DIY Overflow Design Help!!(Coast2coast Beananimal) 3D design pics!

[philg3]

Cheers Scuba, i like your lazy math style, it suits me perfectly.

So your saying that i should drop the weir down low enough that my pump can run its chamber dry in case of a blockage. im not so worried about the beananimal blocking, the emergency standpipe is never underwater so i dont know how that could get blocked, but crazy things do happen (my second floor sprinkler exploded and rained water from the ceiling all over my tank last month!). Im more worried that the holes from the weir to external box might get blocked. maybe some small holes all along the top would help in an emergency? above the waterline and right into the external box, so if the large holes somehow both get blocked, you have the smaller ones along the top to drain. That is drilling a bunch of tiny holes in my tank though.

I also think that i could make the weir even smaller, maybe lose the whole angle and just do it straight up and down 1/2"? what do you think? just less of an eyesore in my display and less of a shadow from the lights.

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by philg3

Cheers Scuba, i like your lazy math style, it suits me perfectly.

So your saying that i should drop the weir down low enough that my pump can run its chamber dry in case of a blockage. im not so worried about the beananimal blocking, the emergency standpipe is never underwater so i dont know how that could get blocked, but crazy things do happen (my second floor sprinkler exploded and rained water from the ceiling all over my tank last month!). Im more worried that the holes from the weir to external box might get blocked. maybe some small holes all along the top would help in an emergency? above the waterline and right into the external box, so if the large holes somehow both get blocked, you have the smaller ones along the top to drain. That is drilling a bunch of tiny holes in my tank though.

I also think that i could make the weir even smaller, maybe lose the whole angle and just do it straight up and down 1/2"? what do you think? just less of an eyesore in my display and less of a shadow from the lights.

Ya, that's the general idea. Personally, I am giving less room at that top than I should because I have a silly amount of confidence in the beananimal design... all depends on how much you trust your system. Don't bother with having to drill a bunch of tiny holes. 2 or 3 big holes will suffice. I recommend making the weir box as small as possible but you want it to be workable in case you need to get your fingers in there for whatever reason. Ultimately, That is why I decided on a rimless, external overflow with a notched back glass... no weir box at all.

[mark]

check out Dez's build, he did the long horizontal cut (between 2 holes) for an external overflow (talks about it page 4 post 34/38, some other pictures pg9 #87).

[abcha0s]

Originally Posted by mark

check out Dez's build, he did the long horizontal cut (between 2 holes) for an external overflow (talks about it page 4 post 34/38, some other pictures pg9 #87).

I have to agree with this. You will never regret doing it right the first time. If you are not comfortable breaking the glass, find a glass shop that will do it for you.

Otherwise, I like your design well enough. I think 1/8" is too thin though. On the inside you have to contend with direct water pressure. On the outside you have to support plumbing.

- Brad

[philg3]

Okay, lots of things to think about. I spoke with Paul at Oceanic Corals here in BC, he has been my go 2 guy since he got me started in the hobby, and he really wasnt feeling the internal weir. He's probably right, it is overcomplicating things by trying to simplify the drilling. a horizontal hole like Dez's would function better and look cleaner.

More importantly, I might just lose the Tank and order a new custom one (Check your Email Brad - well timed post). I picked up the Tank with a custom waterproof and soundproof stand for $200. pretty good deal if you ask me. The Tank is in pretty perfect condition right now but it has this big cherry wood lip around it, and like i said it needs to be drilled. Depending on cost, it might be better to bite the bullet and buy a Rimless eurobraced Starphire Front Tank with a built in external overflow box. I've had two tanks since i started this hobby in January (my first tank is my current sump), and have been having a lot of fun experimenting with plumbing and equipment and different setups. But now its ****ing me off that everything is always noisy and half complete, and the roomates are becoming less supportive of the hobby every time they come down to the skimmer cup overflowing onto the floor. I think i've experimented enough and have a pretty clear picture in my head of what i want the tank to look like, not to mention i want to start loading it up with some more livestock. So hopefully i can get a custom tank built for not too much money, and then sell the intact Oceanic Tank (its in really nice shape, i bet if i listed it i could get close to 200$ for it alone.) Cost really is the only thing im unsure of, so if i like the price on a custom tank ill do that, if its outside my reach ill probably drill the oceanic.

@ Scuba -

One quick thing, i noticed in your posts that you are going with notched back glass. If you mean teeth that may not be the best call, they reduce surface skimming and increase noise, kind of the whole point to the coast 2 coast beananimal combo. If i misunderstood notched then nevermind, I feel like we're both headed in the same direction here. Where did you order your tank from?

@ everyone else -

a quick one. What are the baffles inside the external overflow box for? I've seen pictures of them in some of the nicer systems and was wondering what they did. Any help is appreciated as always.



The design i mocked up was as much about me trying out Google Sketchup as it was trying to engineer an overflow design of my own. So for that reason alone I've been really impressed with the civility in this thread, and you may have officially converted a lurker into a poster. Sound advice without any attitude here on CanReef. I've seen other Forums where noob questions will get flamed for not doing research, and that is probably why i've waited so long to post. I just cant be bothered to argue with people on the internet.

I'm guessing its because we're all canadian and have some serious problems being a dick.

So I'm off to source a couple of custom tanks and check with the local glass shop to see what they might charge for the Drilling and overflow box. Hopefully when im back from a trip in mid july ill start a build thread for you guys to follow along.

Thanks again!

[ScubaSteve]

Nope, you and I are talking about the same thing dude. The correct name for what you want to do with the weir is called a notch cut. I'm not planning on teeth, only a small piece of egg crate in the overflow to stop sump riders.

I've had a few quotes, but that C2C overflow notch cut will add at least $100 to the price of the tank. For a rimless 45g square tank with that style overflow I got quotes ranging from $500 to $700... So I'm just gonna build it myself for about $200 in material.

[philg3]

What are the dimensions gonna be like on your square?