lot..and was still noisy..i guess ill just stick with the filter floss stuff...i do not have hair algae so ill be arlight i guess.

 

[cdeakle]

Why don't you just buy replacement sponges for your model overflow?????

I got a 4pack for my model for like 10.00 bucks!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Have you ever heard of a Durso standpipe? Try looking at http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpip ... ockman.htm , there is a design for a very compact version that will fit in your overflow, and it's very silent.

I think that floss is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Anonymous]

Oops forget that link. Try http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpip ... ockman.htm

 

[PeeJ]

i would like to get the sponges but no stores have them...but besides that..it was noisy even with the sponge on it...i tried the stand pipe, but i dont have enough room for two 90 degree bends in my overflow...i think i might just drop some money on a bigger overflow box..its like 90 bucks and its got 3 j-tubes....figure it would be safer with more than one anyway.

 

[Emperator]

Have you ever heard of a Durso standpipe? Try looking at http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpip ... ockman.htm , there is a design for a very compact version that will fit in your overflow, and it's very silent.

I think that floss is a disaster waiting to happen.

thats actually the "stockman" standpipe. i agree with matt, this should work wonderfully for you.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for correcting me...