Jestersix

Overflows 101

Mozby

Mozby

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Currently have an AIO but am attempting to learn about tank plumbing for when I make that upgrade. I've read some articles on Durso, Herbie, Bean Animal, and Ghost overflows, but still don't have the greatest grasp as to how it works. Perhaps more research is needed but in the meantime, could someone give me a cheat sheet to understand the differences? Which is the best? Quietest? Most reliable? Are there challenges or drawbacks for each? Are there significant cost considerations? TIA!
 
Opinion on best:
One pipe with most of the water, like 95%+ in "full siphon".
Pulled from below water level in overflow, to below water level in sump. With a nice valve to tune it.
That "full siphon" can transfer a lot of water and makes ZERO noise, since there is no air.
A second pipe has the other 5%, barely trickling, hopefully as quiet as possible. With an elbow to make
it even quieter.

An optional third pipe for emergencies.

Oh, and you can do it with a single pipe. Just harder.

I guess that is considered a Bean Animal.
 
Ghost is a brand name not a style of overflow, it is basically a slim profile in the tank is all. The absolute basics for overflows is you never want just one pipe going to your sump, one pipe needs to be free for an emergency in case 1 (or more) somehow gets clogged. Other than that different variations on how to get water down with herbie and bean being quieter options.
 
rygh said:
Opinion on best:
One pipe with most of the water, like 95%+ in "full siphon".
Pulled from below water level in overflow, to below water level in sump. With a nice valve to tune it.
That "full siphon" can transfer a lot of water and makes ZERO noise, since there is no air.
A second pipe has the other 5%, barely trickling, hopefully as quiet as possible. With an elbow to make
it even quieter.

An optional third pipe for emergencies.

Oh, and you can do it with a single pipe. Just harder.

I guess that is considered a Bean Animal.
Click to expand...
This is good stuff, maybe not have a meeting about it good but we should get someone with a video camera or something and do a video of various options, actual demos include a sound meter discuss pros and cons then just have a link to the video. could be a nice idea for other topics as well
 
Side note:
What I do not like about the typical Bean Animal is that it encourages detritus to settle in the overflow box.
I think the full-siphon inlet should be at the bottom of the box, not up a ways like in most drawings.
Of course, that means you need more volume in sump when pumps are off.
 
And it is not just plumbing.
Do you go wall-to-wall?
Corner? Back? Dual corner?

Not really recommending it, but I had a fun one on my old 55G tank.
I had a "disassembled ghost-bean hybrid" in a way.
Center box, like a ghost, single pipe, ran full siphon.
At left/right corners, I just had simple elbows, each with separate pipes. One was trickling, one was emergency.

FYI: I screwed up on my current big tank.
I just went with a standard dual corner single pipe each, now impossible to change.
 
rygh said:
And it is not just plumbing.
Do you go wall-to-wall?
Corner? Back? Dual corner?

Not really recommending it, but I had a fun one on my old 55G tank.
I had a "disassembled ghost-bean hybrid" in a way.
Center box, like a ghost, single pipe, ran full siphon.
At left/right corners, I just had simple elbows, each with separate pipes. One was trickling, one was emergency.

FYI: I screwed up on my current big tank.
I just went with a standard dual corner single pipe each, now impossible to change.
Click to expand...
That’s a bummer... but I know how these things go from my own personal experience....
 
In my freshwater experiences, it doesn’t take mych linear space to keep the surface skimmed. There is a little eheim skimmer for planted tanks. About two inches across kept my 5’ wide 18” across 120g sparkling clean. So I think more about looks than function in regard to overflow width
 
The main advantage I noticed for wide overflows is noise.
The thinner sheen of water does not detach as quickly or have as much energy as it goes down the sides.
So less likely to splash as it hits the water in the overflow.

The downside is that wider seems to grow hair algae easier, likely due to lower flow.

I tend to agree that it really does not take that much to get rid of the surface oils.

(Overall flow through sump is a separate discussion)
 
Definitely moved up the learning curve with this thread, thanks to all! To piggyback on this topic, what about internal vs external overflows? Who does which and does it make a difference in noise level, efficiency, potential issues? The only thing I know is internal is more aesthetic but external maximizes space in DT for aquascaping and easier cleaning.
 
I just set up a bean animal and put the full siphon drain lower in the overflow box. I had to because I didn't have much space in there, but in my testing so far, it doesn't seem to be an issue. I'm also running a much larger sump than usual for a 95ish gallon tank, so the extra water in the sump isn't as big of a concern for me .
 
internal is hard to do since most of the tank's bottom is tempered and not a lot of 3rd party offers internal overflow solutions.
 
Internal - box that goes from the top of the tank to the bottom, holes in the bottom of the tank. Pros is that everything is contained, cons it takes up space in a tank, which may not be an issue for really large tanks but for smaller tanks there is a minimum size they can be due to the piping so can be a rather large amount of swimming space removed. They tend to need a lot of water inside them by keeping the pipes high otherwise the water falls a long way and makes a rather large amount of noise, downside is you tend to have dead spots at the bottom that would need to be periodically cleaned out of detritus.

External - smaller box inside the tank that has hole(s) to a box on the outside. Pros more real estate inside the tank as all the plumbing is out the back and the internal box can be very tiny. Cons: Can't put the tank as close to a wall, if you need to work on the box you have to leave room which might be problematic, poorly designed ones put undue stress on the back pane of glass.

Overall though I prefer external simply because I typically like room behind the tank to work anyways, so moving it against the wall isn't a big deal. Plus if there's a leak from the gasket that goes from the tank to the out it's only going to leak to the bottom of the hole, where as if your bulkhead leaks on an internal overflow it'll leak to the bottom of the overflow, and if the internal box has a leak then the whole tank could potentially leak (mind you chances are you'll catch the problem WELL before that happens). Overall though, internal overflows just look so damn fugly or they blend in nice... but you do lose a lot of space as a result.

damn I thought I posted this earlier... luckily it saves stuff if you close a window :D
 
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