Coast To Coast Overflow

input80 · #1 07-24-2013, 06:29 AM

Hey there all, has anyone ever set up a coast to coast overflow ? I am planning on getting a 4ft 120 gal reef tank & would possibly want to run one on it. What kind of cost might I be looking at ? One tank I am looking at only has on hole drilled at the overflow. I just want to ensure silent operation & be able to run any amount of flow (turn over) without any volume handling issues. Some opinions are stating that just one hole would not be enough for this size of tank ? Other opinions/views are very welcome. Please remember that I am kind of "skill" limited.
Hoping I am asking the correct questions here ?

craigwmiller · #2 07-24-2013, 07:24 AM

Coast to coast for sure! The longer the weir the lower the sound will be for falling from the water line to the overflow (so long as you're not dropping a few feet

)

As for a totally silent operation, give this a read:

http://www.glassreef.com/basics_overflow.php

This is what I'm going to be doing in a 7' build I'm doing (overflow will only be 48" in my case due to some other design decisions).

IMHO the noise of the water over the weir will be minor, and the longer the better -- but the noise reduction to be done is in the plumbing, and a full siphon is the way to go for a drain! ...Which means you need another drain that can handle the rest which isn't under full siphon, and a third for emergency. The emergency can be skipped unless you have a wife like mine that ENJOY's the tank life, but when there is water leaking on the floor is going to be somewhere else other than helping

input80 · #3 07-24-2013, 07:35 AM

Thx craigwmiller, I was just reading that exact link & thinking/wondering if it might be cheaper/easier to run it externally ? I'm gonna need lotsa help/advice on this. I will have time but not too much $$ for this project, lol. I will definitely be wanting the emergency pipe also, for that peace of mind

The Grizz · #4 07-24-2013, 02:59 PM

Im doing a coast to coast in my 8' - 300gal but it is internal & dual bean animal overflows, from what I have read they are super silent.

Alberta-newb · #5 07-24-2013, 08:20 PM

I built an internal coast to coast on my 120 (4'). Cost was very little as I drilled the top two corners of the back glass for 1.5" bulkheads. The overflow was built in a similar shape to a rain gutter with two pieces of glass so it only extends down about 5" and is about 3.5" wide at the bottom. The glass is tilted towards the front slightly so the water overflows down a gentle slope (sorry no pics). This arrangement keeps the bottom clear for live rock and more swimming room for the fish. Overflow can be thin glass as there is very little pressure.

spit.fire · #6 07-24-2013, 09:01 PM

just do a normal herbie in the coast to coast, simple and quiet

LoJack · #7 07-24-2013, 09:19 PM

I did a coast to coast on my 144 gallon. Cost was pretty much nothing. I went and had the glass cut at a local window shop ... I think it was about $60 total for my 5 foot tank.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=96736

I'd go with the Bean like Grizz is gonna do. I went with the BeanAnimal and its the most quiet hassle free setup I've ever had.

The Durso is noisy, the Herbie needs constant adjusting ... but the Bean is fail safe, its silent, and it auto adjusts for a very wide range of flow. The only downside to the Bean setup is the initial plumbing costs being a bit higher. Because you have 3 standpipes (the full siphon, the over flow, and the emergency standpipe) you need a bit more PVC than with the others.

input80 · #8 07-25-2013, 12:14 AM

I'm not opposed to doing herbie, as I have one of my 80 gal right now, the only downside being the need for regular adjustments. Tyler, I'll have to call you to talk about the hole drilling. I would honestly like to look at the bean animal or atleast have some real comparisons between the 2 price wise too.