Is there a way to make a return act like a Vortech?

[Anonymous]

Pretty jazzed to see the progress of this by the way. I like the Euphyllia idea... 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Hey I've seen that tank before!

 

[Anonymous]

Can you elaborate on where you'd best like the overflow? Are any sides of this tank going to be concealed, say by placing it in a corner, or will it be viewable from 3 sides by placing it against a straight wall? Will the tank have an enclosed canopy, or be open-topped? Have you considered using an external weir box rather than an internal overflow?

In terms of positioning, I'm not 100% sold on any one position. Wherever it would be least obvious is probably best, which might indicate the external overflow would be the best idea. Ideally I'd love to have an external overflow, but looking at the sites of the tank manufacturers in Japan, I've yet to see that system being used and I'm not sure how much it'd add to the price of a tank to ask them (if I can in Japanese) to do something they've not done before, though it might be doable if I have the right diagrams/pictures to illustrate what I'm asking for*. They all have this basic overflow/return, which is often boxed in with an acrylic box.

The tank will be the standard rectangle against a straight wall, I assume, viewable from 3 sides (I say "I assume" because I don't know for sure where we will be living, but it's likely to be a modern apartment of reasonable size, so somewhere with box shaped rooms, pretty simple - probably no alcoves etc to slot something into). Open top, because I like the look, though I might have to give up on some of my favorite (jumping) fish as a result.

*I have this page saved to my favorites, which is pretty clear if I were able to show the diagram to the tank manufacturer, but it's not exactly an external overflow. Do you have a link to a good explanation of how to make one? With this and the external overflow, the drawback from my point of view is having the water pipes at the back, as it makes me nervy about water spills/leaks and concerned about getting to the pipes to repair/check them.

 

[Anonymous]

BTW, is the tank at the top yours? Perhaps inspired by Craig's Euphyllia tank? I'd love to see a build thread? :wink:

 

[bfessler]

Hi Tom,

Here is a simple sketch of a split overflow with a reverse Coast ot Coast Return. All you need for the return is a bulkhead fitting at the bottom. Plumb the overflow portion normally. The overflow box can be located anywhere on the back wall.

 

[Anonymous]

*I have this page saved to my favorites, which is pretty clear if I were able to show the diagram to the tank manufacturer, but it's not exactly an external overflow. Do you have a link to a good explanation of how to make one? With this and the external overflow, the drawback from my point of view is having the water pipes at the back, as it makes me nervy about water spills/leaks and concerned about getting to the pipes to repair/check them.

I like external overflows (I call them weir boxes--toe-may-toe:toe-mah-toe) a lot, functionally speaking. They take everything out of the tank and leave you with a nice cube to work with, rather than an awkward L-shape to work around. If you haven't heard of a "herbie" style overflow I can go into detail on it, but it basically is the most silent overflow you can build, and it works much better if you have a large overflow space to work with (as in a weir box). Here's a thread where I built one (among other things):
topic100850-40.html?hilit=projects
The parts are cheap and compact--if you can't find them or have them made in JP I could easily mail them to you for less than $100 all told.

Having said all that I really dig the look of the Japanese style overflows with the enclosed return, I just don't know how useful they will be in a practical sense. I can't imagine there is room for a lot of flow through the drain, and the small surface area of the cylinder means that the surface skimming effect will be pretty weak. Generally you want to make your surface skimmer a coast to coast thing like bfessler has drawn above for maximum surface skimming. But, it's not like you're trying to reinvent the wheel here...just doing some nice and easy low flow corals. I think either way will work great!

Oh BTW you can easily brace the weir box and secure the piping with pipe hangers to make it nice and safe.

 

[Anonymous]

...

 

[Anonymous]

I've got my head around the basic idea, thanks. I'm just trying to work out how to make it best work in a tank when I know of a tank maker that's open to customizing, but I'm not great at explaining things I have no idea how to build myself!

Oh, and Mark, apologies, but even at home I can't quite make out your sketch (the words in particular). If you were to explain what the captions say, that would help a great deal, thanks.

The front view (to the left) shows large holes and small holes in plates and a spray bar centered. To the right is a side view. It shows the large holes in the front plate and the small holes in the inner plate. The spray bar is set in the back with the holes pointing sideways.

I was going to do a 3D model for you, but I have been a bit busy.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, thanks Matt, Burt, Mark. Lots to ponder on there. I think time for me to go and do some more research. Adding this thread to my favorites so I can consult if again nearer the time. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Matt, is there any way for you to find the diagram you originally attached in this thread about the alternative to a durso?

http://www.reefs.org/forums/topic126860.html?hilit=external overflow

Cool designs, a 6" x 6" box would be fine for me.

What are the quieter then durso option Matt?

Thanks

Like this:

Except in your case, there would be two pipes on the left with gate valves instead of just one. These would both be 1", and the bulkhead on both should be completely submerged. Then the smaller drain (1/2" or 3/4" will suffice) has a short standpipe about 4" tall or so. You valve back both drains until the water in the box raises to the short standpipe--just barely. The third small drain should only have a few GPH flowing through it.

The point of all this is that no air is entrained. That's the fatal flaw with Durso and Stockman standpipes. They entrain air and then attempt to quiet the gurgle. Better to just not entrain any air in the first place.

HTH,
Matt

Thanks,

Tom

 

[Anonymous]

post1390234.html#p1390234

If you plan on doing a weir box you will want to figure out a way to conceal where the box is siliconed to your back glass--it's an unavoidable consequence of it. I just used a thin piece of acrylic inside the tank which you can see in the above thread.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Matt. Very helpful. I predict the chances of me going for an external overflow are directly proportional to how willing the tank manufacturer is to try something new, given my non-existent DIY skills.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tom,

Here is a simple sketch of a split overflow with a reverse Coast ot Coast Return. All you need for the return is a bulkhead fitting at the bottom. Plumb the overflow portion normally. The overflow box can be located anywhere on the back wall.

Ok, that's neat.

 

[bfessler]

Thanks Seamaiden,

I used this design on my Clown Tank, but with a standard Coast to Coast.

http://www.reefs.org/forums/topic131303.html

Burt